Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group

About Us

The MEPAG Steering Committee provides overall leadership, supported by input from the broad Mars community and a MEPAG Goals Committee that maintains the MEPAG Goals Document. Both committees are described in more detail below. If you are interested in serving on either of these committees in the future, please email [email protected].

MEPAG Steering Committee: The MEPAG Steering Committee consists of the MEPAG Chair (lead), the MEPAG Vice-Chair (if selected), the previous MEPAG Chair, the Mars Exploration Program Lead Scientist, the Mars Exploration Program Office (MEPO) Principal Scientist, the Goals Committee Chair, and up to 10 additional members of the MEPAG community. The ESDMD Chief Exploration Scientist is an ex officio member. Amongst its duties, the Steering Committee organizes virtual and in-person meetings, choosing topics of interest to the community and soliciting reports from Planetary Science Division (PSD) and MEP for discussion. MEPAG may choose to organize Science Analysis Groups (SAGs) to deal with specific issues at the request of NASA or the general community. Results that emerge from SAG reports or findings in response to presentations and discussions at MEPAG meetings are posted to the community on the MEPAG website. Status reports are routinely made to MEP and the Planetary Science Advisory Committee (PAC).

MEPAG Goals Committee: The Goals Committee nominally has two members for each of the four goal areas, in addition to its Chair. Membership of the Steering and Goals Committees is solicited from the MEPAG community and determined by the Chair and Steering Committee. Logistical and organizational support to the MEPAG, including its science analysis groups, is provided by SMD/MEP currently through the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

  Terms of Reference

	Victoria E. Hamilton SC Chair, Southwest Research Institute Dr. Hamilton is a planetary scientist interested in the mineralogy of planetary surfaces, meteorites, and returned samples. She is Deputy PI on the Mars Odyssey THEMIS instrument, a Co-I/Deputy Instrument Scientist (OTES) on the OSIRIS-REx mission, and Co-I/Deputy PI (LTES) on the Lucy mission.
	R. Aileen Yingst Previous MEPAG Chair, Planetary Science Institute Dr. Yingst is a planetary geologist focused on the texture and morphology of rock outcrops and clasts. She is Deputy PI on the MAHLI camera on MSL and a Co-I on the SHERLOC/WATSON instrument on the Mars 2020 mission. She is also a Co-I on Dragonfly and PI of the Heimdall camera system launching to the Moon in 2023.
	Don Banfield MEPAG Goals Committee Chair, Cornell University Dr. Banfield is an atmospheric scientist working on in situ instrument development, including a Martian sonic anemometer/saltation sensor and a polarization nephelometer. He is a Co-I/LTP on the InSight and Perseverance Missions.
	Dave Beaty JPL Dr. Beaty is the pre-project lead scientist for the MSR returned sample handing (MRSH) studies in the MEP Science Office at JPL. He also organizes topical conferences for input to various Mars activities.
	Jacob Bleacher Liaison with HEOMD - NASA HQ ESDMD Dr. Bleacher works on the geologic development of planetary volcanic provinces. He develops technology for in situ, Rover and human exploration. He is the acting Chief Scientist for the Human Exploration & Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD).
	Briony Horgan Purdue University Briony Horgan is a planetary geologist who uses remote sensing and Earth analogs to study mineralogy and surface processes on Mars and the Moon. She is a Mastcam-Z Co-I and an LTP on the Mars 2020 mission and a Participating Scientist on Mars Science Laboratory.
	Justin Filiberto MEPAG Diversity (IDEA) - Co-representative - Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Dr. Filiberto is a planetary petrologist and geochemist. His work focuses on planetary volatile budgets with implications for habitability and on magma genesis conditions in planetary interiors.
	Scott Hubbard Stanford University Dr. Hubbard works on both human and robotic exploration of space. He has served on several National Academy of Science review groups and is a frequent consultant to NASA projects. He is a former Director of the NASA Ames Research Center and was the first Director of the Mars Exploration Program.
	Kennda Lynch MEPAG Diversity (IDEA) - Co-representative - Lunar and Planetary Institute Dr. Lynch is an astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist that studies life in extreme environments. She is currently focused on subsurface and hypersaline environments as analogs for ancient martian habitable zones as ideal locations to look for preserved biosignatures.
	Michael Meyer MEP Lead Scientist - NASA HQ Michael Meyer is the lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program (MEP) and the Mars Sample Return Program (MSRP) at NASA Headquarters. Formerly he was the lead scientist for NASA’s Astrobiology Program.
	Paul Niles NASA Johnson Space Center Dr. Niles is a planetary geologist and analytical geochemist. He uses laboratory experiments to simulate the ancient aqueous environments in order to better understand the complex micro-scale relationships found in the rock record.
	Sarah Stewart Johnson Georgetown University Dr. Johnson works on biosignature detection. She is currently investigating multiple Mars-relevant field sites, from silica sinters and acid salt lakes to ancient deposits in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
	Richard Zurek MEPO Chief Scientist (emeritus) - JPL Dr. Zurek is an atmospheric scientist. He is the Chief Scientist (emeritus) for the Mars Exploration Program Office at JPL and Project Scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
	Michael Mischna MEPO Principal Scientist - JPL Dr. Mischna is an atmospheric scientist. He is the Principal Scientist for the Mars Exploration Program Office at JPL and was formerly Associate Directorate Scientist of JPL’s Planetary Science Directorate. He studies the long-term climate evolution of the martian environment.
	Colin Dundas Research Geologist with the Astrogeology Science Center Dr. Dundas is a planetary geomorphologist who studies surface features and changes on Mars, particularly those related to ices. He is a Co-I on HiRISE on the MRO mission.
	Michael Hecht MIT Haystack Observatory Michael Hecht, the Associate Director for Research Management at the MIT Haystack Observatory, has a long career of developing, flying, and operating scientific instrumentation for Mars and elsewhere. Since 2013 he has been Principal Investigator for the MOXIE oxygen ISRU demonstration experiment on NASA’s Mars 2020 (Perseverance) Rover. In his previous position at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Mike was PI for the MECA soil analysis suite on the Phoenix Mars mission. In addition to his Mars exploration activities, Mike served as Deputy Project Director for the Event Horizon Telescope Project from Sept. 2019 to August 2020 and shared in the 2020 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics.

