First Information Circular MEPAG Meeting #16

January 9-10, 2007

Letter of Invitation

Members of the Mars community,

I cordially invite you to attend the next meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), scheduled for January 9-10, 2007 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Virginia.

Key agenda topics will include:

• Mars Program / Missions Status. Recent findings about Mars. Mars programs status and future planning. Report from the Mars Advanced Planning Group (MAPG) on the final status of the 2007-2016 plan for Mars exploration.
• Outbriefs from recent Mars-themed workshops and conferences. Presentations of workshop summaries and listings of open science questions and issues.
• Mars-Moon Linkages. The use of the Moon as a feed-forward to Mars. Reports from the MEPAG Science Analysis Group focusing on Mars Forward Lunar Objectives (the MFLO SAG). Discussion results will help shape the Lunar planning meeting anticipated in February 2007.
• MEPAG Work Plan for 2007. Planning for revision of the MEPAG Goals Document. Launching SAG’s to analyze the impact of the Scout selection on 2013 MSO and options for 2016-2018 opportunities.
• Organics Standards. Review of the organics calibration issues facing the Phoenix and MSL missions, and their implications for Mars program planning and MEPAG goals.

This meeting is open to all members of the Mars science community, including international colleagues.

This meeting is important, and I hope you can attend. If anybody has a specific request for time on the agenda on matters of general interest, please correspond with either me (arvidson@wunder.wustl.edu) or Dr. David Beaty (David.Beaty@jpl.nasa.gov) by the end of November 2006, when we plan to start assembling the detailed meeting agenda.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ray Arvidson

MEPAG Chair

MEPAG Meeting #16

Basic Logistics

• Dates: January 9-10, 2007. Start at 8 AM on Tuesday, January 9, end at 3 PM on Wednesday, January 10.
• Location: The Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. The hotel is located one mile south of the Washington National/Reagan (DCA) Airport and offers a free courtesy shuttle service between the two (on request). Other airports: the hotel is located 28 miles southwest of the Washington/Dulles (IAD) Airport, and 55 miles southeast of the Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport (see Maps & Transportation) www.crystalgatewaymarriott.com
• Hotel Reservation Information: The Crystal Gateway Marriott (703-920-3230) is making 120 rooms available to us (single/double rate of $188/night). Rooms have high-speed Internet service. To secure a reservation, please contact the hotel directly and specify that you will be attending the MEPAG meeting. The deadline when the hotel will release any unreserved rooms from our block for general sale is December 16, 2006; however it is best to make your reservation early before the approaching holiday season.
• Meeting RSVP deadline: December 16, 2006 to Debbie Calderón (Debbie.Calderon@jpl.nasa.gov)
• VEXAG Meeting: The Venus Exploration Analysis Group has scheduled a meeting immediately after this MEPAG meeting (on Thursday-Friday, January 11-12), at the same hotel. A special invitation is extended to meeting participants of MEPAG and VEXAG to attend both meetings.

If you need additional logistical information, please contact Albert Haldemann, MEPAG meeting coordinator, albert.f.haldemann@jpl.nasa.gov, phone = 818-354-1723, FAX = 818-393-4445.

If you have updates to the master MEPAG e-mail list (either correction of faulty e-mail addresses, addition of Mars science colleagues who have been inadvertently omitted), or deletions, please contact Debbie Calderón at Debbie.Calderon@jpl.nasa.gov.