Mars Mission Update Via Webcast
June 1, 2001

Artist's concept of 2001 Mars Odyssey

       Mars scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will give the latest report about the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, now en route to the mysterious red planet, in a webcast available for viewing starting June 7, 2001 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

       JPL scientist Dr. Claudia Alexander will host the webcast, which will feature answers to questions submitted in advance, along with interesting images and cool animations of Mars.

       Dr. Roger Gibbs, the 2001 Odyssey Mars spacecraft manager, will answer questions on the mission's progress and how the spacecraft will perform 'aerobraking' in the Martian atmosphere. Dr. Jeff Plaut, the mission's deputy project scientist, will talk about the science the team hopes to accomplish while Odyssey orbits Mars.

       To submit questions, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/webcast/mars_odyssey.

       A link to the webcast is located at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov.

       The Mars Odyssey mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The Odyssey spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo.