SPONSORS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lunar and Planetary Institute
NASA Johnson Space Center

CHAIRS
Carl B. Agee
NASA Johnson Space Center
David C. Black
Lunar and Planetary Institute



The 33rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference will be held on March 11–15, 2002. All technical sessions, both oral and poster, will be held at the South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center, 2500 South Shore Boulevard, League City, TX 77573 (phone: 281-334-1000 or 800-442-5005). There is plenty of free parking available. For assistance with your travel plans, you may contact:

Baybrook Travel
1199 NASA Road One, Suite 114
Houston, Texas 77058
phone: 281-280-0600
fax: 281-280-8184
e-mail: [email protected]


TECHNICAL SESSIONS
Technical sessions will be held at South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center. Parallel sessions for oral presentations will be held in Salon A, Salon B, Salon C, and the Marina Plaza Ballroom. The poster sessions will be held at the South Shore Harbour Fitness Center in the Gymnasium. The preliminary program and abstracts are now available for viewing.

PRESENTATIONS
Oral presentations will be scheduled during the conference to allow ten minutes for speaking and five minutes for discussion and speaker transition. Standard support for dual-screen projection of slides and overheads will be provided in all oral technical sessions. Because of the size and layout of Salons A, B, and C, the video screens will be 6' � 6' and the display will be projected to monitors located throughout each of these rooms. Please take these projection capabilities into consideration as you prepare the text and graphics of your visual aids. This will not affect talks given in the Marina Plaza Ballroom. A slide preview area will be available in the Baccarat Room. VCR images can be projected in all session rooms. VCR tapes must be 1/2 " VHS.

Poster presentations will be scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the South Shore Harbour Fitness Center in the Gymnasium. Authors of papers selected and scheduled for poster presentations will be asked to be available to display and discuss their results in the poster area during the assigned time period. Each poster will have a space 44" � 44" for display. Requests for tables, computers, video equipment, etc., cannot be honored due to the limited space available for poster displays.


Plenary Session
A special plenary session will be held Monday afternoon from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. This session is in honor of Joseph M. Boyce upon his retirement from NASA Headquarters. The 2001 GSA Stephen E. Dwornik U. S. Citizen Student Award winners will also be announced during this session.

Special Session on Early Lunar Cratering and the
Impact Chronology of the Terrestrial Planets

This session, to be held on Monday afternoon at 2:15 p.m., will deal with the early (pre-3.5 Ga) cratering history and potential heavy bombardment, or lunar cataclysm, of the Moon and the terrestrial planets. New geochemical and geochronological data (e.g., Ar-Ar ages of lunar impact melts, siderophile abundances from 3.85-Ga terrestrial rocks) has been critical in our reevaluation of this topic. However, dynamic scenarios and models have raised questions about the sources and lifetimes of early impactors (e.g., highly inclined planetesimals left over from accretion, small bodies destabilized by the delayed formation of Uranus and Neptune). The idea of a "lunar cataclysm" is still contested, but has important implications for our understanding of the surface ages of other planets and the early evolution of life on Earth.

Special Session on Preliminary Results from the Mars Odyssey Mission
On Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., a special session will be held to discuss preliminary results from the Mars Odyssey mission.

NRC Decadal Survey Town Hall Meeting
Based on a request from NASA Headquarters, the NRC is pursuing a Decadal Survey of Solar System Exploration. Four survey panels (inner planets, giant planets, primitive bodies, and large satellites) have been holding meetings across the country, and the steering group is charged with providing (1) a "big picture" of solar system exploration, what it is, how it fits into other scientific endeavors, and why it is a compelling goal today; (2) a broad survey of the current state of knowledge of the solar system today; (3) an inventory of the top-level scientific questions that should provide a focus for solar system exploration today; and finally, (4) a prioritized list of the most promising avenues for flight investigations and supporting groundbased activities. Two other NRC groups are providing inputs to the survey on Mars exploration and Astrobiology research. In an effort to inform the scientific community about the current status of the survey, which is now in its final stages, a special session is being planned for Wednesday, March 13, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Dr. Michael Belton ([email protected]), and Dr. Colleen Hartman will co-chair the session. Members of the panels will also be present to discuss the status and direction of the survey and some of the scientific questions that the panels consider as key. This will be the last public meeting of the survey before it concludes its work and comments from the floor will be encouraged.


Education/Public Outreach Workshop for Scientists  —
"From the Ivory Tower to the Global Village:  Getting Involved to Help Educate Humans of all Hues"
LPI will again offer a one-day pre-conference workshop for scientists interested in becoming more involved in education and public outreach. The workshop will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2002 in the Marina Plaza Ballroom of the South Shore Harbour Hotel. This year's program, the fifth in the series, will explore the complex social and cultural values, attitudes, and priorities that lead to disparate representation of minorities and women in science. Through a mixture of short lectures and group discussions we will examine why individual scientists should be interested and involved, and what roles can be played to help equalize the imbalance and affect positive systemic change. In addition, media representatives will help us to consider how scientists are typically stereotyped in print, television, radio, and on the Internet, and what changes might be possible to stimulate broader interest in science and scientific careers. This workshop is free, and those wishing to attend may register using the electronic registration form provided. For more information, contact Kathleen Johnson (johnson@lpi.usra.edu) or Pamela Thompson (thompson@lpi.usra.edu).

GSA Stephen E. Dwornik Student Awards
The winners of the 2001 awards will be announced during the Monday afternoon special plenary and will be honored at a reception on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Great Room of LPI. A shuttle bus will provide transportation from the conference to LPI.

