Released: October 9, 2003

New NASA Facility Opens at DOE's Brookhaven Lab

WHAT: Dedication of NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory

WHEN: 10 a.m., Tuesday, October 14, 2003

WHERE: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (1.5 miles north of Exit 68 on the Long Island Expressway) Complete maps and directions.

DETAILS:
NASA Chief of Staff John Schumacher and DOE Office of Science Director Raymond Orbach will join Brookhaven Lab Director Praveen Chaudhari and invited guests in a ceremony to mark the opening of the new NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven.

"The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory Facility will play a key role in our ability to expand our human exploration horizons throughout the solar system, as the second century of flight unfolds." - John Schumacher

The $34-million facility, built in a cooperative effort by NASA and DOE, is one of the few places in the world that can simulate the harsh space radiation environment. Scientists from some 20 institutions in the U.S. and abroad will learn about the possible risks to human beings exposed to space radiation.

Reporters are welcome to attend the morning events, which will include remarks and a facility tour. Interviews can be arranged. For more information and directions to the event location, contact Mona S. Rowe, mrowe@bnl.gov , or Peter Genzer, genzer@bnl.gov .

Note: Also attending the event on October 14 is astronaut and newly appointed NASA Chief Scientist John Grunsfeld (left), who will be giving a public lecture at 4 p.m. on space research and the Hubble Telescope. Grunsfeld will also be available for interviews.

Related Links:
NSRL Fact Sheet (PDF) |  List of users and institutions (PDF)
October 14, 2003 press release
(Click here if you have trouble seeing PDF files. )

NSRL Images

(Click on the images below to download a 300-dpi, high-resolution image.)

NSRL target room.  Adam Rusek checks the cabling of one of the four ion chambers used for beam imaging.		A view of the front of the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory		Profile of a heavy-ion beam (yellow spot) is shown on one of four fluorescing “flags” within the NSRL beam line
Support biologist James Jardine prepares one of the NSRL specimen incubators for use.		NSRL researcher Debasish Roy places a sample into the NSRL beam line.		Researchers work in one of three NSRL "cell rooms," where samples are prepared for study.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. Brookhaven also builds and operates major facilities available to university, industrial, and government scientists. The Laboratory is managed by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited liability company founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.