|
Second Quarter, 2008
|
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April 13–18, 2008
Vienna, AUSTRIA
|
European Geophysical Union (EGU) Meeting
Deadline for pre-registration: March 31, 2008
PS3.2 Session on Mars Science and Exploration will address results from all ongoing missions to
Mars, including Mars Express, as well as the future exploration of the Red
Planet; in particular: (1) Recent scientific investigations concerning the
deep interior and subsurface structure; the surface morphology, geology, geochemistry
and mineralogy; the atmospheric composition, dynamics and climate; the
Ionospheric environment and its interaction with the solar wind and also
water occurrence, astrobiology and habitability issues, (2) Scientific goals
and experiments for long-term planned or proposed activities on Mars,
including precursor robotic missions, Mars sample return missions and future
human exploration.
(Submitted by Agustin
Chicarro, ESTEC, session convener)
http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2008/
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April 15–17, 2008
Santa Clara, California
|
Astrobiology Science Conference (ABSciCon) 2008
Sessions will be held related to the major scientific
themes: “The Astrophysical and
Planetary Context for Life,” “The Origin and Evolution of Life,” and “The Search for Life in our Solar
System and Beyond.”
Note Mars special sessions:
o
Approaches and
Technologies to Detect Life on Mars: The Viking mission was the only
mission to date that conducted life detection experiments. It revealed
ambiguous and still controversial results. New findings and hypotheses urge a
re-evaluation of the Viking results and a re-evaluation of the evidence for
the possible presence of life on Mars in general. Recent findings of abundant
water ice on Mars, the presence of liquid contemporary water on the Martian
surface, and the detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere further
support this possibility. Current
missions to be launched focus on habitability considerations (e.g., NASA
Phoenix, NASA Mars Science Laboratory), but shy away from directly testing
for life on Mars, with the potential exception of the ESA ExoMars mission. If
these currently planned missions collect positive evidence toward
habitability and the possible existence of extraterrestrial (microbial) life
on Mars, it would be timely to propose a new mission to Mars with a strong
life detection component. This session is devoted to new detection methods
for life, which could be utilized on such a near-future mission to Mars.
(Submitted by Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Washington State University)
o
Session
26: Mars Sample Return Planning
Issues
NASA has recently announced its plans for renewed focus on sample
return missions, following the recommendation of the NRC’s Space Studies
Board identifying Mars sample return as the highest priority Mars science
objective. Already, plans for
possible sample caching as part of the MSL mission in ’09 have begun, meaning
that many scientific, technological, operational and policy issues will need
attention. This session will discuss
the challenges ahead for Mars sample return and a look at progress to
date. Planned topics include MSR and
Astrobiology Science Implications, Technological and Mission Design Issues,
Planetary Protection, Contamination and Sample Handling Issues; Risk
Communication and Potential Environmental Impact Concerns on Earth.
(Submitted by Margaret Race, SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center)
http://abscicon.seti.org/
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|
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April 17, 2008
Pasadena, California
|
Mars Odyssey – 41st Project Science
Group Meeting
Held at JPL.
Contact Jeff Plaut, Jeffrey.J.Plaut@jpl.nasa.gov
|
|
|
April 20–23, 2008
San Antonio, Texas
|
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
2008 Annual Convention and Exposition—Deliver the Conventional, Pursue the
Unconventional
Expo held during Fiesta Week at the Henry B. Gonzalez
Convention Center. Note special
sessions/workshops:
o
Astrogeology -
A Far-Sighted Look at Unconventional Resources: Session will address processes or features that may influence or
indicate the presence and distribution of potential resources at or below
planetary surfaces, technologies for detecting and evaluating surface and subsurface
resources, and technologies for efficient and economic recovery and
utilization of in situ resources.
o
Return to the
Moon: Research, Resources, and Rewards, will encompass lunar resource
economics and exploration, surficial and subsurface materials and processes,
resources such as Helium-3, consumables and propellants, resource extraction
technology, and future missions to the Moon.
