NASA to Release Mars Scout Announcement of Opportunity (AO) in April 2002

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Space
Science (OSS) intends to release a Mars Scout Announcement of Opportunity
(AO) in April 2002 to solicit proposals for space flight science
investigations through the new NASA Mars Scout project; proposals in
response to this AO will be due 90 days after its formal release. Mars
Scout investigations may include remote observations from Mars-orbiting
spacecraft; missions that deploy aerial or landed systems to study the
Martian atmosphere, surface, interior, geo-potential fields, and/or deep
subsurface; and sample return missions. Mars Scouts are intended to augment
and/or complement and not duplicate the major, strategic Mars missions being
planned as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program (MEP) or by other
non-U.S. organizations. Participation in this intended AO will be open to
all categories of organizations, foreign and domestic, including educational
institutions, industry, nonprofit organizations, NASA Centers (see next
paragraph), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other Government
agencies.

An expanded version of this Notice of Intent will be available at the
Website http://centauri.larc.nasa.gov/mars/ until the date of release of the
AO. Note that this Mars Scout AO may contain provisions that differ from
this Notice, in which case those in the AO will take precedence. Questions
or comments about this intention to release a Mars Scout AO may be addressed
to the NASA Lead Scientist for Mars Exploration: Dr. Jim Garvin, Ref.: Mars
Scout 2002, Solar System Exploration Division, Code SE, Officeof Space
Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC
20546-0001; Facsimile: (202) 358-3098; E-mail: jgarvin@hq.nasa.gov;
Telephone: (202) 358-1798.