 The Goals Committee

Goal 1. Determine if Mars ever supported life
Goal 2. Understand the processes and history of climate on Mars
Goal 3. Understand the origin and evolution of Mars as a geological system
Goal 4. Prepare for human exploration

	Don Banfield (Chair) Cornell University Don Banfield is an atmospheric scientist, studying the giant planets and Mars from both remote sensing and in situ perspectives. He has been associated with the Voyager flyby of Neptune, Galileo at Jupiter, and the MER Rovers. He was a Participating Scientist for Mars Polar Lander, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and is a Co-I on InSight. He is developing planetary instrumentation including a Martian sonic anemometer and a polarization nephelometer.
	Jen Stern (Goal 1) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Jen Stern is a planetary geochemist specializing in stable isotopes and the cycling of nitrogen and carbon in planetary environments. She is also actively involved in instrument development for geochemical measurements on planetary surfaces, and has participated in multiple field seasons at Arctic Mars analog sites. Jen is a member of the science team for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover Curiosity and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite.
	Alfonso Davila (Goal 1 substitute for Sarah Stewart Johnson) NASA Ames Research Center Alfonso Davila is an Astrobiologist whose research focuses on the search for evidence of life beyond Earth. He performs theoretical and experimental investigations into the nature, distribution and evolution of life in extreme terrestrial environments considered analogous to planetary bodies of astrobiological interest. He seeks to understand the limits of adaptability and physiological function in these extreme environments, and apply that knowledge toward designing life detection missions to other worlds.
	Robin Wordsworth (Goal 2) Harvard University Robin Wordsworth is a planetary scientist specializing in the climates and atmospheric evolution of rocky planets. His current areas of interest include the climate of early Mars, evolution of the redox state and nitrogen inventory of the early Earth and Venus, and predictions of the atmospheric composition of rocky exoplanets.
	Germán Martínez (Goal 2) Lunar and Planetary Institute Germán Martínez is a planetary scientist whose research centers on characterizing the present-day climate of Mars, with focus on the exchange of energy, dust and water vapor between the surface and the atmosphere, and the formation and stability of liquid brine and water ice at the surface and in the shallow subsurface. Germán co-leads the Atmospheric Working Group of the Mars 2020 mission, where he is Co-I on the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer instrument, and he is a member of the science team for the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Germán has provided recalibrated datasets to NASA’s Planetary Data System for the humidity sensor onboard the Phoenix mission and the UV sensor onboard MSL.
	Christina Viviano (Goal 3) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Dr. Viviano is a planetary geologist and spectroscopist. Her research utilizes visible/near-infrared and thermal infrared spectroscopy to constrain compositional diversity exposed at the surface and evaluate past environmental conditions on Mars.
	Robert Citron (Goal 3) MIT / NASA Goddard Robert Citron is a planetary scientist with broad research interests regarding the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. His research focuses on how geophysical processes (impacts, mantle convection, tectonics, etc.) govern the evolution of planetary surfaces and interiors, especially as it pertains to early Mars history.
	Michelle Rucker (Goal 4) Johnson Space Center Michelle Rucker has participated in a range of exciting NASA projects, such as: International Space Station (ISS) environmental control and life support system development, operating a two-stage light gas gun hypervelocity impact research laboratory, supervising spacesuit and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) tools projects, ISS exercise equipment system engineering, and Orion crew exploration vehicle test and verification. She currently leads the Mars Integration Group within NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate, developing crewed Mars mission concepts.
	Jacob Bleacher (Goal 4) NASA HQ HEOMD Jacob Bleacher’s research interest is the geologic development of planetary volcanic provinces and their subsequent modification and hazard potential through a combination of terrestrial field studies and spacecraft data analysis. He is currently combining his expertise in field and planetary geology to help build and test the science capabilities of NASA’s newest instrument, suit and rover technologies; and is supporting integrated science and technology field tests for human exploration such as NASA’s Desert Research And Technology Studies (Desert RATS), the Hawaiʻi Space Exploration Analog Simulation (HI-SEAS), and field campaigns for NASA’s Solar System Exploration Virtual Institute (SSERVI) team Remote, In Situ and Synchrotron Studies for Science and Exploration (RIS4E).
	Sydney Do (Goal 4) JPL Dr. Do is a mission systems engineer with a background in both human and robotic Mars mission planning. He is the landing site selection lead for Mars Sample Return, a Tactical Downlink Lead for the Mars 2020 mission, and the lead for NASA’s Mars Water Mapping Projects.

