Each session will include invited talks (30 min) and contributed talks (15 min). The following is the finalized conference program, but may be subject to minor changes. All talks will take place in Royce 314 in Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.
Day 1 – February 4, 2013 |
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| 8:00am | 30 min | Breakfast/Coffee | |
| 8:30am | 10 min | Conference Welcome | David Paige – University of California, Los Angeles | Video |
| 8:40am | 10 min | Welcome from the Dean | Joe Rudnick – Dean of Physical Sciences, UCLA |
Current Mars Liquid Water ActivityChair: Alfred McEwen |
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| 8:50am | 5 min | Session Introduction | |
| 8:55am | 30 min | Invited Talk: Behavior of Briny Water at the Phoenix Landing Site | Selby Cull – Bryn Mawr College | Video | PDF |
| 9:25am | 15 min | Thin Liquid Water Films on Present-Day Mars | Akos Kereszturi (remote presenter) – Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungary | Video | PDF |
| 9:40am | 15 min | Assessing Habitability: Lessons from the Phoenix Mission | Carol Stoker – NASA Ames Research Center | Video | PDF |
| 9:55pm | 15 min | Laboratory Experiments to Study the Martian Water Vapor Cycle | Harvey Elliott – University of Michigan | Video | PDF |
| 10:10am | 30 min | Invited Talk: Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL): Flow of Briny Water on Present-Day Mars? | Alfred McEwen – LPL/University of Arizona | Video | PDF |
| 10:40am | 15 min | Spectral Constraints on the Nature and Formation Mechanism of Recurring Slope Lineae | Lujendra Ojha – Georgia Institute of Technology | Video | PDF |
| 10:55am | 15 min | Mid-morning Break | |
| 11:10am | 15 min | Formation of Recurrent Slope Lineae (RSL) by Freshwater Discharge of Melted Cold Traps | David Stillman – Southwest Research Institute | Video | PDF |
| 11:25am | 15 min | Mass Balance Constraints on the Sustainability of Mars’ Recurrent Slope Lineae (RSL): Should RSL be an Astrobiology Priority? | Edwin Kite – California Institute of Technology | Video | PDF |
| 11:40am | 30 min | Invited Talk: Stability and Activity of Liquid Brines on Present-Day Mars | Vincent Chevrier – University of Arkansas | Video | PDF |
| 12:10pm | 15 min | Present-Day Liquid Water on Mars: Theoretical Expectations, Observational Evidence, and Preferred Locations | German Martinez – University of Michigan | Video | PDF |
| 12:25pm | 15 min | Temporary Liquid Interfacial Water in the Upper Surface of Mars | Jean-Pierre de Vera (for Diedrich Mohlmann) – DLR/German Aerospace Center | Video | PDF |
| 12:40pm | 15 min | Thermodynamic Stability of Liquid Water on Present-Day Mars: Surface Retrievals from the Mars Climate Sounder | Paul Hayne – Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Video | PDF |
| 12:55pm | 60 min | Lunch | |
Early MSL ResultsChair: Ashwin Vasavada |
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| 1:55pm | 60 min | Invited Talk: The Mars Science Laboratory Mission: Early Results from Gale Crater | Ashwin Vasavada – Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology | Video | PDF |
Mars Salts and PerchloratesChair: Selby Cull |
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| 2:55pm | 5 min | Session Introduction | |
| 3:00pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: Formation of Perchlorate on Mars | David Catling – University of Washington | Video | PDF |
| 3:30pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: The Formation and Stability of Perchlorate Liquid Brines on Mars | Raina Gough – University of Colorado | Video | PDF |
| 4:00pm | 15 min | Afternoon Break | |
| 4:15pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: The Phoenix Mars Lander Wet Chemistry Laboratory: New Results for Perchlorate and its Implications for Water, Organics, and Life | Sam Kounaves – Tufts University | Video | PDF |
| 4:45pm | 15 min | Water Uptake of Calcium Perchlorate: An Investigation of Stable Aqueous Solutions Relevant to Mars | Danielle Nuding – University of Colorado, Boulder | Video | PDF |
| 5:00pm | 15 min | Character of Mg(ClO4)2 Brines Under Mars Regolith Conditions | Aaron Zent – NASA Ames Research Center | Video | PDF |
| 5:15pm | 15 min | Closing Remarks and Discussion | David Paige – University of California, Los Angeles | Video |
| 5:30pm | Day 1 Talks End | ||
| 7:00pm | Conference Dinner: Skylight Gardens – 1139 Glendon Ave Los Angeles, CA 90024 - (310) 824-1818. Nice casual attire. Transportation is available from the UCLA campus shuttle (see map for pick-up and drop-off locations) to the dinner. The campus shuttle runs from 7am -7pm; dinner attendees will be responsible for their own transportation after dinner. For those who are driving, valet parking and street parking are available (meters run until 8pm in Westwood). |
