PASADENA, Calif. — NASA will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) Monday, July 16, to discuss the upcoming August landing of the most advanced robot ever sent to another world. A new public-engagement collaboration based on the mission also will be debuted.

The event for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will be held at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency’s website. To view a JPL live stream with a moderated chat, visit: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl .

Mars Science Laboratory will deliver the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars at approximately 10:31 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6). Curiosity, carrying laboratory instruments to analyze samples of rocks, soil and atmosphere, will investigate whether Mars has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

Participants will be:

— Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters — Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters — John Grotzinger, MSL project scientist, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. — Pete Theisinger, MSL project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena — Jeff Norris, manager, planning and execution systems, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Local reporters are invited to watch the news conference via satellite, with two-way question- and-answer capability, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Reporters who would like to come to JPL must arrange access by contacting the JPL Media Relations Office by 3 p.m. PST on Friday, July 13, at 818-354-5011. In addition, valid media credentials are required, and non-U.S. citizens must also bring a passport.

Media representatives may also ask questions from other participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Steve Cole at 202-358-0918 or stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov by 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT) on July 16.

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the mission, and to view or submit events surrounding the landing, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mars and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl .

The public can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .

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