WASHINGTON - On Friday, Jan. 18, at 10 a.m. EST NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale will recognize the first winners of the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award during the unveiling of a traveling exhibit titled "Spirit of Innovation." The event will take place in the NASA Headquarters James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E Street SW, Washington.

NASA's Innovative Partnership Program sponsors the $10,000 prize for the Conrad Award. To compete for the award, high school students were challenged to create concepts that could accelerate the personal spaceflight industry through graphical representations, technical documents and business plans. Winners were chosen during the X PRIZE Cup, administered by the X PRIZE Foundation under an educational grant from NASA, in New Mexico last October.

The award honors Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., the third astronaut to walk on the moon. Conrad served on the Gemini 5 and 11 missions, Apollo 12, and Skylab 2. He received the Congressional Space Medal of honor and NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award.

For information about the X PRIZE Foundation and the Conrad Award, visit: http://www.xprize.org

For more complete biographical information about Dale, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/dale_bio.html

For information about NASA's Innovative Partnership Program, visit: http://ipp.nasa.gov