NEWS RELEASE Mars Exploration Historian and Science Writer David Portree Joins Mars Institute Research Faculty Mountain View, CA, - April 22 - 2003 - The Mars Institute today announced that David S. F. Portree has joined the Mars Institute's Research Faculty as an Associate Researcher. Mr. Portree is a recognized historian of space exploration and an award-winning independent science writer based in Flagsaff, Arizona. He was formerly Senior Technical Writer and Historian at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He holds a M.S. (1987) in History from Illinois State University and is an educator at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Mr. Portree is the author of several scholarly historical monographs commissioned and published by NASA, including Mir Hardware Heritage (1995), Walking to Olympus: an EVA Chronology (1997), NASA's Origins and the Dawn of the Space Age (1998), Orbital Debris: A Chronology (1999), and most recently, Humans to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950-2000 (2001). Walking to Olympus received the 1998 Napolitano Book Award from the International Academy of Astronautics. "David brings unique expertise in historical research and great communication skills to the Mars Institute's Research Faculty," said Marc Boucher, the Mars Institute's CEO. "Part of the Mars Institute's mission is to communicate to researchers, students and the general public the results, progress and benefits of Mars exploration through the development and implementation of educational and public outreach activities. David's background will be an asset for both the Mars Institute's research efforts and its public outreach endeavors." "Mars exploration has a rich history, an exciting present, and the potential for an even more exciting future. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to work with all the great people in the Mars Institute to help make that future happen," Mr. Portree said upon learning of his acceptance into the Mars Institute Research Faculty. Mr. Portree joins the Mars Institute's current Research Faculty: Dr. Pascal Lee, Chairman of the Mars Institute and Principal Investigator at the SETI Institute; and Dr. Charles Cockell, Vice-President of the Mars Institute, and a Research Scientist at both the British Antarctic Survey and the SETI Institute. About the Mars Institute The Mars Institute is a non-profit public benefit corporation registered and incorporated in both the United States and Canada whose purpose is to further the scientific study, exploration, and public understanding of Mars. The Institute: develops, implements and supports high quality peer-reviewed scientific research about the planet Mars, its present nature, and its climatic, geologic and possibly biologic evolution, including through analog studies (investigations of similarities and differences between the Earth, Mars and other planets); analyzes, develops and implements concepts, technologies and strategies for the exploration of Mars, by robotic systems and humans; informs the public on the results, progress, and benefits to humankind of Mars exploration through the development and implementation of educational and public outreach activities. For more information, please contact: Marc Boucher, CEO (Email) Mars Institute NASA Research Park Moffett Field, CA 94035-0006 Tel.: 1+ (604) 637-6538

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