Hello All!   
      
   NASA Showered with Bold New Concepts for Mars Exploration May 24, 2012: NASA's   
   call to scientists and engineers to help plan a new strategy to explore Mars   
   has resulted in a flurry of unique and bold ideas, almost doubling the number   
   of expected submissions.    
      
   "This strong response sends a clear message that exploring Mars is important   
   to future exploration," says John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for   
   NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington   
   and an astrophysicist and astronaut.    
      
   http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/marsconcepts2012/   
      
   Some of the best new ideas for Mars exploration will be presented at the   
   Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration workshop in Houston, TX, June   
   12-14, 2012. Workshop web site.    
      
   NASA is reformulating the Mars Exploration Program to be responsive to   
   high-priority science goals and President Obama's challenge of sending humans   
   to Mars orbit in the 2030s. About 400 concepts or abstracts were submitted to   
   the Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration Workshop in Houston.   
   Submissions came from individuals and teams that included professional   
   researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, NASA centers, federal   
   laboratories, industry, and international partner organizations.   
      
   "The challenge now will be to select the best ideas for the next phase," says   
   Grunsfeld.    
      
   Selected abstracts will be presented during the workshop June 12-14 hosted by   
   the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. Selectees are now being invited   
   to present and discuss concepts, options, capabilities and innovations to   
   advance Mars exploration. Workshop discussion will help inform a strategy for   
   exploration within available resources beginning as early as 2018, and   
   stretching into the next decade and beyond. Proceedings will be streamed live   
   online.    
      
   [...]   
   An artist's concept of the rover Curiosity landing on Mars in August 2012. For   
   more information about ongoing missions to the Red Planet, visit NASA's Mars   
   program home page. "Developing abstracts is very time consuming, requiring   
   intense preparation, and we appreciate the fabulous response," said Doug   
   McCuistion, director, NASA's Mars Exploration Program in Washington. "Even   
   though space is limited, to ensure transparency in the process anyone can   
   observe the scientific and engineering deliberations via the Web."   
      
   Based on the abstracts selected, associated working groups will consider the   
   ideas and concepts in depth during the workshop. Near-term ideas will be taken   
   into consideration for early mission planning in the 2018-2024 timeframe,   
   while mid- to longer-term ideas will inform program-level architecture   
   planning for 2026 and beyond.   
      
   The Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG), tasked with developing options for a   
   reformulated Mars Exploration Program, will consider the workshop inputs for   
   the various options, taking into consideration budgetary, programmatic,   
   scientific, and technical constraints.   
      
   Options developed by the MPPG are expected to advance the science objectives   
   in the National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey. The   
   survey rated the return of Mars samples to Earth as a top scientific goal.   
   Developed in consultation with the scientific and technical community, the   
   MPPG report is expected to be delivered for NASA review at the end of the   
   summer.   
      
   "Getting to Mars is hard," says Grunsfeld. "We've had successes and losses,   
   but the human spirit to continue exploring the Red Planet prevails."    
      
   For updates and more information aboouut the workshop, visit:  h   
   tp://www.nasa.gov/offices/marsplanning/home/index.html   
      
      
   Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA   
      
   More Information    
   The Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG) reports to John Grunsfeld, who chairs   
   the overall, agencywide  reformulation strategy along with William   
   Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and   
   Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati and NASA   
   Chief Technologist Mason Peck.    
   This August, NASA will land the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, on the   
   planet's surface. This roving science laboratory will assess whether Mars was   
   or is today an environment able to support life. In 2013, NASA will launch the   
   Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter, the first mission   
   devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. Web links:Curiosity,   
   MAVEN   
       
      
      
   Regards,   
      
   Roger    
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
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