On Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at 11 a.m. ET, the Postal Service™ will conduct the first-day-of-issue ceremony for the Views of Our Planets and the Pluto—Explored! panes of Forever® stamps. The ceremony will take place in New York City at the Jacob Javitz Center as part of an international stamp show hosted once every decade by the U.S., World Stamp Show-NY 2016, which runs from May 28 through June 4.
Note: Postmasters are asked to conduct local special dedication ceremonies after May 31 to avoid distracting media attention from the national first-day-of-issue ceremony.
This publicity kit includes:
n Suggestions for a successful event;
n Views of Our Planets and the Pluto—Explored! stamp sheet descriptions and background information;
n Contact for obtaining enlargements of the stamps for event use;
n Sample media advisory;
n Corporate Communications field managers listing for assistance in publicizing and organizing local events; and
n Government Relations contacts listing for inviting elected officials.
Note: The sample news release and speech are still in development. Please contact Joe Brockert at joseph.p.brockert@usps.gov or your area Corporate Communications representative for these documents when they become available.
Suggested Groups
Postmasters are encouraged to reach out to and include planetariums; museums and science institutes; colleges and universities; NASA and private aerospace facilities; and astronomical groups and associations in their areas. There may be many opportunities to partner with some of the groups and institutions previously mentioned, and many may even have space-related events or programs which could provide a natural tie-in. Cities and communities with planet-related names (such as Jupiter, FL) could also be ideal candidates for special dedication ceremonies.
The topics of space, planets, and astronomy are immensely popular with the public, and there may be significant opportunities in many parts of the country. Summer is an excellent time to plan such an event during tourist season for appropriate museums, planetariums, and aerospace facilities. Those opportunities extend into the fall, when students return to class and field trips resume at these educational facilities. A map and listing of NASA centers and facilities can be found at: http:⁄⁄www.nasa.gov⁄about⁄sites⁄index.html. A list of planetariums can be found at: https:⁄⁄en.wikipedia.org⁄wiki⁄List_of_planetariums.
The Views of Our Planets stamps are being automatically distributed to Post Office™ locations across the country, while the Pluto—Explored! stamps are not. Local offices hosting a special dedication ceremony should be certain to order sufficient quantities of the Pluto—Explored! stamps to arrive in plenty of time to support the event, and also make certain that they have sufficient quantities of the Views of Our Planets stamps on hand, too. Post Office facilities should refer to all of the ordering information contained in Postal Bulletin 22440 (pages 47–50), dated April 28, for details.
Views of Our Planets Stamp Sheet
With this pane of 16 stamps, the Postal Service showcases some of the more visually compelling full-disk images of the planets obtained during the modern era of space exploration. Eight new colorful Forever stamps, each shown twice, feature Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Some show the planet’s “true color” — what we might see if traveling through space. Others use colors to represent and visualize certain features of a planet based on imaging data. Still others use the near-infrared spectrum to show things that cannot be seen by the human eye in visible light.
The verso text, or text on the back of the stamp pane, explains what these images reveal and identifies the spacecraft and powerful telescopes that helped obtain them.
Pluto—Explored! Stamp Sheet
In 2006, NASA placed a 29-cent U.S. stamp from 1991 — Pluto: Not Yet Explored — in the New Horizons spacecraft. In 2015, the spacecraft carried the stamp on its history-making mission to Pluto and beyond. With this stamp, the Postal Service recognizes the first reconnaissance of Pluto in 2015 by NASA’s New Horizons mission.
“The New Horizons project is proud to have such an important honor from the U.S. Postal Service,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO. “Since the early 1990s, the old Pluto: Not Yet Explored stamp served as a rallying cry for many who wanted to mount this historic mission of space exploration. Now that NASA’s New Horizons has accomplished that goal, it’s a wonderful feeling to see these new stamps join others commemorating first explorations of the planets.”
The pane of four stamps contains two new stamps appearing twice. The first stamp shows an artist’s rendering of the New Horizons spacecraft and the second shows the spacecraft’s image of Pluto taken near its closest approach.
The view — which is color enhanced to highlight surface texture and composition — is a composite of four images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), combined with color data from the imaging instrument, Ralph, that clearly reveals the now-famous heart-shaped feature. The verso text described both Pluto and the historic New Horizons mission to reach it.
Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, was the art director and designer of both stamps.
Obtaining Views of Our Planets and Pluto—Explored! Stamp Pane Enlargements
Poster-sized blowups of the Views of Our Planets and Pluto—Explored! Forever stamp panes can be purchased by authorized postal representatives through Colours Imaging, http:⁄⁄coloursimaging.com, by contacting Zach Scott at zscott@coloursinc.com or by calling 703-379-1121.
Sample Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [Name]
[Insert Date] (O) [XXX-XXX-XXXX]
(C) [XXX-XXX-XXXX]
[xxxxx]@usps.gov
usps.com⁄news
[Name] Post Office Dedicates Views of Our Planets and
Pluto—Explored! Forever Stamps
High-resolution images of the stamps are available for media use only by emailing joseph.p.brockert@usps.gov.
WHAT: Special dedication ceremony for the Views of Our Planets and Pluto—Explored! Forever stamps. The event is free and open to the public.
WHO: Title, Name [Local specialist or honored guest]
Title, Name [U.S. Postal Service official]
Title, Name [Special guests or officials]
WHEN: [Day, Date, Time]
WHERE: [Location]
[Location address]
[City, State, ZIP+4]
[Special instructions for admission or directions.]
BACKGROUND: Planets and space exploration continue to fascinate the public, and these two stamp issues celebrate some of the most visually compelling images of the planets obtained during this era. The Pluto—Explored! stamp sheet also celebrates last year’s historic reconnaissance of Pluto by NASA’s New Horizons mission. These stamps will be issued on May 31, 2016, in New York City during the once-in-a-decade international stamp show, World Stamp Show-NY 2016. The Postal Service continues that commemoration across the United States in places where space and astronomy are celebrated in communities large and small.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http:⁄⁄about.usps.com⁄news⁄welcome.htm.
Reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional should go to http:⁄⁄about.usps.com⁄news⁄media-contacts⁄usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.
Follow us on http:⁄⁄www.twitter.com⁄usps and like us at http:⁄⁄www.facebook.com⁄usps. For more information about the Postal Service, go to http:⁄⁄usps.com and http:⁄⁄usps.com⁄postalfacts.
Area Corporate Communications Managers
Capital Metro
Tom Ouellette
301-548-1465
trouellette@usps.gov
Eastern
Paul Smith
215-863-5055
paul.f.smith@usps.gov
Great Lakes
Ed Moore
313-255-5452
edward.r.moore@usps.gov
Pacific
David L. Walton (A)
858-674-3149
david.walton@usps.gov
Northeast
Maureen Marion
860-285-7029
maureen.p.marion@usps.gov
Southern
Polly Gibbs
214-819-8704
polly.j.gibbs@usps.gov
Western
John Freiss
303-313-5130
john.g.freiss@usps.gov
Government Relations Representative Listing
Your Government Relations representatives are here to serve you. They can assist you in contacting and inviting elected officials to participate in your event — please let them know.
Alphabetical State⁄Representative Listing
Area code and prefix for all extensions is 202-268-xxxx.
— Public Relations,
Corporate Communications, 5-26-16