http://www.aapg.org/sanantonio/
(Submitted by Cynthia Dinwiddie, SwRI, San Antonio,
Texas)
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|
|
April 21–23, 2008
Paris, FRANCE
|
Mars Water Cycle Workshop
The Muséum National d’Histoires Naturelles
Deadline for abstracts:
February 21, 2008
Deadline for registration:
March 21, 2008
Detailed information regarding workshop attendance,
registration, and abstract submission can be found at:
http://www.aero.jussieu.fr/info-pratique/seminaire/MarsWC-Site
(Submitted by Franck Montmessin, CNRS/IPSL, France)
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|
|
April 21–23, 2008
Albuquerque, New Mexico
|
Ground Truth From Mars: Science Payoff From a Sample Return
Mission
Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town
Deadline for abstracts: February 7, 2008
Mars sample return is again on the horizon, enabled by
a sample cache on the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory rover, and endorsed as a
logical continuation of the "Follow the Water" strategy of NASA's
Mars Exploration Program. This strategy has tied together the search for life
and potential habitats for life, evolution of the Martian atmosphere, nature
of Martian surface processes, and the thermal-magmatic evolution of the Martian
mantle and crust. Orbital and surface missions have revealed that Mars'
surface is far more diverse than was imagined only a decade ago, with a
plethora of distinct environments — each of which presents different sorts of
samples, with different potential scientific returns. Returning samples from
these Martian environments and analyzing them in the best terrestrial labs
available would provide an unparalleled perspective of Mars not yet achieved.
The two-and-a-half day workshop will cover the
following session topics:
o
Overviews: Mars exploration strategy, Mars sampling
strategy enabled by previous missions
o
Sulfates, sheet silicates, and zeolites as recorders
of Mars surface processes
o
Astrobiology priorities for sample return
o
Samples (i.e., igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks,
regolith) recording Martian atmospheric, fluid,
and magmatic evolution and timing of events
First Announcement:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/msr2008/
(Submitted by Kimberly Taylor, Lunar and Planetary
Institute, Houston, Texas)
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|
|
April 27–May 1, 2008
|
PHX ORT9 (dress rehearsal) Operational Readiness Test
|
|
|
April 28–May 2, 2008
White Sands, New Mexico
|
Planetary Dunes Workshop
http://www.mars-dunes.org/meetings/index.php
|
|
|
April 29–30, 2008
In or near Laurel, Maryland
|
MRO PSG 19
|
|
|
May 5–8, 2008
Oxnard, California
|
The Science of Solar System Ices (ScSSI): A
Cross-Disciplinary Workshop
Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel and Resort
Deadline for abstracts:
February 19, 2008
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/scssi2008/
|
|
|
May 12–16, 2008
Heidelberg, GERMANY
|
SpacOps2008
Hosted by ESA and Eumetsat, organised by AIAA
http://www.spaceops2008.org
|
|
|
May 21-23, 2008
Washington University,
St. Louis, Missouri
|
Mars Express OMEGA-HRSC Data Workshop
3-day workshop held at PDS Geosciences Node will
provide graduate students, Post-Doc’s and other Mars investigators with a
working knowledge of how to use the Mars Express OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité) and HRSC (High Resolution Stereo Camera) data
sets. Workshop attendees are expected
to supply their own computers equipped with IDL. Attendance will be limited to 30 participants. Interested participants should contact
Tommy Thompson and advise their familiarity with IDL and with Mars Express.
