The MARDI Investigation Team consists for five investigators with considerable experience in analysis of spacecraft images and their application to study of important geologic problems. All five have considerable expertise in the study of Mars, and in the techniques to be applied to the MARDI data. The backgrounds and pre- and post-launch responsibilities of the five team members are as follows:
Michael C. Malin (Principal Investigator) is President and Chief Scientist of Malin Space Science Systems, Inc. He is Principal Investigator on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter Camera; he was PI of the Mars Observer Camera. He is also Deputy Team Leader for the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Multispectral Imager/Near-Infrared Spectrograph Science Investigation Team. He is PI on a Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) effort to develop a "next-generation" camera for small spacecraft. Malin is a Co-Investigator on the MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer (he was a Co-I on the Mars Observer TES), and a Guest Investigator on the Russian Mars '96 mission (Co-Investigator on the DESCAM, PANCAM, and Penetrator Cameras). He was a Guest Investigator on Magellan and a Member of the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) Imaging Subsystem Team. His current research includes photogeological studies of Mars and Venus, and terrestrial field work on modification of volcanic terranes by eolian, fluvial, and mass movement phenomena (in Alaska, Iceland, and Hawaii) and drainage development by non-overland flow mechanisms (Mount St. Helens, Washington, and southern Utah). He is also a principal investigator receiving NSF support for his studies of cold-environment weathering and erosion phenomena in Antarctica. Malin received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1987 for his diverse, innovative, and creative efforts. Malin will be responsible developing the MARDI hardware and software, and delivering the instrument to the spacecraft. After the data is received, he will lead the team effort in analysis of the descent images.
Michael H. Carr (Co-Investigator) is a geologist with the U. S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA. He was a member of the Mariner 9 and Voyager Imaging Teams, and leader of the Viking Orbiter Imaging Team. He is currently a member of the Galileo and Mars 96 HRSC imaging teams, and is an Interdisciplinary Scientist on Mars Global Surveyor. His main interest are the geology of Mars and the role of water in the evolution of the planet. He was the 1994 recipient of the National Air and Space Museum's lifetime achievement award in Air and Space Science and Technology. Carr will be responsible for MARDI team interactions with the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander Project Science Group efforts to select and validate a landing site. Upon receipt of the data, he will work closely with the team in characterizing the landing site for operations.
Steven W. Squyres (Co-Investigator) is a Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. He was an associate of the Voyager Imaging Team for encounters at Jupiter and Saturn, a Guest Investigator on the Magellan mission, a Co-Investigator on the CRAF Comet Penetrator/Lander, and a member of the Mars Observer Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Flight Investigation Team. He is a Co-Investigator on the Mars '96 HRSC and alpha-proton-x-ray spectrometer, a member of the Cassini imaging team, and a member of the NEAR x-ray/gamma-ray team. He received the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences Urey Award for outstanding achievement by a young scientist. Squyres will be responsible for leading the team effort in developing the data compression and return strategy to be implemented in the flight sequence. After the images are returned, he will participate in landing site characterization and studies of surficial processes.
Peter C. Thomas (Co-Investigator) is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell University. He is a member of the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem and Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission (NEAR) Imager/Spectrometer Science Teams, a Participating Scientist on the Mars Observer/Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter Camera investigation, and an Adjunct Member of the Galileo Solid State Imaging Science Team. Thomas is primarily interested in martian surface processes, in particular the interaction of the atmosphere with the surface (eolian processes). During instrument development, he will be responsible for providing guidance to the development of analysis plans, in particular for locating the landing site with respect to the planetary coordinate system (geodesy), and in extracting topographic information from the images (photogrammetry). After landing, he will lead the team efforts in these analyses.
Joseph Veverka (Co-Investigator) is a Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University, and has been involved in many imaging investigations on NASA Planetary missions, including Mariner 9, Viking, Voyager, Galileo, Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, and Cassini. He is Team Leader of the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission (NEAR) Imager/Spectrometer Science Team. Prior to launch, Veverka will lead the team effort in characterization of the instrument (radiometrically and geometrically); after data receipt, he will participate in landing site characterization.
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