Every ten years, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine undertakes a largescale survey of planetary scientists to identify priority scientific questions to NASA for the upcoming decade, recommending strategic advice to approach these questions and endorsing a complementary portfolio of missions to pursue them in collaboration with international partners. According to the National Academies, the highest scientific priority of NASA’s robotic exploration efforts in the decade from 2023-2032 should be the completion of Mars Sample Return (MSR) and, following that, the prioritization of the Mars Life Explorer (MLE) as the next New Frontiers-class mission. Intimately tied to these decadal objectives is the ongoing characterization of the martian subsurface, particularly with regards to 1) the distribution and stability of modern liquid water and water ice inventories; 2) the provenance and isotopic signatures of organics and trace gases that may serve as potential biosignatures; and 3) the identification of habitable “refugia environments” where local conditions are conducive to support metabolic strategies of extant microbial martian life, should it exist. To this end, for our fifth “New Mars Underground,” we welcome abstracts that champion the intrinsic relevance the martian subsurface has for the next decade of planetary science. We anticipate diverse contributions informed by remote observation, theoretical modelling, technological development, and laboratory/field experimentation of relevant terrestrial analog sites and materials.

Abstract submission deadline: August 3, 2022

Abstract submission link: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm22/prelim.cgi/Session/158934

Thank you for considering this session and please forward this information on to anyone interested.

Note that AGU will be held in-person in Chicago, IL and online everywhere. Authors will have the option to choose between virtual or in-person contributions.