 Past Executive Committee Chairs

	Jeffrey R. Johnson (Served 2016-2018) Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory Jeffrey R. Johnson is a planetary geologist who uses remote sensing in visible through radar wavelengths to understand the compositional, mineralogical, and morphological variability of planetary surfaces. He participated in the Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, and Mars Polar Lander missions. He is currently a Participating Scientist on the Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Science Laboratory missions, and is a Co-Investigator on the Mastcam-Z and SuperCam instruments on the Mars 2020 rover.
	Lisa M. Pratt (Served 2013-2015) was: Indiana University; from 2018: NASA Lisa M. Pratt is a biogeochemist who studies life on Earth in extreme conditions and uses this information to guide astrobiological investigation of Mars. For example, she was Director of a NASA ASTEP project entitled ”Shallow-Borehole Array for Measuring Greenland Emission of Trace Gases as an Analogue for Methane on Mars (GETGAMM).” In 2018, she became the NASA Planetary Protection Officer.
	David Des Marais (Served 2011-2013) NASA Ames Dave De Marais has studied the geochemistry of the Moon, Earth, and Mars, specializing in isotope geochemistry and biogeochemistry/astrobiology. He is the principal investigator of the Ames Research Center team of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and is a member of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) science teams.
	Jack Mustard (Served 2008-2010) Brown University John Mustard is a geologist focusing on the composition of planetary surfaces and the processes that modify them. He has studied the Earth and Mars, and his work has shown how dramatic shifts between environmental conditions are shown in the geologic record.
	Ray Arvidson (Served 2006-2007) Washington Univ. in St. Louis Ray Arvidson is a planetary geologist who has worked on the remote sensing of Earth, Mars, and Venus. He is also an expert in rover mobility and has been involved in most of the landed Mars Missions.
	Bruce Jakosky (Served 2004-2005) Univ. of Colorado at Boulder Bruce Jakosky studies the geology of the Martian surface, the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and climate, the potential for life on Mars and elsewhere, and the philosophical and societal issues in astrobiology.
	Jack Farmer (Served 2002-2003) Arizona State Univ. Jack Farmer is a geobiologist focused on understanding the formation of microbial fossil records on the Earth and in detecting such a record on Mars.
	Ron Greeley (Served 2000-2001) Arizona State Univ. (Deceased 2012) Ron Greeley had been involved with missions and studies of the Earth, Moon, Mars, and outer solar system moons since 1967. His research focused on understanding planetary surface processes and geologic histories.