NASA Ambassador Will Offer

Space Program Update

WOODBURY — On Thursday, June 10, Woodbury Public Library will host a presentation by Deron Ash on NASA’s Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn.

The spacecraft was launched in October 1997 and is scheduled to arrive on July 1, 2004. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperation between NASA, the European Space Agency, and ASI, the Italian space agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, is managing the mission for NASA’s Office of Space Science in Washington, D.C.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will soon begin a four-year investigation of Saturn, its rings, moons, and magnetic field. Cassini is the first spacecraft to make a long-term study of the Saturnian system. With 31 known moons, one of the most complex magnetospheres in the solar system and its famous ring system, Saturn is an intriguing target. In January 2005, the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe will descend through Titan’s thick orange atmosphere and discover what is hidden beneath.

Mr Ash is a designated NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, a volunteer public outreach position. The discussion will include a slide program and multimedia demonstration of this exciting mission to explore the spectacular ring system and moons of the outer planet.

The presentation will be held in the library’s Gallery Room from 7 to 8:15 pm. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Woodbury Public Library, at 269 Main Street South (Route 6), can be reached at 203-263-3502 for more information.