WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST, Thursday, Feb. 28, to discuss new observations from NASA's twin Van Allen Probes, which are studying Earth's radiation belts. The briefing will be held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Kossiakoff Center, 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd., in Laurel, Md.

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The new observations have been embargoed by the journal Science until the start of the news conference, which will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

The briefing panelists are:

• Mona Kessel, Van Allen Probes program scientist, NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Dan Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Nicola Fox, Van Allen Probes deputy project scientist, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.
• Joe Kunches, space scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, Boulder, Colo.

Journalists unable to attend in-person can ask questions via Twitter after 2 p.m. Feb. 28 using the hashtag #askNASA. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Geoff Brown at 240-228-5618 or Geoffrey.Brown@jhuapl.edu with their media affiliation no later than 10 a.m., Feb. 28.

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

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about NASA's Van Allen Probes mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vanallenprobes

SOURCE NASA