[meteorite-list] Discovery at 15 - Looking Back, Moving Forward

[Ron Baalke]

http://discovery.nasa.gov/Discovery15/

Discovery at 15 - Looking Back, Moving Forward

In 2007, NASA's Discovery Program celebrates its 15th anniversary 
with a science conference that will for the first time bring together 
in a public forum the principal investigators, or PIs, who lead 
Discovery's scientifically rich, lower cost space explorations. 
These prominent scientists have assumed the daunting dual-role in 
"PI-led" missions of both directing the science effort and being 
responsible for overall mission success.  They will reflect on their 
science goals and results along with engineering and management 
challenges and achievements.

Hosted by NASA's Planetary Science Division and the Discovery Program 
Office, Discovery at 15 - Looking Back, Moving Forward will be held 
September 19-20 in Huntsville, Alabama. It will provide a forum for 
the exchange of experiences, discoveries and new ideas for future 
missions among program participants and the next generation of 
proposers.

The Discovery Program was an experiment for NASA - funding scientists 
to follow their dreams and explore an unknown piece of the solar 
system puzzle.  Seeking to achieve outstanding results using fewer 
resources and shorter development times than past projects with 
comparable objectives, NASA gave the green light to Discovery in 1992 
with Mars Pathfinder, a bold mission to put a station and a small 
rover on Mars.

In 15 years, ten missions have been selected to take this the roller 
coaster ride of Discovery, to advance science knowledge about how our 
solar system came to be, how we fit in, and what is our fate.  The 
two-day event will commemorate the successes of the completed 
Discovery missions:  Mars Pathfinder, NEAR, Lunar Prospector, 
Genesis, Deep Impact and Stardust and look forward to the successes 
expected from those missions not yet complete: MESSENGER, Dawn, and 
Kepler.

Panel discussion topics include the technical challenges of sample 
return, the infusion of new technology into low-risk missions, the 
ins-and-outs of international cooperation, complex flight operations, 
successful education and public outreach programs, and project 
management challenges. Thematic sessions will feature scientists, 
engineers, managers and educators from the ten Discovery missions and 
the two Discovery Missions of Opportunity to offer a mix of 
perspectives.  Principal investigators will discuss their science 
goals and achievements and their views on what is needed next to 
follow-up.  They will speak from experience on proposal development, 
mission implementation, challenges overcome, innovations employed, 
and lessons learned.

Alan Stern, the new Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission 
Directorate, will be the featured speaker at the opening night 
dinner. Discovery Program Scientist Dr. Michael New will open the 
conference, and former NASA Associate Administrator for Space 
Science, Dr. Wes Huntress, will deliver the closing address.

Registration and logistics information can be found on the Discovery 
Program web site, http://discovery.nasa.gov/Discovery15.  The 
conference is free and open to the public.