WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "Terra," in honor of our planet's mythical Mother Earth, is the name NASA chose for the first in its series of Earth Observing System satellites. The Terra spacecraft will enable scientists to study, with unprecedented clarity, global climatic and environmental changes going into the new millennium.
In setting a launch date of July 15, 1999, for the spacecraft formerly known as "EOS AM-1," NASA's Associate Administrator for Earth Sciences Dr. Ghassem Asrar announced the new name after reviewing the top 10 finalist essays from a contest jointly sponsored by NASA and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) to name the spacecraft.
"The concept of 'Terra' uniquely conveys the themes and objectives of this important Earth science mission," Asrar said. "I congratulate Ms. Sasha Jones, a student from St. Louis, for submitting the winning name and essay."
As part of the grand prize, Sasha and her parents will receive a trip to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to view the launch of Terra. Additionally, Sasha's school will receive a computer and software that will enable students and teachers there to access Terra satellite imagery on the World Wide Web.
Informed that she had won the grand prize, Sasha, 17, said "That's cool. I never won anything in my life." A senior at Brentwood High School, she plans to attend Western University and major in English. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Barry Jones, will accompany Sasha to Terra's launch, and she hopes her brother Brandon, 15, and sister Kristine, 12, can make the trip too.
In all, the international contest drew more than 1,100 entries from all 50 states and more than a dozen other countries. Members of the selection committee included top NASA and AGU officials, as well as Earth scientists and science teachers.
Terra is the flagship of NASA's Earth Observing System, a series of satellites designed to observe the Earth from the unique vantage point of space. Focused on key measurements identified by a consensus of U.S. and international scientists, Terra will enable new research into the ways that our planet's lands, oceans, air, ice and life interact as a whole climate system.
Terra is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA's Office of Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. AGU is an international organization of more than 35,000 scientists dedicated to advancing the understanding of Earth and its environment in space, and making the results of their research available to the public.
EDITORS NOTE: Further information, images and background materials, as well as the winning contest essay and those of the other top 10 finalists, may be found on NASA's Terra Web site, at [http://terra.nasa.gov].
NASA Headquarters Contact:
David E. Steitz
(Phone: 202-358-1730)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact:
Allen Kenitzer
(Phone: 301-286-2806)