Seventh International Conference on Mars (7th Mars 2007), July 9-13, 2007, Pasadena CA

Seventh International Conference on Mars (7th Mars 2007)

Final Announcement — May 2007

 

SPONSORS —
Mars Exploration Program,
Lunar and Planetary Institute,
California Institute of Technology,
National Aeronautics and Space
   Administration

CONVENERS —
Daniel McCleese, Chief Scientist,
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory
David Beaty,
   Mars Exploration Program,
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory

SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE —
Matt Golombek,
   Mars Pathfinder Mission
Arden Albee,
   Mars Global Surveyor Mission
Jeffrey Plaut,
   Mars Odyssey Mission
David Senske,
   Mars Odyssey Mission
Bruce Banerdt,
   Mars Exploration Rovers
Diana Blaney,
   Mars Exploration Rovers
Albert Haldemann,
   ExoMars
Augustin Chicarro,
   Mars Express Mission
Rich Zurek,
   Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Sue Smrekar,
   Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Leslie Tamppari,
   Mars Phoenix Mission
Deborah Bass,
   Mars Phoenix Mission
Ed Stolper,
   Mars Science Laboratory
Ash Vasavada,
   Mars Science Laboratory
Joy Crisp,
   Mars Science Laboratory
Michael Mischna,
   Mars modeling
Oded Aharonson,
   Mars modeling
Steve Clifford,
   Mars modeling
Michael Meyer,
   Mars Exploration Program,
   NASA
Charles Budney,
   Mars Program Office,
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jim Garvin,
   Chief Scientist,
   Goddard Space Flight Center
  PURPOSE AND SCOPE
  The Seventh International Conference on Mars will be held at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), July 9–13, 2007. This year we will have completed an unparalleled ten years of concentrated exploration of the Red Planet. This period includes six successful missions (1996 Mars Global Surveyor, 1996 Mars Pathfinder, 2001 Mars Odyssey, 2003 Mars Exploration Rover, 2003 Mars Express, and 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), as well as telescopic observations from Earth, studies of martian meteorites, and a variety of numerical and laboratory modeling activities. This is an ideal time to consolidate our primary paradigms for Mars. In addition, this conference will provide an opportunity to review and debate the key questions and controversies that remain open.

 

  KEY POINTS:
Date:  July 9–13, 2007
Location:  Pasadena, California

 

  MEETING FORMAT
  The first four days of the conference will be structured with morning and afternoon oral sessions organized around topical themes, along with mid-day poster sessions of broader scope. The program committee has placed the submitted abstracts into nine oral sessions and four poster sessions. There are no parallel sessions. The oral sessions will be held in Beckman Auditorium on the Caltech campus. The poster sessions will be displayed in Dabney Garden, an outdoor venue with partial shade around the perimeter. The conference bag will include a cap and sunscreen will be available. The conference will conclude on Friday, July 13, at 11:30 a.m., to allow participants to catch the afternoon/evening flights home.

The program and abstracts are now available. Authors will need to check the program to see where their abstract has been scheduled. An author index is provided to help authors easily locate their listing in the program.

 

  SPECIAL EVENING EVENTS AND SOCIAL PROGRAM
 
Sunday, July 8Registration and reception at the Hilton Pasadena, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Monday, July 9Public Lecture:  A Rover's Eye View of Mars will be held in the Beckman Auditorium, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 10Barbecue dinner on the Caltech Beckman Mall (also known as the Court of Man), 5:35–7:00 p.m. After dinner, a Mars townhall discussion sponsored by MEPAG, and led by the Mars Exploration Program, will be held in the Beckman Auditorium, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 11Public Lecture: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's New View of the Red Planet will be held in the Beckman Auditorium, 7:30–9:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 12Conference banquet at the Caltech Athenaeum 6:00–8:00 p.m.
There is a separate fee for the banquet. (See "Registration" below.)

 

  ORAL PRESENTATIONS
  Oral papers have been allotted 15 minutes, including five minutes for discussion. Both PC and Mac systems will be available. Presenters will provide presentation material on a memory stick to the conference staff members who will upload it prior to the morning or afternoon session. Monday morning presenters should provide their talk for upload by 7:45 a.m. on the first day of the conference. After that first session, morning presenters should upload their talk at the close of the previous day's afternoon session, and the afternoon presenters should provide their presentations for uploading immediately following (prior to lunch) the morning session.

