This meeting will be focused on giving an update to the community on the current status of Mars Sample Return (MSR) science planning, particularly through the work of the MSR Science Planning Group (MSPG). MSPG has been established by NASA and ESA to help develop a stable foundation for international scientific cooperation for the purposes of returning and analyzing samples from Mars. MSPG’s approach is to formulate and propose mechanisms through which the international scientific community can achieve our shared scientific objectives.


The agenda for this meeting will include:
1) a reprisal of MSPG’s activities and the pathways available for the community to participate; 2) a review of the recent workshop "Science in Containment" and the resulting report; 3) Expectations for future science-related MSR workshops; 4) time for community feedback and input.