Chili Cookoff and Barbecue Dinner
The chili cookoff and barbecue dinner will be held on Wednesday, March 13, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Chili cookoff team entry forms are due at LPI by February 15, 2002. We anticipate fierce competition again this year for the coveted trophies. The goal of this event is to have fun so join in by entering your team. To encourage both out-of-town and local teams to enter, the winning categories will include:

Best Presentation
Best Chili Overall
Best Out-of-Town Chili (that didn't already win)
Best Local Chili (that didn't already win)
Most Unusual Chili (that's a polite way to say booby prize)
Suck-Up Award*
Because the conference staff cannot provide cooking equipment, the "preparation on site" rule common to most cookoffs will be waived to encourage more team participation. It is important to note that teams may serve only chili or other food related items at their station. Chili teams may NOT serve alcoholic beverages to the conference participants and guests. Remember that the goal of this event is fun, not serious cooking competition. Join in by entering your team to compete against great secret recipes and creative cooking station decorations.

* Based on the success of an informal trial of this category at last year's Chili Cookoff, we have decided to formally introduce this new award on a trial basis. It has nothing to do with the quality of chili entries. It has everything to do with the teams' ability to suck up to judges. For more information, contact Mike Kelley ([email protected]) or Noam Izenberg ([email protected]). Remember, bribe early, bribe often!

Guest tickets for the cookoff and dinner will be available at the registration desk for $15 per person.

Combined Publisher's Exhibit
A Combined Publisher's Exhibit will be held during the conference. This week-long event provides an opportunity for LPSC participants to review new publications in the fields of lunar and planetary sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, geology, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, mathematics, computer science applications, remote sensing, and image processing applications. Publishers and authors are invited to submit materials related to these fields for display at this exhibit. Previous exhibits have featured books, journals, maps, globes, posters, images, slide sets, and CD-ROMs, along with advertising materials, catalogs, and order forms. A comprehensive exhibit catalog listing all items on display, all participating publishers, and contact information will be made available to conference participants at the exhibit. No sales will be permitted, and all submitted materials will become the property of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. The deadline for submitting materials for display at the exhibit is February 11, 2002. For more information, contact Linda Chappell at 281-486-2103 or chappell@lpi.usra.edu.


Preregistration
A fee of $55 ($30 for students) will be assessed each participant to cover conference services. You must preregister and prepay by February 15, 2002, to avoid the $20 late fee. Foreign participants who state on the registration form that they have a currency exchange problem may pay in cash at the meeting and avoid the $20 late fee if they return the form by February 15, 2002. Participants registering by credit card may use the electronic registration form; those registering using any other method of payment should use the downloadable preregistration form. Requests for cancellation with a fee refund (less a $10.00 processing fee) will only be accepted through February 22, 2002.

NOTE:  Those who fail to attend and do not notify the LPI Program Services Department prior to the February 22 deadline will forfeit their full fee.

Sunday Night Registration and Reception
Sunday evening, March 10, 2002, registration and a reception will be held at the LPI from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The location of the LPI is shown on the area map. Shuttle buses will operate from selected hotels to LPI on Sunday night. Parking is limited at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and a shuttle service will be provided between the University of Houston-Clear Lake parking lot D and the LPI building.


South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center is an award-winning hotel on the shores of Clear Lake (phone:  281-334-1000; fax:  281-334-1157), approximately a 20-minute drive from the LPI. The LPI has negotiated with the hotel to offer standard rooms for $95.00 per night. While this rate is higher than the GSA rate for this area (see note below), it is substantially less than the normal corporate rate for this hotel.

To qualify for these rates, you must identify yourself as an LPSC participant. There is no surcharge for up to four guests staying in the same room. The number of rooms is limited, and the hotel will release the block on remaining rooms on February 9, 2002, so we encourage participants to make their reservations early.

Remember, both the oral AND poster sessions are being held at this location, and parking and shuttle service are free, so meeting participants will find that it is much more convenient to stay at this hotel.

Please note that South Shore Harbour is located in Galveston County, so the current GSA rate is $76.00; the rate for Harris County, in which the LPI and most of the other Clear Lake hotels are located, is $73.00.

The hotel provides complimentary shuttle service to and from Hobby Airport and Ellington Field (requires 24-hour-advance reservations). Clear Lake Shuttle (281-334-3873) is available to provide transportation to or from George Bush Intercontinental Airport for $85.00 (one way; $10.00 per additional person).

Registered guests will have access to the following amenities:  complimentary covered parking, marina with rentals for water sports, a 185-foot tropical pool with heated jacuzzi, 70,000-square-foot fitness center, and golfing privileges at South Shore Harbour Country Club (greens fees extra). There are also a number of area babysitting services that will provide child care at the hotel for a fee; a list of these services is available upon request from the hotel.

There are a number of other hotels in the Clear Lake area, and we have negotiated special rates at most of them. Remember to ask for the LPSC rate when you make your reservations. The local area map shows the locations of the LPI, South Shore Harbour, and other local hotels.


Conference shuttle buses will provide service between most hotels on the enclosed list (see hotel list for exceptions), South Shore Harbour, and the LPI. There will be rotational runs in the morning, at the close of sessions, and during special events. Shuttle buses will make hourly stops at LPI throughout conference week. Your conference badge will serve as your bus ticket. A detailed shuttle schedule is provided. Shuttle service will also be available to and from the Chili Cookoff on Wednesday evening.


There will no longer be fax or copy service available at the LPSC registration desk. These services are available for a fee at the hotel business center or you may use the LPI facilities. See note about shuttle service to the LPI above.


For further information, contact the LPI (logistics:  281-486-2123; abstracts:  281-486-2188 or -2164; registration:  281-486-2142).



FEBRUARY 15, 2002
Deadline for preregistration at reduced rate
Deadline for Chili Cookoff team entries

MARCH 10, 2002
Reception and registration at the LPI from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

MARCH 11–15, 2002
33rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference


Go to Top of Page    Back to LPSC 2002 main page