 

 

 

  POSTER PRESENTATIONS
  The poster sessions are scheduled mid-day, each day except Friday, in Dabney Garden. Authors must be present to discuss their poster in their scheduled session. Posters will remain up only during the day on which they are scheduled. Presenters can put up their posters in the morning (7:30–8:30 a.m.), the day they are scheduled; and take them down at the end of the day. Poster display space is 36"h × 40" w. Posters must be designed to be attached to the panel with push pins. In order to maximize the opportunities for the participants to interact around the posters, box lunches will be provided Monday through Thursday, during the poster sessions.

 

 
  REGISTRATION
  A registration reception will be held on Sunday evening, July 8, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., immediately following the NRC Mars Colloquium at the Hilton Pasadena. A fee will be assessed to cover conference services, including a printed program, abstract volume on CD-ROM, box lunches, coffee breaks, and barbecue dinner. Participants registering by credit card can use the secure electronic registration form; those registering using any other method of payment (check, money order, or traveler's check) must use the downloadable registration form.
Registration Fees     Before June 8, 2007After June 8, 2007
Professional$275.00$325.00
Student$100.00$125.00
A conference banquet will be held on Thursday evening, July 12, 2007, at the Caltech Athenaeum. The cost will be a separate fee of $65.00.

Cancellation Policy:  A $25.00 cancellation fee will be charged on any cancellations received before June 22, 2007. No refunds will be given after June 22, 2007.

 

  TRAVEL, HOTELS, AND MAPS
  A list of hotels located close to Caltech is provided. For additional information on Pasadena-area hotels and motels, visit the Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau website.

For your convenience, driving directions to Caltech from Los Angeles International Airport, the Bob Hope Airport (formerly the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport), and the Ontario Airport are provided.

Please refer to the map of the Caltech campus. It includes the primary conference venues, which are Beckman Auditorium (Bldg. #91), Dabney Garden (NE of Bldg. #40), and the Athenaeum (Bldg. #61).

 

    

   
  PARKING AT CALTECH
  Parking is available at several locations on the Caltech Campus. The Parking Zone Map indicates where the parking areas are located. Approved parking is scattered in and around the campus, but recommended at the California Boulevard and North Wilson Avenue parking structures.

We will be providing a limited number of pre-purchased visitor parking permits for conference participants at no cost. Participants who pick up their registration packet on Sunday evening at the Hilton Pasadena will be able to use the permit the entire week. Those who register at the meeting will need to pay for parking that first day, but will be able to pick up a permit at the registration desk for the rest of the week.

Note: The pre-paid parking permits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a possibility that we will run out of them sometime during the week of the conference.

For participants who either need to pay the first day or are unable to get the parking permit, the parking fee is $5.00 per day, and permits must be purchased daily from one of several pay stations. For more information please refer to the Caltech Visitor Parking Instructions.

Please note the following:

  • Parking is permitted on the streets within the Caltech perimeter (Holliston, San Pasqual, Chester, and Michigan) but permits are required.
  • Parking is permitted only in spaces identified as "student" and "commuter".
  • Parking is NOT permitted in spaces identified as "carpool" or reserved for an individual or department.

 

    

   
  HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL
  CONFERENCE ON MARS
  The first International Conference on Mars was held in 1973 as data were being returned from Mariner 9, the first mission to orbit another planet. Conferences were next convened in 1979 and 1981 as data were returned from the Viking missions, which consisted of two orbiters and two landers. The fourth conference, in 1989, reviewed ten years of analysis of the Viking data and resulted in the publication of the classic 1498-page volume entitled Mars. The fifth conference was held in 1999 as data from Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor, both launched in 1996, became widely available. The Sixth Conference was held in 2003, and it incorporated four more years of data by Mars Global Surveyor and the initial observations from Mars Odyssey.

 

    

   
  CONTACT INFORMATION
  For further information regarding format and scientific objectives, contact

    DAVID BEATY
    Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Phone: 818-354-7968
    E-mail: [email protected]

For questions concerning presentations or the program, contact

    CHARLES BUDNEY
    Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Phone: 818-354-3981
    E-mail: [email protected]

For further information regarding conference logistics and announcements, contact

    ELIZABETH WAGGANER
    Lunar and Planetary Institute
    Phone: 281-486-2164
    E-mail: [email protected]

 

SCHEDULE
June 8, 2007Deadline for preregistration at reduced rate
July 9–13, 2007Seventh International Conference on Mars

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