Nov. 30, 2007

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1730
david.steitz@nasa.gov

Michele Jurek
Central Catholic High School, Toledo, Ohio
419-255-2306, ext. 148
mjurek@centralcatholic.org

MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-170

NASA HONORS LEGENDARY FLIGHT DIRECTOR GENE KRANZ

TOLEDO, Ohio - NASA will honor Eugene Francis "Gene" Kranz with the
presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his
involvement in the U.S. space program. Kranz will receive the award
during a ceremony at 2 p.m. CST on Dec. 6 at the Central Catholic
High School. Kranz is a 1951 graduate of Central Catholic. The award
will remain at the Toledo school for display. Reporters who would
like to attend the ceremony should contact Michele Jurek
(mjurek@centralcatholic.org) at 419-255-2306, ext. 148, by 3 p.m. on
Dec. 5.

The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite and mounted for public
display as inspiration to a new generation of explorers who will help
return humans to the moon and eventually travel on to Mars and
beyond. The rock is part of the 842 pounds of samples collected
during the six Apollo lunar expeditions from 1969 to 1972.

NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first
generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space
programs for realizing America's vision of going to the moon. NASA
also is recognizing several key individuals who played significant
roles in the early space programs.

Kranz worked on NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space missions.
Kranz was the lead flight director during the Apollo 13 mission. An
explosion aboard the spacecraft during Apollo 13 required Kranz and
other team members to help resolve the crisis and safely bring the
astronauts back to Earth. Kranz was a co-recipient of the
Presidential Medal of Freedom for the Apollo 13 Mission. For
information about Central Catholic High School, visit:

http://www.centralcatholic.org/



For more images of the award, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/AofEphotos.html