The Mars 2020 rover mission is expected to launch in July/August 2020, with the objectives to assess the geological history of the Jezero crater landing site, determine the habitability and astrobiological potential of the landing site by seeking signs of ancient life in the rock record, collect a carefully selected and documented, returnable cache of martian surficial materials, and prepare for the eventual human exploration of Mars. The mission will use a variety of scientific instruments and technology demonstrations carried on the rover that will operate using its own power and telemetry, and that is expected to carry out its mission over the course of at least one Mars year. The goals, objectives, and descriptions of the instrument payload and operations roles for the Mars 2020 mission are described in the Proposal Information Package (PIP), which can be downloaded from the NSPIRES index page of this program element.
This program element is for investigations in the Mars 2020 Participating Scientist Program (Mars 2020 PSP) to enhance the scientific return from the mission by broadening participation in the mission and augmenting the existing Mars 2020 science team to include new investigations that broaden and/or complement the funded Principal Investigator (PI)-led investigations, thus maximizing the contribution of Mars 2020 to the future exploration and scientific understanding of Mars. The second important goal of this opportunity is to increase the number of scientists supporting daily mission operations.
This program element is soliciting investigations primarily involving the seven instruments that comprise the Mars 2020 payload. Investigations involving data from outside the seven instruments, including science investigations based on data from any of the engineering systems or technology demonstrations present on the rover (such as the helicopter), may be considered, but there is little ability to affect the capability and calibration of other mission hardware. In addition, there is limited information the project can provide about the actual capability and calibration of other mission hardware at this time, beyond what is in the Proposal Information Package.
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