contract will be $45 million. The effective ordering period is from
July 1 through Aug. 31, 2015.

Under this contract, SGT will support a wide array of geodynamic,
geomagnetic, geophysical, and atmospheric investigations of the
Earth. Among the requirements for these investigations are instrument
development; software development and maintenance; and data
collection, archiving and dissemination. Contract work also includes
scientific data analysis, modeling and interpretation; reports and
presentations of scientific results; public outreach and education;
and associated technical and administrative work.

SGT will provide support to investigators associated with current
programs such as Interdisciplinary Studies in Earth Science; projects
such as GRACE, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission, and ICESat; and
future missions defined in the National Academy of Science Decadal
Survey, such as ICESat-2 and SWOT.

The work will be performed at Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., and at the SGT facility in Greenbelt.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit

http://www.nasa.gov

---

NASA Announces Education Research Program Award Recipients

WASHINGTON - NASA has awarded $20 million to colleges and universities
nationwide to conduct research and technology development in areas
important to the agency's mission. The awards also enable faculty
development and support students.

The selections are part of NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research, or EPSCoR. The program helps develop
partnerships between NASA research missions and programs, academic
institutions and industry. It also helps states establish long-term
academic research enterprises that will be self-sustaining and
competitive and will contribute to the states' economic viability and development.

A total of 27 proposals were selected for funding in Alabama, Alaska,
Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. Winning
proposals were selected through a merit-based, peer-reviewed competition.

Two proposals were selected from each of the following colleges and
universities:
Montana State University
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
University of Delaware
University of Nebraska, Omaha
University of North Dakota
Wichita State University
One proposal was selected from each of the following universities:
Louisiana State University
New Mexico State University
University of Alabama, Huntsville
University of Arkansas, Little Rock
University of Idaho
University of Kentucky
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Hampshire, Durham
University of Oklahoma, Norman
University of Vermont
University of Wyoming
Vanderbilt University
West Virginia University

For a list of selected proposals visit:

http://nspires.nasaprs.com

For more information about EPSCoR, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov/epscor

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

---

NASA 'Meet The Chiefs' Telecon With Top Science, Technology Leaders

WASHINGTON -- NASA's exploration future will be the subject of a media
teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 27, with the agency's
Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati and Chief Technologist Bobby Braun.

While preparing to embark on its final space shuttle mission, NASA
also is opening a new chapter in human spaceflight, space
exploration, and science and technology innovation. The chiefs will
discuss the development of breakthrough technologies to enable the
next generation of explorers to face the challenges of spaceflight
and scientific exploration. They also will focus on the agency's
current and future missions to explore the secrets of our universe.

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must e-mail their
name, media affiliation and telephone number to Sarah DeWitt at
sarah.l.dewitt@nasa.gov by 11 a.m. Monday.

NASA will stream live audio of the teleconference at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For biographical information about Abdalati and Braun, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/abdalati_bio.html

and

http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/braun_bio.html

---

NASA Mission Suggests Sun And Planets Constructed Differently

WASHINGTON -- Analysis of samples returned by NASA's Genesis mission
indicates our sun and its inner planets may have formed differently
than scientists previously thought.

The data revealed slight differences in the types of oxygen and
nitrogen present on the sun and planets. The elements are among the
most abundant in our solar system. Although the differences are
slight, the implications could help determine how our solar system evolved.

The air on Earth contains three different kinds of oxygen atoms, which
are differentiated by the number of neutrons they contain. Nearly 100
percent of oxygen atoms in the solar system are composed of O-16, but
there also are tiny amounts of more exotic oxygen isotopes called
O-17 and O-18. Researchers studying the oxygen of Genesis samples
found that the percentage of O-16 in the sun is slightly higher than
on Earth, the moon, and meteorites. The other isotopes' percentages
were slightly lower.

"The implication is that we did not form out of the same solar nebula
materials that created the sun -- just how and why remains to be
discovered," said Kevin McKeegan, a Genesis co-investigator from the
University of California, Los Angeles and the lead author of one of
two Science papers published this week.

The second paper detailed differences in the amount of nitrogen on the
sun and planets. Like oxygen, nitrogen has one isotope, N-14, that
makes up nearly 100 percent of the atoms in the solar system, but
there also is a tiny amount of N-15. Researchers studying the same
samples saw that when compared to Earth's atmosphere, nitrogen in the
sun and Jupiter has slightly more N-14, but 40 percent less N-15.
Both the sun and Jupiter appear to have the same nitrogen composition.

"These findings show that all solar system objects, including the
terrestrial planets, meteorites and comets, are anomalous compared to
the initial composition of the nebula from which the solar system
formed," said Bernard Marty, a Genesis co-investigator from Centre de
Recherches Petrographiques et Geochimiques in Nancy, France and the
lead author of the second new Science paper. "Understanding the cause
of such a heterogeneity will impact our view on the formation of the
solar system."

