Although the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA are best known for space exploration, Earth research missions are also a vital part of their objective to understand the solar system. Dr. Robert Parker, former astronaut and director of the NASA Management Office at JPL, will discuss the Earth as seen by human eyes through optical cameras. He will also share images taken with ordinary cameras by astronauts aboard the space shuttles in a pair of free lectures entitled "The Earth as Seen from Space."
The lectures will focus on the aesthetic appreciation of Earth from space. Dr. Parker will also describe the limits space poses on photography.
The first lecture will be held at JPL on Thursday, October 18, and the second at Pasadena City College on Friday, October 19. Both lectures are open to the public and will start at 7 p.m. The JPL lecture will be webcast live.
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The lecture at JPL will be held in the von Karman Auditorium, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., off the Oak Grove Drive exit off the 210 (Foothill) Freeway. See http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/directions.html for directions. Information on the webcast will be available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/oct01.html .
On Friday, the lecture will be held in Pasadena City College's Forum at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. Additional information on this lecture and other von Karman lectures is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.html or from JPL's Public Services Office at (818) 354-0112.
JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
