44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2013)
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MARS AND THE MOJAVE: A PLANETARY ANALOG FESTIVAL IN DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL
PARK. A. J. P. Jones1,2, R. Bonaccorsi3,4, S. Kyriazis5, T. Baldino6, L. V. Bleacher1, and L. Coe3, 1NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center (8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt MD 20771; [email protected]), 2Lunar and Planetary
Institute (3600 Bay Area Blvd., Houston TX 77058), 3NASA Ames Research Center (M.S. 245-3, Moffett Field CA
94035), 4Carl Sagan Center at SETI Institute (189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 100, Mountain View CA 94043), 5Acadia
National Park (25 Visitor Center Road, Bar Harbor ME 04609), 6Death Valley National Park (328 Greenland Blvd.,
Death Valley CA 92328).
Introduction: Planetary scientists have long studied terrestrial analogs to help them better understand
morphologies and environments they observe or expect
to encounter on other bodies in the Solar System.
Death Valley National Park encompasses some of the
most extreme environments on Earth, some of which
share many similarities with Martian environments.
For decades, planetary scientists and engineers have
visited the Park to conduct research and test instruments [e.g. 1, 2, 3]. The public was invited to celebrate
this scientific heritage and learn more about the connections between Death Valley (located within the
Mojave Desert) and planetary science and exploration
during the Mars and the Mojave Festival: Exploring
extremes on the Earth and beyond, hosted in Death
Valley National Park March 9–11, 2012 [4, 5]. Visitor
surveys from the event were enthusiastically positive.
A second Mars analog festival in Death Valley (name
TBD) will take place March 1–3, 2013.
Festival Description: The Death Valley Mars and
the Mojave Festival included planetary science talks
and panel discussions, scientist- and ranger-led field
trips to Martian analog sites, an expo with booths and
rover demonstrations from a number of programs and
organizations (e.g. The Mars Society), and an evening
planet-viewing event.
The festival opened with a keynote address featuring the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover [6] by Chris McKay (NASA Ames). This was followed by introductory talks about the field trip sites
(Mars Hill, Ubehebe Crater, and Badwater) by the scientists leading the trips. Scientists from the Desert Research Institute, JPL, and NASA Ames discussed their
analog research, as well as the societal implications of
this research. Tyler Nordgren (University of Redlands)
described his adventures in National Park astronomy
and the opportunity parks have to share both this world
and windows to worlds beyond Earth with their visitors [7].
Join us for the first ever
Mars and the Mojave
Festival
Exploring extremes on Earth and beyond
March 9 – 11, 2012
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park encompasses some of the most
extreme environments on the planet. For decades, planetary
scientists have come here for research and instrument testing.
Help us celebrate this scientific heritage with:
• Guest lectures from planetary scientists
• Field trips to other-worldly park sites
• An expo with booths, demonstrations, and give-aways
Photo credits (left to right): Steve Hall, NASA, Steve Hall
Figure 1. Advertising flier for the 2012 Mars and the
Mojave Festival, a planetary analog festival held in
Death Valley National Park.
Figure 2. Festival participants learn about possible
Martian microbial analogs on a field trip to Badwater,
led by Susanne Douglas (center).
Susanne Douglas (PSI / Caltech / USC) led a field
trip to Badwater, where she taught visitors about microbes that live in the Badwater evaporite deposits. If
life forms exist or once existed in evaporite environments on Mars, they may be similar to these mineraldwelling microbial communities. Aaron Zent (NASA
44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2013)
Ames) led visitors to Mars Hill, a location that is geomorphically and geologically similar to the Viking 1
and Pathfinder landing sites and was therefore used as
a testbed for mission engineers. Rosalba Bonaccorsi
(NASA Ames / SETI Institute) took visitors on a hike
through the Ubehebe Volcanic Field, where she studies
the geology, the hydro climatic features, as well as the
astrobiological implications of an environment that
may be similar to dry, hot deserts on a younger Mars.
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Beyond Death Valley: The Death Valley analog
festival is designed to share information and excitement about planetary science and exploration with an
audience that is not often exposed to these topics in a
way that helps them better understand and appreciate
our own planet. Festival visitors learn about environments and resources the Park protects that make it so
special on Earth, and also learn about a broader connection that ties the Park to other worlds.
Death Valley National Park is not the only location
that could host such a festival. Other parks and public
lands contain planetary analog sites, and the Mars and
the Mojave Festival can serve as a model for other
locations to replicate or build upon.
Figure 3. Aaron Zent (left) leading a field trip on Mars
Hill, a testbed for Mars mission engineers.
Collaboration: The analog festival is a collaborative effort between NASA, the National Park Service,
and the SETI Institute. The festival was first conceieved and organized by representatives from Death
Valley National Park and NASA Ames / Spaceward
Bound project. The planning team expanded to include
NASA’s MSL Curiosity rover mission team, represented by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) [8] Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Team, and the
SETI Institute.
Support for the festival comes from a number of
scientists, E/PO professionals, astronomy club members, and other planetary science enthusiasts who volunteer to share their time, information, resources, and
excitement with visitors.
2013 Mars Festival in Death Valley: The second
Death Valley planetary analog festival will be held
March 1–3, 2013. The festival will include activities
similar to those held during the 2012 festival, with
science talks, field trips to analog sites, and an expo.
Slight modifications to some activities will occur based
on lessons learned from the 2012 pilot event as well as
feedback from volunteers and visitor evaluation results. For example, more introductory talks about planetary science and exploration will be added to the
schedule to better accommodate novice interested visitors.
Figure 4. Field trip to Ubehebe Crater, a proposed
laboratory environment and analog test site for layered sediments studied by the MSL Curiosity rover.
Summary: The first Mars and the Mojave Festival: Exploring extremes on the Earth and beyond,
hosted in Death Valley National Park March 9–11,
2012 provided an opportunity for scientists and education and interpretive professionals to share a rich heritage of Martian analog research in Death Valley National Park with interested visitors. A second festival
will be held March 1–3, 2013.
References: [1] Baldridge A. M., Farmer J. D., and
Moersch J. E. (2004) JGR, 109, E12006. [2] Bonaccorsi R. (2011) Stromatolites: Interaction of Microbes
with Sediments, 18, 705–722. [3] Douglas S. and Yang
H. (2002) Geology, 30, no. 12, 1075–1078. [4]
http://www.nps.gov/deva/parknews/mars-andmojave.htm.
[5]
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/2012/03-092012_mars-and-the-mojave.html. [6] Grotzinger J. P.
et al. (2012) Space Sci. Rev., 170, 5–56. [7] Nordgren
T. (2010) Stars above, Earth below: A guide to astronomy in the National Parks, 444p. [8] Mahaffy P. R. et
al. (2012) Space Sci. Rev., 170, 401–478.