CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will hold a news briefing at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 27, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to discuss preparations for the upcoming Juno mission to Jupiter. The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

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Juno, scheduled to launch Aug. 5, will improve our understanding of our solar system's beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Juno will get closer to Jupiter than any other spacecraft and will provide images and the first detailed glimpse of its poles.

Briefing participants are:
-- Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
-- Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
-- Jan Chodas, Juno project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
-- Steve Levin, Juno project scientist, JPL
-- Kaelyn Badura, Pine Ridge High School, Deltona, Fla.; high school student, Juno Education program participant and Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope Project

U.S. media without permanent Kennedy accreditation need to apply for credentials by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26. New accreditation for international journalists is closed. Credentialing requests should be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about Juno, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/juno

Ustream will carry the briefing live with a chat box available at:

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

SOURCE NASA