[meteorite-list] Mars and the Mojave Festival

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.seti.org/mars-mojave-festival-2012

Join us for the First Ever Mars and the Mojave Festival
SETI Institute

We are proud to announce the first ever Death Valley National Park
planetary analog festival, titled Mars and the Mojave Festival -
exploring extremes on Earth and beyond.  This pioneer three-day public
event, scheduled for March 9-11, 2012 will feature scientist- and NPS
interpreter-guided field trips to analog sites, evening keynote speakers
and panels, star-gazing, and an al fresco expo with representatives from
NASA, JPL, non-profits, and universities - including Curiosity
mini-rover demonstrations.

The goal of this event is to elevate public awareness about planetary
analog research taking place on Earth, and its associated missions in
space. Organizations conducting work in the field have an opportunity to
raise the profile of their projects in the public eye.  Death Valley
National Park boasts several planetary analog research sites within its
boundaries and is excited share with its visitors this little known, but
extremely important, use of our public lands.  If this event proves
successful, it could turn into an annual festival celebrating planetary
analogs at different National Park sites throughout the west.

Mars and the Mojave Organizing Committee

Lora Bleacher, NASA Goddard
Rosalba Bonaccorsi, NASA Ames/SETI Institute
Liza Coe, NASA Ames
Stephanie Kyriazis, Death Valley National Park
Andrea Jones, NASA Goddard

JOIN US THIS March 9 - 11, 2012 in for the FIRST EVER MARS AND MOJAVE
FESTIVAL at Death Valley National Park


The barren landscape, almost devoid of vegetation, evokes the red
planet's surface. The arid, but not completely rainless climate is
similar to conditions on an early Mars, about three billion years ago.
Other-worldly features like Badwater salt flat and Ubehebe Crater embody
the extreme environments in which scientists seek the building blocks of
life on other planets.

For these reasons and others, scientists from NASA and universities have
flocked to Death Valley for decades, testing equipment and hypotheses
bound for rocky spheres beyond our earthly home. In other words, Death
Valley is an ideal planetary analog site - a place on earth that mimics
the conditions of places like Mars.

Now, scientists are partnering with the park to celebrate this long
history of planetary analog research during a three-day, free public
festival titled Mars and the Mojave: Exploring extremes on Earth and
beyond, scheduled for March 9-11, 2012. The program kicks off Friday
night, with a keynote address, titled "Curiosity on Mars," delivered by
Dr. Chris McKay from NASA Ames Research Center, a member of the Mars
Science Laboratory team. The talk will be followed by telescope viewing
of Mars, Jupiter, and other astronomical objects.

The Mars Science Laboratory is a NASA mission that successfully launched
on November 26, 2011. A suite of instruments, mounted on a rover named
Curiosity, will help determine if Mars can currently sustain, or has
ever supported, any life sometime during its wetter and warmer past
microscopic life. The rover is scheduled to land on the red planet in
August of this year. Several of Curiosity's instruments and experiments
were designed by scientists who have worked in Death Valley, and will be
participating in the festival.

Visitors to Death Valley National Park during the festival will enjoy
scientist-hosted field trips to analog sites like the rocky Mars Hill,
Badwater salt flat, and the Ubehebe cratered field. Saturday afternoon,
there will be an expo on the lawn of the park's newly renovated Visitor
Center, featuring booths from various NASA centers, universities, and no
profit-organizations dedicated to planetary research and public lands.
Other expo features include mini-Curiosity rover demonstrations,
scientist talks, and free souvenirs. After-lunch lectures and an evening
panel will provide the public with more in-depth perspectives on
planetary analog research in National Parks and around the globe, as
well as a discussion about the societal relevance of space science. The
festival will end on Sunday afternoon with a closing ceremony, featuring
a talk on the future of planetary exploration, on earth and beyond.


WHEN: March 9 - 11, 2012
WHERE:Death Valley National Park

*CONTACTS*:

Stephanie Kyriazis
Education Specialist
Death Valley National Park
stephanie_kyriazis at nps.gov
760-786-3226

Rosalba Bonaccorsi
Ph.D Research Scientist
NASA Ames Research Center/SETI Institute
Space Science& Astrobiology Division
M.S. 245-3, Rm. 213A
Moffett Field, CA 94035
rosalba.bonaccorsi-1 at nasa.gov
Phone: 650 604-1136
Fax: 650 604-4497