NASA Lunar Science Institute Names First International Partner

July 30, 2008

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@xxxxxxxx

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-3937
michael.s.mewhinney@xxxxxxxx

Douglas Keddy
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
519-661-2111 ext: 87485
dkeddy@xxxxxx



RELEASE: 08-192

NASA LUNAR SCIENCE INSTITUTE NAMES FIRST INTERNATIONAL PARTNER

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Lunar Science Institute at Moffett
Field, Calif., has announced its first international affiliate
partner for conducting lunar science activities. Canada's University
of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, will represent the Canadian
lunar science community as part of the newly established Canadian
Network for Lunar Science and Exploration.

"We are tremendously excited about this partnership," said S. Pete
Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field,
Calif. "With the large number of U.S. and international missions
focused on the moon, this is absolutely the right step forward."

The institute, dedicated in April 2008 at Ames, will promote a new
generation of research on and about the moon. It will support
collaborative science, providing technical perspectives to NASA's
lunar missions and developing future scientific investigations.

"We are extremely proud of our status as the first NASA Lunar Science
Institute affiliate outside of the United States," said Ted Hewitt,
vice president of research and international relations for the
University of Western Ontario. "We look forward to working with our
colleagues throughout the institute's organization and at the
Canadian Space Agency conducting this world-class research."

The institute has a major focus on developing the next generation of
lunar science researchers and supporting a vigorous education and
public outreach program focused on the moon.

"The moon has been Earth's cosmic partner for the last four billion
years," said Gregory Schmidt, director of international partnerships
and deputy director of the institute. "It is an honor to move forward
in partnership with the Canadian science community in this next phase
of scientific exploration of the moon."

For information about the NASA Lunar Science Institute, visit:

http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/


For information about the University of Western Ontario, visit:

http://www.uwo.ca


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