Data were obtained from analysis of Genesis samples collected from the
solar wind -- the material ejected from the outer portion of the sun.
This material can be thought of as a fossil of our nebula because the
preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that the outer layer of
our sun has not changed measurably for billions of years.

"The sun houses more than 99 percent of the material currently in our
solar system so it's a good idea to get to know it better," said
Genesis principal investigator Don Burnett of the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. "While it was more
challenging than expected we have answered some important questions,
and like all successful missions, generated plenty more."

Genesis launched in August 2000. The spacecraft traveled to Earth's L1
Lagrange Point about 1 million miles from Earth, where it remained
for 886 days between 2001 and 2004, passively collecting solar-wind samples.

On Sept. 8, 2004, the spacecraft released a sample return capsule,
which made a hard landing as a result of a failed parachute in the
Utah Test and Training Range in Dugway, Utah. This marked NASA's
first sample return since the final Apollo lunar mission in 1972, and
the first material collected beyond the moon. NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston curates the samples and supports analysis and
sample allocation.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., managed the
Genesis mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
The Genesis mission was part of the Discovery Program managed at
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed
Martin Space Systems in Denver developed and operated the spacecraft.
Analysis at the Centre de Recherches Petrographiques et Geochimiques
was supported by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and the
French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris.
For more information on the Genesis mission, visit:

http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov

---

NASA Probe Nears Position for Year-Long Stay at Giant Asteroid

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on track to begin the first
extended visit to a large asteroid. The mission expects to go into
orbit around Vesta on July 16 and begin gathering science data in
early August. Vesta resides in the main asteroid belt and is thought
to be the source of a large number of meteorites that fall to Earth.

"The spacecraft is right on target," said Robert Mase, Dawn project
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
"We look forward to exploring this unknown world during Dawn's one
year stay in Vesta's orbit."

After traveling nearly four years and 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion
kilometers), Dawn is approximately 96,000 miles (155,000 kilometers)
away from Vesta. When Vesta captures Dawn into its orbit, there will
be approximately 9,900 miles (16,000 kilometers) between them. They
will be approximately 117 million miles (188 million kilometers) away
from Earth.

After Dawn enters Vesta's orbit, engineers will need a few days to
determine the exact time of capture. Unlike other missions where a
dramatic, nail-biting propulsive burn results in orbit insertion
around a planet, Dawn has been using its placid ion propulsion system
to subtly shape its path for years to match Vesta's orbit around the sun.

Images from Dawn's framing camera, taken for navigation purposes, show
the slow progress toward Vesta. They also show Vesta rotating about
65 degrees in the field of view. The images are about twice as sharp
as the best images of Vesta from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, but
the surface details Dawn will obtain are still a mystery.

"Navigation images from Dawn's framing camera have given us intriguing
hints of Vesta, but we're looking forward to the heart of Vesta
operations, when we begin officially collecting science data," said
Christopher Russell, Dawn principal investigator, at the University
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "We can't wait for Dawn to peel
back the layers of time and reveal the early history of our solar system."

Dawn's three instruments are all functioning and appear to be properly
calibrated. The visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, for
example, has started to obtain images of Vesta that are larger than a
few pixels in size. During the initial reconnaissance orbit, at
approximately 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers), the spacecraft will get
a broad overview of Vesta with color pictures and data in different
wavelengths of reflected light. The spacecraft will move into a high
altitude mapping orbit, about 420 miles (680 kilometers) above the
surface to systematically map the parts of Vesta's surface
illuminated by the sun; collect stereo images to see topographic
highs and lows; acquire higher resolution data to map rock types at
the surface; and learn more about Vesta's thermal properties.

Dawn then will move even closer, to a low-altitude mapping orbit
approximately 120 miles (200 kilometers) above the surface. The
primary science goals of this orbit are to detect the byproducts of
cosmic rays hitting the surface and help scientists determine the
many kinds of atoms there, and probe the protoplanet's internal
structure. As Dawn spirals away from Vesta, it will pause again at
the high-altitude mapping orbit altitude. Because the sun's angle on
the surface will have progressed, scientists will be able to see
previously hidden terrain while obtaining different views of surface features.

"We've packed our year at Vesta chock-full of science observations to
help us unravel the mysteries of Vesta," said Carol Raymond, Dawn's
deputy principal investigator at JPL. Vesta is considered a
protoplanet, or body that never quite became a full-fledged planet.

Dawn launched in September 2007. Following a year at Vesta, the
spacecraft will depart for its second destination, the dwarf planet
Ceres, in July 2012. Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by
JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a
project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences
Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German
Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research,
the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical
Institute are part of the mission team.

For more information about Dawn, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/dawn

---

NASA Mars Rover Arrives In Florida After Cross-Country Flight

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- NASA's next Mars rover has completed the
journey from its California birthplace to Florida in preparation for launch this fall.

