Dear Colleagues:
Attached for your information is the preliminary agenda for the 3rd MER Landing
Site Workshop scheduled for March 26th-28th at the Embassy Suites in
Pasadena-Arcadia, CA
The goal of the third workshop is to make recommendations concerning which
two landing sites/regions are the highest priority based on consideration
of all information that is available regarding their science potential and
safety. The agenda includes presentations on surface characteristics and
safety considerations as well as MER mission relevant science that can be
accomplished within the landing ellipses.
All speakers are expected to provide an electronic version of their
presentation materials for posting on the landing site websites
before the workshop.
http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003
The workshop will be held at the Embassy Suites in Pasadena-Arcadia, CA
211 East Foothill Blvd.
Arcadia, CA 91006
Ph: 626/445-8525. Contact Reservations
A block of rooms at the hotel are being held:
Refer to JPL-Third Mars Landing Site
Cut-off Date for taking advantage of the room block: 3/8/02
The web site for the hotel is
http://www.embassysuites.com/en/es/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=FFZZ1H3WSBMWJJ31AOR2JLQ?ctyhocn=LAXHDES).
Your continued participation is critical to the success of the landing site
selection process and we hope that you will be able to attend and
participate in the March workshop. A final agenda will be
distributed in March.
Regards,
John Grant and Matt Golombek
Co-Chairs. Landing Site Steering Committee
John Grant
Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution
Independence Avenue at 6th Street SW
Washington, DC 20560-0315
202-357-1494 (Voice)
202-786-2566 (Fax)
Preliminary Agenda
3rd 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers
Landing Site Selection Workshop
Pasadena, California
March 26th-28th, 2002
March 26th, Tuesday a.m.
Introduction
8:30 a.m. – Welcome, Overview of the Landing Site Selection Process and Workshop Goals
John Grant and Matt Golombek (Co-Chairs, Landing Site Steering Committee)
9:00 a.m. – Update on the Mars Exploration Program
Jim Garvin, NASA Mars Program Scientist
9:15 p.m. – Athena Payload Capabilities and the MER Landing Sites
Steve Squyres, Athena PI, Cornell U.
9:45 a.m. – Engineering Constraints and Factors in Selecting the MER Landing Sites
Mark Adler (Project Engineer)
10:45-11:00 a.m. – Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. – Entry, Descent and Landing Simulations and Ellipses
Phil Knocke, JPL
11:30 a.m. – Atmospheric Modeling and Winds
David Kass and Tim Schofield, JPL
12:00 p.m. – MER Wind Mitigation Measures
R. Manning, JPL
12:30-1:45 p.m. – Lunch
March 26th, Tuesday p.m.
Overview of Landing Site Science Potential
1:45 p.m. – History of Ellipse Identification and Placement
Matt Golombek, Co-Chair Landing Site Steering Committee
2:15 p.m. – Geologic Evaluation of MER Landing Sites: MOC, THEMIS, and Terrestrial Field Experience
Jim Rice and Phil Christensen, Arizona State University
2:45 p.m. – Geology of Landing Sites from THEMIS Images
Mike Carr or Tim Parker or Someone Else who has looked at THEMIS Images
3:15-3:30 p.m. – Coffee
3:45 p.m. – Landing Site Compositional Assessment Using High Resolution TES Data
Steve Ruff, Vicky Hamilton, and Phil Christensen, ASU
4:15-5:15 p.m. – Discussion
A Closer Look at the Science Potential of the Prime Sites
5:15 p.m. – Remote Sensing Properties of Exhumed Deposits in the Terra Meridiani Region of Mars
Seelos, F. P., Arvidson, R. E., Washington University St. Louis, Deal, K. S., Hynek, B. M., Mellon, M. T., Garvin, J. B.
5:45 p.m. – End of Day One
March 27th, Wednesday a.m.
A Closer Look at the Science Potential of the Prime Sites (cont.)
