PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Diane Ainsworth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 25, 1997
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE ISSUES NEW MARS PATHFINDER POSTAGE STAMP
The U.S. Postal Service will pay tribute to NASA's Mars
Pathfinder mission in a Dec. 10 ceremony to unveil its new $3
Priority Mail stamp, which features a panoramic view of the
Martian landscape with the rover still stowed on a petal of the
Pathfinder lander.
The ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
on the mall of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA,
will be opened with music by the U.S. Marine Corps' Third Marine
Corps Aircraft Wing Band and a brief introduction by JPL Deputy
Director Larry Dumas. Dr. Robert Parker, manager of the NASA
Management Office at JPL and Pasadena Postmaster Robert Mysel
will preside over the activities, which will culminate in the
unveiling of the stamp by Dumas and Dr. Tirso del Junco, chairman
of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors.
This event is not open to the general public, but news media
and photographers are invited to cover the ceremonial unveiling.
The Pathfinder image selected for the $3 priority mail stamp
was one of the first to be transmitted after landing on July 4,
1997. In the foreground the Sojourner rover is still folded up
and waiting to be released from the petal of the lander. Within
a day of landing, Sojourner had exited the lander's ramp to begin
its travels around the landing site. Fifteen million stamp
sheets have been printed for first day issuance on Dec. 10, with
information about the image and the mission printed on the
reverse side of the sheets.
"That first image of Pathfinder and Sojourner sitting safely
on the surface of Mars ignited worldwide interest in our efforts
to explore Mars," said JPL Director Dr. Edward C. Stone. "It is
an honor for this mission to be recognized by issuance of this
special U.S. postage stamp."
"As one of the most significant achievements in the history
of America's space program, it is fitting that the Pathfinder
mission be honored on a U.S. postage stamp," added Postmaster
General Marvin Runyon. "When this stamp lands in stamp
collections or on priority mail packages nationwide, it will be a
reminder of the unmatched ingenuity that leads the world in space
exploration."
The Mars Pathfinder stamp is the third U.S. stamp to
incorporate invisible images to prevent counterfeiting, the
Postal Service reported. The hidden text, "Mars Pathfinder, July
4, 1997," and the letters USPS are not visible to the naked eye
but can be viewed by using a decoder lens, which is available
through the Postal Service's Philatelic Fulfillment Center in
Kansas City, MO.
In its 83 days of continuous surface operations, Mars
Pathfinder returned 2.6 billion bits of information, including
more than 16,000 images from the lander and 550 images from the
rover. Scientists also obtained more than 15 chemical analyses
of rocks and extensive data on winds and other weather
conditions. The last successful data transmission cycle from
Pathfinder was completed on Sept. 27, which was Sol 83 of the
mission.
For further information about the event, contact the JPL
Public Information Office at (818) 354-5011.
The Mars Pathfinder mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.
The mission is the second in the Discovery program of fast track,
low-cost spacecraft with highly focused
science goals. JPL is managed by the California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA.
#####
[Note to Editors: An image of the new Mars Pathfinder postage
stamp is available online by accessing the JPL home page at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov.]
11/12/97 DEA
#97110
