May 31, 2002
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SETI Institute Scientist Nathalie Cabrol Chosen For Mars Rover Mission Team
The SETI Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Nathalie Cabrol was among the group of 28 scientists chosen by NASA for participation in the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission.
Joining the Institute in 1998, Dr. Cabrol has focused her research primarily on planetary geology and automated, human exploration of Mars. Explaining her role in the upcoming MER mission, Cabrol said she "will be studying the traces left by water activity at the MER landing sites and wherever the rovers explore."
"Nathalie's role in this mission is another exciting chapter in the long-term and highly synergistic relationship between the SETI Institute and NASA." said Dr. Christopher Chyba, Director of the Institute's Center for the Study of Life in the Universe. "We are delighted that Nathalie was chosen as a team member with NASA to 'follow the water.'"
According to the NASA press announcement, the mission consists of two separate, though identical, rovers scheduled for launch in mid-2003 and arrival at separate destinations on Mars in early 2004.
The MER mission science objectives include: (1) study rocks and soils for clues to past water activity; (2) investigate landing sites that have a high probability of containing evidence of the action of liquid water; (3) determine the distribution and composition of minerals, rocks and soils surrounding the landing sites; (4) determine the nature of local surface geologic processes; (5) calibrate and validate data from orbiting missions at each landing site; and (6) study the geologic processes for clues about the environmental conditions that existed when liquid water was present, and whether those environments were conducive for life.
"By directly participating in NASA's next mission to the surface of Mars," said Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science, Headquarters, Washington, the team "will help bring us closer to the long-term objective of our Mars Exploration Program -- understanding Mars as a planet and determining whether life ever existed there."
The complete list of participating scientists:
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Johannes Brueckner; Max Planck Institut fur Chemie, Mainz, Germany; Investigation of elemental composition of Martian soils and their relationship to global surface chemistry
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Nathalie A. Cabrol; SETI Institute, Moffett Field, Calif.; Aqueous Sedimentary Processes at the MER sites
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Wendy M. Calvin; University of Nevada, Reno; Mini-TES investigation for surface mineralogy and surface/orbit constraints on TES
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Benton C. Clark; Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, Colo.; Chemical Alteration Processes on Mars: Investigations and Implications
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Larry S. Crumpler; New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque; Field Geology and Micro-surface Characteristics at MER Investigation Sites
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Jack D. Farmer; Arizona State University, Tempe; Integrated Studies of Surface Geology and Mineralogy to Explore for Past Aqueous Environments
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William H. Farrand; Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.; Major and Minor Components of the Surface Layer of Mars: An Investigation Using the MER Pancam and Mini-TES
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William M. Folkner; JPL; Measurement of Mars Rotation Changes with the Mars Exploration Rovers
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Matthew P. Golombek; JPL; Directing Long Range Rover Traverses using Orbital Surface Predictions and MER Ground Truth
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John A. Grant; Smithsonian Institution, Washington; Constraining the Geologic Setting and Evolution of the MER Landing Site(s)
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Ronald Greeley; Arizona State University, Tempe; Mars Exploration Rover: Study of Aeolian Features and Processes
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John P. Grotzinger; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Geological Analysis of Martian Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
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Stubbe Hviid; Max Planck Institut fur Aeronomie, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany; Investigation of the production and composition of Martian soils and dust and their effect upon the Martian atmosphere
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Jeffrey R. Johnson; U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz.; Spectrophotometric Observations of Surface Materials at the MER Landing Sites
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Geoffrey A. Landis; Ohio Aerospace Institute, Cleveland; Study of Solar Energy and Dust Accumulation on MER
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Mark T. Lemmon; Texas A & M University, College Station; Investigation of the properties of Martian atmospheric dust and its effect on the illumination of the Martian surface
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Rongxing Li; Ohio State University, Columbus; Surface Image-based High-precision Near Real-time Landing Site Mapping and Long-range Rover Localization for MER 2003 mission
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Scott M. McLennan; State University of New York, Stony Brook; Sedimentary Petrology at the MER Sites
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Douglas W. Ming; NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston; Identification and Processes of Formation for Phyllosilicates, Sulfates, and Other Chemical Weathering Products on Mars
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Jeffrey E. Moersch; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; A Search for Aqueous Minerals with the Mars Exploration Rover Mini-TES Experiment
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Timothy J. Parker; JPL; Sedimentary Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of the MER A and B Landing Sites
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James W. Rice; Arizona State University, Tempe; MER Geomorphic and Sedimentological Investigations
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Lutz Richter; DLR Institut fur Raumsimulation, Koln, Germany; Mars Soil Mechanics Investigations Using MER Rover Locomotion System Engineering Data
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Michael D. Smith; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; Retrieval of Atmospheric Properties using mini-TES spectra
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Peter H. Smith; University of Arizona, Tucson; The dust cycle monitored from MER
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Robert Sullivan; Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; Physical and Mechanical Properties of Martian Soils Along MER Traverses
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Michael J. Wolff; Space Science Institute, Martinez, Ga.; Aerosol Studies and the Boundary Layer: Things are Looking Up
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Albert S. Yen; JPL; Soil Formation without Liquid Water: An Assessment of the Meteoritic Contribution to the Martian Surface
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