8:30 a.m. – The Melas Chasma Site
Tim Parker, JPL, and C. Weitz
9:00 a.m. – Overview of Science and Testable Hypotheses at the Gusev Crater MER A Landing Site
Nathalie Cabrol, NASA Ames, E. A. Grin, D. Fike, H. Newsom, I. Thorsos, N. G. Barlow, R. De Hon, and J. Bishop
9:30 a.m. – Identification of a large lake basin at the head of Ma’adim Vallis, Mars
R. P. Irwin III, T. A. Maxwell, A. D. Howard, R. A. Craddock and D. W.
Leverington, NASM Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
9:40 a.m. – Impact Hydrothermal Processes at the Gusev Crater MER A Landing Site, and the Sinus
Meridiani Site. H. Newsom, UNM, C. Barber, I. Thorsos, A. Davies, N. A. Cabrol, E. A. Grin, N. G. Barlow, R. De Hon, and J. Bishop
9:50 a.m. – Gusev Crater: Assessing its Relevance as the MER-A Landing Site
N. G. Barlow (U. Central FL), N. Cabrol (NASA/ARC), E. Grin (NASA/ARC),
H. Newsom (UNM), R. DeHon (U. LA Monroe)
10:00-10:15 Coffee
10:15 a.m. – Isidis Planitia MER Targets: MOC and Themis Data, Detailed Mapping, and
Potential Athena Science, L. S. Crumpler, NMMNH, K. L. Tanaka, and T. M. Hare
A Closer Look at the Science Potential of the Backup Sites
10:45 a.m. – Eos Chasma
Someone Identified by Ruslan Kuzmin or Ron Greeley=”#E3E
11:15 a.m. – Recent Eruption of Deep Groundwater into Athabasca Vallis
Devon Burr, Alfred McEwen, Laszlo Keszthelyi, Jennifer Grier, University of Arizona
11:45 a.m. – Exploration of Athabasca Vallis: Does Athena Have the Right Stuff?
Alfred McEwen, Devon Burr, Laszlo Keszthelyi, Ross Beyer, and Peter Lanagan, U of A
12:15-1:15 p.m. – Lunch
March 27th, Wednesday p.m.
A Closer Look at the Science Potential of the Backup Sites (contÕd)
1:15-2:45 p.m. – Discussion of Science Potential of the Sites
Safety Considerations I: Radar and Slopes
2:45 p.m. – Radar Properties of the Landing Sites
Albert Haldemann, JPL
3:15 p.m. – MER Engineering Constraints: Impact Velocity, Slopes, and Rocks
Wayne Lee, JPL
3:45 p.m. – The Roughness of the Martian Surface at Decimeter to Meter Scales: What we know.
Mike Shepard, Bloomsburg University, F. P. Seelos IV, R. E. Arvidson, A. Haldemann
4:15 p.m. – MOLA Pulse Spread Data and Landing Site Selection
Jim Garvin, NASA Mars Exploration Program Scientist
4:45 p.m. – MOLA 100 m Allan variation and dekameter Hurst exponent analysis of the MER landing sites
Albert Haldemann and Scott Anderson, JPL
5:15 p.m. – MOLA Slopes at 1.2 km Scale and Roughness at 150 m Scale for the Ellipses
M. Golombek,, S. Anderson, N. Bridges, M. Kennedy, J. Garvin
5:45 p.m. – End of Day Two
A
3EMarch 28th, Thursday a.m.
Safety Considerations I: Radar and Slopes (contÕd)
8:30 a.m. – DTMÕs Derived from MOC Stereo Images
Randy Kirk, USGS
9:00 a.m. – Evaluation of Small-Scale Roughness via Photoclinometry
Ross Beyer and Alfred McEwen, University of Arizona
9:30 a.m. – Surface Lifetime
Jake Matijevic, JPL
10:00 a.m. – TES Thermal Inertia and Albedo Data and Implications for Minimum Near-Surface Temperatures
Nathan Bridges and Terry Martin, JPL
10:30-10:45 a.m. – Coffee
10:45 a.m. – Rock Abundance derived from TES data
Scott Nowicki and Phil Christensen, ASU
11:15 a.m. – Rock Statistics Calculations for the Landing Sites
Matt Golombek
11:45-1:00 p.m. – Lunch
March 28th, Thursday p.m.
Safety Considerations II: Thermal Inertia, Albedo, and Rocks
(contÕd)
1:00 p.m. – MER Project Hazard Analysis
Mark Adler, JPL
1:30-3:00 p.m. – Discussion of Safety Issues
3:00-4:30 p.m. – Summary Discussion of All Sites
4:30-5:30 p.m. – Community Input to Project and Athena Science Team
5:30 p.m. – End of Workshop
