European Mars Science and Exploration Conference: Mars Express & ExoMars

12-16 November 2007, ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk (NL)

Final Announcement

When and where:

The European Mars Science and Exploration Conference (EMSEC): Mars Express and ExoMars will be held at ESA's Technology Centre (ESTEC) at Noordwijk, The Netherlands, on 12-16 November 2007. Then Mars Express will have completed its first extended mission after almost four years in orbit around the Red Planet. This would be an appropriate time to reflect on the many discoveries of Mars Express in all fields, from the Martian interior and subsurface structure to its surface morphology, geology and mineralogy, its atmospheric composition, dynamics and climate, and its interaction with the space environment.

You can download a printable A3 conference flier.

Purpose:

Preparations are gearing up for the next step in the European exploration of Mars with the ExoMars mission, which comprises a capable rover devoted to astrobiological studies with access to the subsurface, and possibly a geophysical package and a scientific and communications orbiter. The ExoMars scientific objectives will be discussed at the meeting and its instruments presented, as well as areas where ExoMars could benefit from Mars Express studies, such as landing site selection, will be identified. Goals for potential European exploration of the Red Planet after ExoMars will also be addressed.

Scope:

The conference will be organized into morning and afternoon oral sessions configured around topical themes, and supporting evening poster sessions.

Sessions on the following topics will take place:

• S.01: Mars interior and subsurface structure
• S.02: Mars geology and geomorphology
• S.03: ExoMars in-situ and orbital experiments
• S.04: Mars geology and mineralogy
• S.05: Astrobiology and search for remnants of life
• S.06: Mars atmosphere and climate
• S.07: Mars aeronomy

In addition, three specific workshops will take place on the last day of the conference:

• W.01: The meaning of methane on Mars
• W.02: Planetary cartography techniques
• W.03: Landing sites and future Mars exploration

Three poster session are planned:

• P.01: Surface geology and interior
• P.02: Mineralogy and ExoMars
• P.03: Exobiology, atmosphere and ionosphere

Programme

Oral, workshop and poster programmes are available:

• ORAL PROGRAMME
• WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
• POSTER PROGRAMME
• INFORMATION SESSION on ESA NEXT missions (Post-Conference)

Individual abstracts are available on the same pages.

Registration

The registration fee includes: abstract materials, conference bag, coffee during breaks and drinks and snacks during poster sessions, as well as transportation by bus from Noordwijk to Estec and back.

Registration fees (excluding VAT of 19%):

	Before 19 October 2007	After 19 October 2007
Regular	150 €	200 €*
Student	100 €	150 €*

* Please make sure to register online. On-site registration will be subject to an extra processing fee of 25 Euro.

An Optional social dinner will be organized. It is possible to register here. Availability is limited to about 100 people. However, if there is any ticket left, it will be possible to register to the dinner on site too.

The registration page is available here.

Presentations

Oral presetations

Oral presentations will last 15 minutes including discussion (10 + 5). Both Windows and MAC will be supported in the conference room. It will be possible to check-in your presentation both on PC and on MAC. Non-electronic presentations (viewgraphs, slides) will not be possible. The following electronic presentation software (only) will be supported:

• MS PowerPoint - Windows (Office 2003)
• MS PowerPoint - MAC (Office 2004)
• Apple Keynote '07 - MAC
• Adobe PDF 7 - MAC/Windows

The presentation check-in service will be available outside the conference room. It will be there possible to test and upload presentations before each session.

Poster presetations

The maximum available space for posters will be: 170 cm (height) x 120 cm (width).

All presentations (pdf files) will be posted on the conference website after each session, to foster collaboration among participants and keep a comprehensive record of the conference for future reference (e.g. 2006 ESLAB).
Electronic version of the posters, as provided by the authors, will also be available on the web (e.g. 2006 ESLAB).

Therefore, it is mandatory to provide your electronic presentation to the conference organizers. However, if some of your material is too sensitive for public display (e.g. publication embargo), a simplified version of your presentation will be accepted for posting on the conference website.

Schedule:

Third announcement on website with program for oral & poster sessions	-	09 October 2007
Abstracts posted on the web	-	09 October 2007
Deadline for early (discounted) registration & payment	-	19 October 2007
Conference and other activities	-	12-16 November 2007
Presentations posted on the web	-	During and after conference

Travel grants

Partial travel support will be available for a limited number of students and senior scientists from underpriviledged countries. Please fill in the travel grant form and send it to A. Chicarro (agustin.chicarro @ esa.int). Only individuals with accepted oral or poster contributions are eligible for grants. Accepted grant applications will be paid cash at the conference.

Accomodation and logistics

Noordwijk has many possibilities for accomodation, including hotels and pensions.

A list of hotels and contacts, including booking information is available here (.doc hotel form).

Further information on local accomodation is available at: Noordwijk tourist information page. For those looking for an accomodation in Leiden, hotels are listed on Leiden tourist information page

A shuttle service will be available from a central location in Noordwijk to ESTEC. Information on the shuttle bus will be available on this page

For those staying in Leiden, there is a bus connection between Leiden Central Station and ESTEC (Bus 32, direction Katwijk, every 30 minutes. The ride is approximately 30 minutes). It is possible to buy a STRIPPENKAART at the train station (connexxion office). You can always also buy a single ticket on the bus (more expensive). Line 32 bus schedule:

• Leiden CS to ESTEC
• ESTEC to Leiden CS

A map with few hotels, pensions, etc. in Leiden, including train and bus station location is available here.

A map with few hotels in Noordwijk including bus pick-up information is available here.

Scientific Organizing Committee

The international Scientific Commitee of the conference is composed of:

• Ricardo Amils, Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, Spain, EU
• Sushil Atreya, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
• Agustin Chicarro, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, EU
• Marcello Coradini, European Space Agency, Paris, France, EU
• Veronique Dehant, Royal Observatory, Brussels, Belgium, EU
• Tom Duxbury, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA
• Francois Forget, CNRS, Paris, France, EU
• Everett Gibson, Johnson Space Centere, Houston, Texas, USA
• Emmanuelle Javaux, Université of Liege, Liege, Belgium, EU
• Gerhard Kminek, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, EU
• Helmut Lammer, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria, EU
• Kiyoshi Maezawa, JAXA-ISAS, Kanagawa, Japan
• Juergen Oberst, DLR, Berlin, Germany, EU
• Gian Gabriele Ori, IRSPS, Pescara, Italy, EU
• Colin Pillinger, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, EU
• Angelo Pio Rossi, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, EU
• Hakan Svedhem, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, EU
• Jorge Vago, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, EU
• Olivier Witasse, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, EU

Local Organizing Committee:

• Nicolas Andre
• Clare Bingham
• Agustin Chicarro
• Fabrice Cipriani
• Tra-Mi Ho
• Gerhard Kminek
• Angelo Pio Rossi
• Cyril Simon
• Jorge Vago
• Olivier Witasse

Contacts:

Agustin F. Chicarro European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5653613 e-mail

Jorge Vago European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5655211 e-mail

Angelo Pio Rossi European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5656797 e-mail

Gerhard Kminek European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5656096 e-mail