30th MEPAG Meeting – Information Circular

2nd Information Circular
30th MEPAG Meeting
February 24-25, 2015
Monrovia, CA

Letter of Invitation

Members of the Mars community,

I cordially invite you to attend the 2015 face-to-face meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), scheduled for 1.5 days, February 24-25, 2015, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Monrovia, CA. 

There have been many developments in Mars exploration since the May 2014 MEPAG meeting:  Discoveries by Curiosity and other operating Mars missions, an inspiring Eighth International Conference on Mars, the selection of instruments for the Mars 2020 Rover, the insertions into Mars orbit of NASA’s MAVEN and the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) MOM missions, and the observations related to the close passage of Mars by Comet Siding Spring. NASA began the year on a continuing resolution; in December, Congress passed and the President signed a FY15 budget, which had some positive signs for planetary science. Also in December, James Watzin took up duties as the new Mars Exploration Program (MEP) Director.

This meeting will report on the implications of these events for Mars exploration. Special topics for discussion at this meeting are:

  • MEP status—hear from the new MEP Director on the present state and future of MEP
  • Interaction with the Human program (HEOMD)
  • NASA and ESA landing site selection activities
  • Proposed revision of the MEPAG Goals document based on recent progress
  • NASA and ESA landing site selection activities
  • Recent scientific results from the Mars missions

The meeting is open to all members of the Mars science community and I welcome our international colleagues. We will also broadcast the meeting via Adobe Connect for those who cannot attend in person.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Monrovia!

Sincerely,
Professor Lisa Pratt
MEPAG Chair

Basic Logistics

  • Date:    Tuesday, February 24th – 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM.
    Wednesday, February 25th – 8:00 AM until 12:30 PM.
  • Location:         DoubleTree Hotel Monrovia-Pasadena

924 West Huntington Drive
Monrovia, California, 91016
Phone: 1-626-357-1900

  • Hotel Reservation Information: A block of rooms reserved at the rate of $138.00 per night plus tax are available on a first-come, first-served basis for rooms reserved by February 9th (after this date, the room block hold will be released). To make a reservation, please call the DoubleTree directly at 626-357-1900 or toll-free at 877-361-5743 and refer to the group “JPL – MEPAG Face to Face.”
  • Adobe Connect Directions for the MEPAG Meeting

Date: February 24-25, 2015

Time: 8:00 AM, Pacific Standard Time (PST) (San Francisco, GMT-08:00)

  1. Go to: https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/mepag
  2. Log in
  • If you are a NASA employee, you can use your NDC credentials to login (just like NASA webmail).
  • If you are not a NASA employee:
    • Select the radio box next to “Enter as Guest”
    • Please provide your full name and affiliation for our records.
    • Click “Enter Room”

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This Adobe Connect service includes a feature that allows the audio streaming automatically through your speakers. Please type any questions in the chat.

NOTE: The meeting begins at 8:30 AM PST.

For additional assistance contact Erin Ward: [email protected] (818-274-6820)

  • Meeting RSVP: So that we can plan the meeting logistics (e.g., seating, morning and afternoon refreshments, name badges, handouts, etc.), we request that all participants planning to attend in-person to RSVP by February 2nd, 2015 to Carla de la Paz ([email protected]). Please note that an RSVP is not required to attend the meeting, but is strongly encouraged as it will assist us in our planning.
  • Agenda: The agenda is currently being finalized, but will be posted on the MEPAG website as soon as it is available.

If you need additional information, please contact Lindsay Hays, MEPAG meeting coordinator ([email protected], phone 818-354-6180). If you have updates to the master MEPAG e-mail list (correction of faulty email addresses, addition of Mars science colleagues who have been inadvertently omitted or deleted) please contact [email protected].