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, also known as Curiosity,
arrived Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard an Air Force
C-17 transport plane. It was accompanied by the rocket-powered
descent stage that will fly the rover during the final moments before
landing on Mars. The C-17 flight began at March Air Reserve Base in
Riverside, Calif., where the boxed hardware had been trucked from
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

The rover's aeroshell -- the protective covering for the trip to the
Red Planet -- and the cruise stage, which will guide it to Mars,
arrived at Kennedy last month. The mission is targeted to launch from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18. The
car-size rover will land on Mars in August 2012.

"The design and building part of the mission is nearly behind us now,"
said JPL's David Gruel, who has managed Mars Science Laboratory
assembly, test and launch operations since 2007. "We're getting to
final checkouts before sending the rover on its way to Mars."

The rover and other spacecraft components will undergo more testing
before mission staff stack them and fuel the onboard propulsion
systems. Curiosity should be enclosed in its aeroshell for the final
time in September and delivered to Kennedy's Launch Complex 41 in
early November for integration with a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Curiosity is about twice as long and more than five times as heavy as
any previous Mars rover. Its 10 science instruments include two for
ingesting and analyzing samples of powdered rock delivered by the
rover's robotic arm. During a prime mission lasting one Martian year
-- nearly two Earth years -- researchers will use the rover's tools
to study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions
favorable for supporting microbial life and favorable for preserving
clues about whether life existed.

JPL built the rover and descent stage and manages the mission for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Launch management
for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services
Program at Kennedy.

For more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/msl

To follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity

or

http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity

---

NASA Flights Seek To Improve View Of Air Pollution From Space

WASHINGTON -- Two NASA research airplanes will fly over the
Baltimore-Washington region and northeast Maryland this summer as
part of a mission to enhance the capability of satellites to measure
ground-level air quality from space.

The campaign is called DISCOVER-AQ, which stands for Deriving
Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved
Observations Relevant to Air Quality. It is one of the five Earth
Venture class of investigations selected last year as part of NASA's
Earth System Science Pathfinder program. These targeted science
investigations complement NASA's larger research missions.

A fundamental challenge for spaceborne instruments monitoring air
quality is to distinguish between pollution high in the atmosphere
and pollution near the surface where people live. The new NASA field
campaign will make measurements from aircraft in combination with
ground-based observation sites to help scientists better understand
how to observe ground-level pollution from space in the future.

"What we're trying to do with DISCOVER-AQ is to fill the knowledge gap
that limits our ability to monitor air pollution with satellites,"
said James Crawford, the mission's principal investigator at NASA's
Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Since many countries, including the United States, have large gaps in
ground-based networks of air pollution monitors, experts look to
satellites to provide a more complete geographic perspective on the
distribution of pollutants.

A fleet of Earth-observing satellites, called the Afternoon
Constellation or "A-train" will pass over the DISCOVER-AQ study area
each day in the early afternoon. The satellites' data, especially
from the Aqua and Aura spacecraft, will give scientists the
opportunity to compare the view from space with that from the ground
and aircraft.

"The A-Train satellites have been useful in giving us a broader view
of air pollution than has ever been seen," said Kenneth Pickering,
DISCOVER-AQ's project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
in Greenbelt, Md. "DISCOVER-AQ will help interpret that data to
improve air-quality analysis and regional air-quality models."

Initial test flights are planned for the week of June 27, with up to
14 science flights starting as early as July 1. The P-3B, a
four-engine turboprop, will carry nine instruments. The two-engine
UC-12 will carry two instruments. Sampling will focus on an area
extending from Beltsville, Md., to the northeastern corner of
Maryland in a pattern that follows major roadway traffic corridors.
The flight path passes over six ground measurement sites operated by
the Maryland Department of the Environment.

NASA investigators will be joined in the air by colleagues from the
National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of
California, Berkeley, and the University of Innsbruck in Austria. The
117-foot P-3B will fly low-altitude spiral profiles over the ground
stations. These profiles will extend from 15,000 feet to as low as
1,000 feet from the ground. The flights will sample air along traffic
corridors at low altitude between ground stations.

The smaller King Air UC-12 will collect data from as high as 26,000
feet. The plane's instruments will look down at the surface, much
like a satellite instrument, and measure particulate and gaseous pollution.

The combined scientific resources are what make DISCOVER-AQ a rare
opportunity for air quality researchers. "One instrument is not more
important than another," said Jennifer Hains, a research statistician
with the Maryland Department of the Environment in Baltimore. "The
combination of all of them makes this campaign valuable."

Ground sites maintained by the Maryland Department of the Environment
form the backbone of the surface network. These sites will be
supplemented by additional instrumentation provided by NASA, the
Environmental Protection Agency, Howard University, Pennsylvania
State University, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and
Millersville University in Pennsylvania.

The DISCOVER-AQ flights are the beginning of a four-year campaign that
will bring NASA aircraft to Houston and other urban regions. NASA's
Langley center manages the Earth System Science Pathfinder program
for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information on the DISCOVER-AQ mission and for updates on
when the flights are scheduled to fly, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/discover-aq

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