MSL landing Site Workshop

1. MSL landing Site Workshop Michael Meyer 31 May 2006

2. Where We Are…Right Now

3. The Near-Future Program • Mission Priorities • Orbital asset maintenance and MRO • MSL 2009 • Phoenix 2007 • Scout Program and Scout-11 • Draft AO released • Award up to three 9 month Phase A’s in October 2006 • Downselect before October 2007 • 12 month Phase B • 36 month Phase C/D • MoO included, avenue for international collaboration • If >12 month orbiter, must also serve as telecom relay • Continue successful orbiter-lander interconnection • Maintain telecomm infrastructure through scientific orbiters • Continue public, educational and international exposure • Opportunistic measurements for human exploration of Mars

4. Where We Are Now Safe on Mars Next Decade Current Decade Current Program Budget FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 Proposed funding will support a viable Mars robotic exploration program through most of the next decade The President’s proposed FY07 budget to Congress Program funding expected to remains slightly below the FY05 budget level Growth rate capped at 1.0-1.2% Operating Missions reduced All Program Management elements reduced • E/PO • Reserves • Other Program elements Technology significantly reduced Scout AO MoO available funding reduced

5. Summary MEP Status Outstanding science has been, and will continue to be done, however: • We are likely to remain in a challenging resources environment • The President’s budget has not yet been approved • MSL is critical to establishing the next decade • Keep it in ’09 or possibly lose it • Missions past ’16 are dependent on future budget and discoveries • Overall, the program is fragile • Any demands for additional funds must come from something else in the Program • Technology is at a critical juncture—2013/2016 focus only • International collaboration can open opportunities to enhance this portfolio of missions • Human Exploration linkage needs to be maintained in support of the Vision

6. Design Concept Mars Science Laboratory

7. MSL Landing Site Workshop The purpose of the Landing Site workshop is to identify and evaluate potential landing sites best suited to achieving stated mission science objectives within the constraints imposed by engineering requirements, planetary protection requirements, and the necessity of ensuring a safe landing. Assess the biological potential of at least one target environment identified prior to MSL or discovered by MSL. Characterize the geology of the landing region at all appropriate spatial scales (i.e., ranging from micrometers to meters). Investigate planetary processes of relevance to pasthabitability, including the role of water Characterize the broad-spectrum of the surface radiation environment, including galactic cosmic radiation, solar proton events, and secondary neutrons

8. MSL Landing Site Workshop Why a workshop? Ensure we have the full and diverse input from the scientific community to derive the most scientifically compelling landing sites . . . that are within the engineering constraints. Use the knowledge of the scientific community to determine the degree to which a landing site is safe. Provide the opportunity for a rapid dissemination of new ideas and discoveries, and their relative importance concerning where to go on Mars

9. Science Payload ChemCam Remote Sensing (Mast) ChemCam – Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (chemical composition/imaging) MastCam - Color Stereo Imager Contact Instruments (Arm) MAHLI - Microscopic Imager *APXS - Proton/X-ray Backscatter Spectrometer (chemical composition) Analytical Laboratory (Front Chassis) SAM - Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer/ Tunable Laser Spectrometer (sample composition/organics detection/isotopes) CheMin - X-ray Diffraction / Florescence (sample mineralogy/chemical composition) REMS* MastCam RAD** SAM DAN* CheMin MARDI APXS* MAHLI Design Concept Environmental Characterization (Body-mount) MARDI - Descent Imager *REMS - Meteorological monitoring **RAD - Surface Radiation Flux Monitor *DAN - Neutron backscatter subsurface hydrogen (water/ice) detection *- Foreign Contribution ** - ESMD Contribution

11. “First Light” for MRO’s HiRISE Argyre region March 24, 2006 2489km altitude 50km x 24km Image 20,000 pixels 2.5 m/pixel

12. CRISM: Improved Spatial Spectral Resolution CRISM targeted hyperspectral (20 m/pixel, 7 nm/ch): characterizes deposits OMEGA (300-1000 m/pixel,13 nm/ch.): discovers large deposits

13. MSL Capstone Mission At the threshold of the next decade, MSL will assess whether Mars could have been conducive for life, and set the pathway for future exploration • MSL will be the first roving platform to: • Characterize discovered organics • Perform definitive mineralogy • Measure surface radiation, concomitant in space (Odyssey); also of relevance to human exploration • As demonstrated by MER, mobility will enable measurement of lateral regional heterogeneity of minerals and organic compounds, central to understanding the potential habitability of Mars. • MRO orbital, global geologic measurements will be ground-truthed by MSL through local surface remote sensing and in situ measurements