Thomas.W.Thompson@jpl.nasa.gov
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|
|
May 25, 2008
|
Phoenix mission landing on Mars
Landing is at approximately 4:30 pm Pacific Time. PHX mission web site:
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/
|
|
|
May 27–30 2008
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
|
AGU
Joint Assembly
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja08/
|
|
|
June 1–5, 2008
St. Louis, Missouri
|
Meeting #212 of the American Astronomical
Society
http://www.aas.org/
|
|
|
June 8–11, 2008
Montreal, Quebec
CANADA
|
The Fifth Annual Planetary and Terrestrial
Mining Sciences Symposium (PTMSS)
Hosted by NORCAT
Deadline for abstract:
May 9, 2008
www.ptmss.com
|
|
|
June 10-12, 2008
Monrovia, California
|
Mars Science Laboratory PSG #8
Held in proximity of JPL
|
|
|
June 16-18, 2008
Busan, KOREA
|
5th Asia Oceania Geosciences Society
Meeting
http://www.interridge.org/node/4893
|
|
|
June 23–27, 2008
Atlanta, Georgia
|
6th International Planetary Probe Workshop
(IPPW-6) at the Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.planetaryprobe.org/
|
|
|
June 25, 2008
|
Mars solstice (beginning of northern summer)
|
|
|
June 29–July 3, 2008
Fairbanks, Alaska
|
Ninth International Conference on Permafrost
(NICOP)
Campus of University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Abstracts encouraged from the planetary science community
studying permafrost and icy surfaces throughout the Solar System and from the
astrobiology community interested in organisms living or preserved in ice or
permafrost.
http://nicop.org/
(Submitted by Chris McKay, NASA Ames Research Center)
|
|
Third Quarter, 2008
|
|
|
July 13–20, 2008
Montreal, Quebec CANADA
|
37th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
Deadline for abstract: February 17, 2008
http://www.cospar-assembly.org/
|
|
|
July 14-18, 2008
Baltimore, Maryland
|
10th Asteroids, Comets and Meteors
Conference
Contact:
Margaret Simon, Margaret.simon@jhuapl.edu
http://acm2008jhuapl.edu/
|
|
|
July 28–August 1, 2008
Matsue, JAPAN
|
71st Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society
Deadline for abstract:
May 7, 2008
Deadline for pre-registration: June 30, 2008
http://www.metsoc2008.jp/
|
|
|
August 2008
|
Third MSL Landing Site Workshop
|
|
|
August 6-14, 2008
Oslo, NORWAY
|
The 33rd International Geological
Congress
Note: Deadline for abstract has been extended to: February 29, 2008
A disciplinary symposium in Comparative
Planetology, with a special session PIP-02 The Geology of Mars and Venus
results. Other sessions in Impact
Structures.
http://www.33igc.org/
(Submitted by Jouko Raitala, University of Oulu,
FINLAND)
|
|
|
August 11–16, 2008
Arlington, Virginia
|
Sixth International Conference on Case Histories
in Geotechnical Engineering
One of the themes is “Application of Geotechnical
Engineering in Outer Space, including Granular Material Behavior in Lunar and
Martian Environments; Extraterrestrial Mining, Construction, and
Transportation Infrastructure Development”.
http://www.6icchge2008.org
|
|
|
August 18–22, 2008
SOUTH AFRICA
|
Conference on Large Meteorite Impacts and
Planetary Evolution IV
Sunwa River Lodge
Deadline for abstract:
May 15, 2008
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lmi2008/home.shtml
|
|
|
August 24–29, 2008
Florence, ITALY
|
XV International Conference on the Origin of
Life
Deadline for abstract:
April 2008
Sponsor: The
International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL).
http://www.dbag.unifi.it/issol2008/Invitation.htm
|
|
|
Mid-September
|
Workshop on Early Solar System Impact
Bombardment
For more information, contact one of the scientific
organizers: David Kring
(kring@lpi.usra.edu) or Bill Bottke
|
|
|
September 22–26, 2008
Münster, GERMANY
|
European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC)
University Münster
http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc2008/
|
|
|
September 29–October 3, 2008
Glasgow, SCOTLAND
|
59th International Astronautical Congress
This event includes a Space Exploration Symposium the
whole week, with sessions on astronomy, the Moon, Mars, advanced concepts, and
solar system exploration)
http://www.iafastro.com/
|
|
|
October 5–9, 2008
Houston, Texas
|
Geological Society of America national meeting
Deadline for abstracts:
June 3, 2008
Deadline for pre-registration: August 2008
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/
|
|
|
October 11–15, 2008
Ithaca, New York
|
40th Annual Meeting of the DPS
http://www.aas.org/~dps/meetings.html
|
|
|
October 20-24, 2008
Moab, Utah
|
Second Workshop on Mars Valley Networks
Sponsors: The Smithsonian Institution and
University of Virginia
Valley networks represent the best evidence that
water once flowed across the surface of ancient Mars. High-resolution imagery and topography are
revolutionizing our understanding of these features. New spacecraft data have allowed us to
quantify a variety of morphometric parameters that can be used to compare
valley networks to terrestrial drainage systems. However, because the surface topography has been modified by
eolian infilling and deflation as well as by impact cratering, such
comparisons are not straightforward.