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Day 2 – February 5, 2013 |
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| 8:30am | 30 min | Breakfast/Coffee | |
Mars Salts and Perchlorates (cont’d)Chair: Selby Cull |
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| 9:00am | 5 min | Session Introduction | |
| 9:05am | 30 min | Invited Talk: Aqueous extract of a Mars analogue regolith that mimics the Phoenix landing site does not inhibit spore germination or growth of model spacecraft contaminants Bacillus subtilis 168 and B. pumilus SAFR-032 | Wayne Nicholson (remote presenter) – University of Florida | Video | PDF |
| 9:35am | 15 min | Growth of Methanogens in the Presence of Perchlorates: Implications for Life on Mars | Timothy Kral – University of Arkansas | Video | PDF |
| 9:50am | 15 min | Dissimilatory Perchlorate Reduction Linked to Cryptic Aerobic Methane Oxidation: A Possible Scenario for Life on Mars | Laurence Miller – USGS | Video | PDF |
| 10:05am | 15 min | Possibilities for Life on Mars – A Surprising New Microbe | Robert Clark (remote presenter) – Widener University | PDF |
| 10:20am | 15 min | Freezing and Evaporation Modeling of WCL Solutions Using FREZCHEM Model and GWB Geochemical Work Bench | Amira Elsenousy – University of Arkansas | Video | PDF |
| 10:35am | 15 min | Hygroscopicity and Present Habitability on Mars | Dirk Schulze-Makuch (remote presenter) – Washington State University | Video | PDF |
| 10:50am | 15 min | Mid-morning Break | |
| 11:05am | 15 min | Subsurface Mineral-water Reservoir on Mars | Alian Wang (remote presenter) – Washington University, St. Louis | Video | PDF |
| 11:20am | 15 min | Experimental Formation and Persistence of Metastable Aqueous Salt Solutions on Mars | Jonathan Toner – Unversity of Washington | Video | PDF |
| 11:35am | 15 min | Regional Prevalence of Fe-Sulfates on Mars | Suniti Karunatillake – Louisiana State University | Video | PDF |
Redox Potentials for Martian Life
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| 11:50am | 5 min | Session Introduction | |
| 11:55am | 30 min | Invited Talk: Present-day Uninhabited Habitats on Mars | Charles Cockell (remote presenter) – University of Edinburgh | Video | PDF |
| 12:25pm | 75 min | Lunch | |
| 1:40pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: Plausible Microbial Metabolisms on Mars | Claire Cousins (remote presenter) – Birbeck College, University of London | Video | PDF |
| 2:10pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: Energy Sources and Metabolic Rates for Life on Mars | Chris McKay (remote presenter) – NASA Ames Research Center | Video | PDF |
| 2:40pm | 15 min | Metabolic Activity of Microorganisms During and After Simulated Mars-like Conditions – What Do We Learn about the Habitability of the Red Planet? | Jean-Pierre de Vera – German Aerospace Center/DLR | Video | PDF |
| 2:55pm | 15 min | Geologic and Energetic Constraints of Anaerobic Methane Oxidation on Mars | Jeffrey Marlow – California Institute of Technology | Video | PDF |
| 3:10pm | 15 min | Afternoon Break | |
Implications for Mars Planetary Protection PoliciesChair: Cassie Conley |
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| 3:25pm | 5 min | Session Introduction | |
| 3:30pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: Life Detection and Planetary Protection |
Cassie Conley and Gerhard Kminek – NASA Headquarters and European Space Agency | Video | PDF |
| 4:00pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: Growth and Ultrastructure of Bacteria in 7 mbar, 0° C, and CO2-enriched Anoxic Atmospheres: Implications for the Forward Contamination of Mars | Andrew Schuerger (remote presenter) – University of Florida | Video | PDF |
| 4:30pm | 15 min | Survival of Halophiles at Mars-Simulated Conditions | Alla Bryanskaya (remote presenter) – Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University | PDF | Slides |
| 4:45pm | 30 min | Invited Talk: Planetary Protection and its Application to JPL Missions | J. Andy Spry – Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Video | PDF |
| 5:15pm | 15 min | Closing Remarks and Discussion | David Paige – University of California, Los Angeles | Video |
| 5:30pm | Day 2 Talks End | ||
Day 3 – February 6, 2013 |
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| 10:00am | Leave from UCLA Guest House for JPL Field Trip (lunch provided) | ||
| 4:00pm | Return to campus | ||