The science process for selecting the landing site for the 2020 Mars rover

The process of identifying the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 rover began in 2013 by defining threshold mission science criteria related to seeking signs of ancient habitable conditions, searching for biosignatures of past microbial life, assembling a returnable cache of samples for possible future return to Earth, and collecting data for planning eventual human missions to the surface of Mars. Mission engineering constraints on elevation and latitude were used to identify candidate landing sites that addressed the scientific objectives of the mission. However, for the first time these constraints did not have a major influence on the viability of candidate sites and, with the new entry, descent, and landing capabilities included in the baseline mission, the vast majority of sites were evaluated and down-selected on the basis of science merit. More than 30 candidate sites with likely acceptable surface and atmospheric conditions were considered at a series of open workshops in the years leading up to the launch. During that period, iteration between engineering constraints and the evolving relative science potential of candidate sites led to the identification of three final candidate sites: Jezero crater (18.4386°N, 77.5031°E), northeast (NE) Syrtis (17.8899°N,77.1599°E) and Columbia Hills (14.5478°S, 175.6255°E). The final landing site will be selected by NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. This paper serves as a record of landing site selection activities related primarily to science, an inventory of the number and variety of sites proposed, and a summary of the science potential of the highest-ranking sites

The science process for selecting the landing site for the 2020 Mars rover

The process of identifying the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 rover began in 2013 by defining threshold mission science criteria related to seeking signs of ancient habitable conditions, searching for biosignatures of past microbial life, assembling a returnable cache of samples for possible future return to Earth, and collecting data for planning eventual human missions to the surface of Mars. Mission engineering constraints on elevation and latitude were used to identify candidate landing sites that addressed the scientific objectives of the mission. However, for the first time these constraints did not have a major influence on the viability of candidate sites and, with the new entry, descent, and landing capabilities included in the baseline mission, the vast majority of sites were evaluated and down-selected on the basis of science merit. More than 30 candidate sites with likely acceptable surface and atmospheric conditions were considered at a series of open workshops in the years leading up to the launch. During that period, iteration between engineering constraints and the evolving relative science potential of candidate sites led to the identification of three final candidate sites: Jezero crater (18.4386°N, 77.5031°E), northeast (NE) Syrtis (17.8899°N,77.1599°E) and Columbia Hills (14.5478°S, 175.6255°E). The final landing site will be selected by NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. This paper serves as a record of landing site selection activities related primarily to science, an inventory of the number and variety of sites proposed, and a summary of the science potential of the highest-ranking sites

Mars: new insights and unresolved questions

Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and habitations. Here, we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating to the natural history of Mars, habitability, robotic and human exploration, planetary protection, and the impacts on human society. Key observations and findings include: – high escape rates of early Mars’ atmosphere, including loss of water, impact present-day habitability; – putative fossils on Mars will likely be ambiguous biomarkers for life; – microbial contamination resulting from human habitation is unavoidable; and – based on Mars’ current planetary protection category, robotic payload(s) should characterize the local martian environment for any life-forms prior to human habitation.Some of the outstanding questions are:– which interpretation of the hemispheric dichotomy of the planet is correct; – to what degree did deep-penetrating faults transport subsurface liquids to Mars’ surface; – in what abundance are carbonates formed by atmospheric processes; – what properties of martian meteorites could be used to constrain their source locations; – the origin(s) of organic macromolecules; – was/is Mars inhabited; – how can missions designed to uncover microbial activity in the subsurface eliminate potential false positives caused by microbial contaminants from Earth; – how can we ensure that humans and microbes form a stable and benign biosphere; and – should humans relate to putative extraterrestrial life from a biocentric viewpoint (preservation of all biology), or anthropocentric viewpoint of expanding habitation of space?Studies of Mars’ evolution can shed light on the habitability of extrasolar planets. In addition, Mars exploration can drive future policy developments and confirm (or put into question) the feasibility and/or extent of human habitability of space

The Mississippi University Research Consortium for the Utilization of Biomass: Production of Alternative Fuels from Waste Biomass Initiative

The Mississippi Consortium for the Utilization of Biomass was formed via funding from the US Department of Energy's EPSCoR Program, which is administered by the Office of Basic Science. Funding was approved in July of 1999 and received by participating Mississippi institutions by 2000. The project was funded via two 3-year phases of operation (the second phase was awarded based on the high merits observed from the first 3-year phase), with funding ending in 2007. The mission of the Consortium was to promote the utilization of biomass, both cultured and waste derived, for the production of commodity and specialty chemicals. These scientific efforts, although generally basic in nature, are key to the development of future industries within the Southeastern United States. In this proposal, the majority of the efforts performed under the DOE EPSCoR funding were focused primarily toward the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks and biogas from waste products. However, some of the individual projects within this program investigated the production of other products from biomass feeds (i.e. acetic acid and biogas) along with materials to facilitate the more efficient production of chemicals from biomass. Mississippi is a leading state in terms of raw biomass production. Its top industries are timber, poultry production, and row crop agriculture. However, for all of its vast amounts of biomass produced on an annual basis, only a small percentage of the biomass is actually industrially produced into products, with the bulk of the biomass being wasted. This situation is actually quite representative of many Southeastern US states. The research and development efforts performed attempted to further develop promising chemical production techniques that use Mississippi biomass feedstocks. The three processes that were the primary areas of interest for ethanol production were syngas fermentation, acid hydrolysis followed by hydrolyzate fermentation, and enzymatic conversion. All three of these processes are of particular interest to states in the Southeastern US since the agricultural products produced in this region are highly variable in terms of actual crop, production quantity, and the ability of land areas to support a particular type of crop. This greatly differs from the Midwestern US where most of this region's agricultural land supports one to two primary crops, such as corn and soybean. Therefore, developing processes which are relatively flexible in terms of biomass feedstock is key to the southeastern region of the US if this area is going to be a 'player' in the developing biomass to chemicals arena. With regard to the fermentation of syngas, research was directed toward developing improved biocatalysts through organism discovery and optimization, improving ethanol/acetic acid separations, evaluating potential bacterial contaminants, and assessing the use of innovative fermentors that are better suited for supporting syngas fermentation. Acid hydrolysis research was directed toward improved conversion yields and rates, acid recovery using membranes, optimization of fermenting organisms, and hydrolyzate characterization with changing feedstocks. Additionally, a series of development efforts addressed novel separation techniques for the separation of key chemicals from fermentation activities. Biogas related research focused on key factors hindering the widespread use of digester technologies in non-traditional industries. The digestion of acetic acids and other fermentation wastewaters was studied and methods used to optimize the process were undertaken. Additionally, novel laboratory methods were designed along with improved methods of digester operation. A search for better performing digester consortia was initiated coupled with improved methods to initiate their activity within digester environments. The third activity of the consortium generally studied the production of 'other' chemicals from waste biomass materials found in Mississippi. The two primary examples of this activity are production of chemical feedstocks from lignin and the production of high valued lipids from wastewater treatment sludges. Lignin conversion research, done in collaboration with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), studied ligninases derived from bacteria found within the gut of wood degrading insects, such as termites and the Betsey beetle. This research attempted to use these enzymes to reduce lignin down to aromatic chemicals capable of chemical conversation for production of value-added chemicals. The biodiesel efforts attempted to development economically viable methods for the separation of lipids from wastewater bacteria (which make up the bulk of sewage sludge) which were then converted to biodisel