Mars Astrobiology Science and Technology Workshop
8-10 September 2004
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC
NAI 2005 Astrobiotechnology Focus Group presentations

The discovery of evidence for past liquid water on Mars, along with the resulting potential for ancient current life there, has galvanized the scientific community’s interest in astrobiology research on Mars. This workshop will help pave the way toward the next generation of Mars in situ astrobiology science and technology experiments, aimed toward determining martian history, understanding martian habitability, and detecting signatures of past or present life.

Specific goals of the workshop are:

• To discuss the implications of the new vision and direction for NASA for upcoming flight opportunities for Mars astrobiology.
  
  
• To foster communication between scientists and technologists on the next generation of in situ experiments at Mars for astrobiology.
  
  
• To discuss the state of the art for in situ experiments, the technologies that could be incorporated into flight programs, and the priorities in instrument development.
  
  
• To target emerging technologies that have the potential to be of value to the Mars program and developed for flight.
  
  
• To highlight areas that may lead to new and innovative proposals to the NASA programs for development of new instrument concepts (PIDDP, MIDP, ASTID, and ASTEP).
  
  
• To involve technology developers from the commercial and biomedical world who have not looked previously at NASA applications

The workshop will involve:

(i) presentations on aspects of the current program, technology issues, and funding opportunities,
(ii) poster presentations on possible new concepts and directions,
(iii) focussed discussion on specific topics relevant to technology and instrument development, and
(iv) development of recommendations for NASA HQ on Mars astrobiology technology issues.

The workshop will be open to the science and technology communities, and we specifically encourage participation from people who have not been involved previously in the program.

Sincerely,

Bruce Jakosky (Univ. of Colorado; bruce.jakosky@lasp.colorado.edu)
Greg Bearman (NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory; greg.bearman@jpl.nasa.gov)
Andrew Steele (Carnegie Institution of Washington; a.steele@gl.ciw.edu)