In fact, some of the techniques used by investigators have become
somewhat contentious, and the resulting measurements, such as drainage
density, have been questioned. Valley
networks are also small, linear features that typically do not occupy much
surface area, so age-dating these features has been challenging. However, several innovative techniques
have been introduced recently that may prove valuable. The workshop will provide a forum for
discussing the extraction of watershed information from digital elevation
models of the martian surface, age-dating valley network systems, and other
quantitative measurements of valley networks. A field trip to look at sapping features in the Colorado
Plateau is also planned.
Contact nasmworkshop@si.edu,
or Bob Craddock (craddockb@si.edu)
(Submitted by Bob Craddock, Smithsonian Institution,
workshop convener)
|
|
|
October 27–31, 2008
Florida
|
10th ILEWG International Conference on
Exploration and Utilization of the Moon (ICEUM10/ILC2008)
(Dates TBC near LRO launch)
http://sci.esa.int/ilewg
|
|
|
November 10–14, 2008
Williamsburg, Virginia
|
3rd International Workshop on the Mars
Atmosphere: Modeling and Observations
Sponsored by the Lunar and Planetary Institute
Contacts: Joel S. Levine joel.s.levine@nasa.gov and Francois
Forget Francois.Forget@lmd.jussieu.fr
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|
|
November 2008
|
End of MRO Primary Science Phase; transition to
Relay Phase
|
|
|
November 18, 2008
|
Start of Mars solar conjunction
|
|
Fourth Quarter, 2008
|
|
|
December 15–19, 2008
San Francisco, California
|
Fall meeting, AGU
www.agu.org/meetings
|
|
|
December 24, 2008
|
End of Mars solar conjunction
|
|
|
December 26, 2008
|
Mars equinox (beginning of northern fall)
|
|
|
TBD 2008
Fujiyoshida, JAPAN
|
Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting
Contact: Dr. Mitsuru Ebihara
http://www.meteoriticalsociety.org/
|
|
2009
|
|
|
January 7–10, 2009
Long Beach, California
|
Meeting #213 of the American Astronomical
Society
http://www.aas.org/
|
|
|
March 2009
Houston, Texas
|
Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Deadline for abstracts:
TBD
|
|
|
April 2009
Noordwijk,
THE NETHERLANDS
|
International Conference on Comparative
Planetology: Venus-Earth-Mars at ESTEC
Contact: Augustin Chicarro—Augustin.Chicarro@esa.int
|
|
|
June 2009
|
Fourth MSL Landing Site workshop
|
|
|
June 7–11, 2009
Pasadena, California
|
Meeting #214 of the American Astronomical
Society
http://www.aas.org/
|
|
|
July 13-18, 2009
Nancy, FRANCE
|
72nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society
Contact: Marc Chaussidon, Guy Libourel or Bernard
Marty
http://www.meteoriticalsociety.org/simple_template.cfm?code=news_meetings
|
|
|
October 2009
|
2009 Mars Launch Period Opens
|
|
|
October 4–9, 2009
San Juan, Puerto Rico
|
41st Annual Meeting DPS
http://www.aas.org/dps/meetings.html
|
|
|
October 18–21, 2009
Portland, Oregon
|
Geological Society of America National Meeting
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/
|
|
|
December 15-19, 2009
San Francisco, California
|
AGU Fall Meeting
www.agu.org/meetings
|
Issue: February 2008
Mars Science News
