Media reminded to register for Phoenix Mars Mission credentials

With fewer than three weeks to go until the Phoenix Mars Mission makes its touch-down on Mars, The University of Arizona is proud to welcome journalists worldwide to Tucson to cover the historic science event this summer.

News organizations covering the mission from the Science Operations Center in Tucson should complete the UA’s media credential form as soon as possible. The form is online at http://uanews.org/marsmedia.

Those who already have registered for credentials will continue to receive information about mission and University events via e-mail leading up to the Phoenix landing on May 25.

By pre-registering online reporters and photographers will ensure that media credentials and a welcome packet will await their arrival at our Phoenix Mission Media Center, which will serve as the on-campus media resource center for reporters to file stories, conduct phone interviews and speak to prominent University researchers.

Arizona-based media are advised to register anyone who may be assigned to cover the mission throughout the summer.

Media without official credentials will be turned away from the Phoenix Science Operations Center.

In addition to providing credential information, the Web site provides access to favorable hotel rates that the UA and the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau have secured.

The UA is arranging for opportunities for visiting media to see other major science attractions and to speak to prominent researchers from UA centers such as Biosphere 2, the Mt. Graham Observatory (home to the world’s most powerful telescope), the BIO5 Institute, the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory, the UA Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, the Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory and Alliance for Reconciliation Ecology, and more.

The Phoenix Mars Lander is slated to land on Mars on May 25. Approximately 48 hours after landing, operation of the mission is scheduled to transfer from NASA’S Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the UA. During the first few weeks of the mission, the Science Operations Center will be open daily to reporters before and after a daily news briefing.

For more information about the Phoenix mission, visit: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu or http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix. The mission is led by Peter Smith at the UA in Tucson, with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA CONTACTS:

Lori Stiles
Science Writer
The University of Arizona
520-626-4402

Johnny Cruz
Director of Media Relations
The University of Arizona
520-621-1879