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Department of Public Affairs
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada

CONTACT:

James R. Drummond, Department of Physics
ph: (416) 978-4723; email: james.drummond{at}utoronto.ca

Vicky Hipkin, Department of Physics
ph: (416) 971-2363; email: vicky{at}atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca

U of T Public Affairs
ph: (416) 978-6974; email: nicolle.wahl{at}utoronto.ca

Dec. 9, 2002

Mission to Mars finalist includes atmospheric instrument 
Proposal under consideration for 2007 Mars Scout mission 
========================================================
By Nicolle Wahl

A Mars mission proposal incorporating an atmospheric instrument 
developed at the University of Toronto is one of the four finalists 
that will be considered for the 2007 Mars Scout mission, NASA 
announced Thursday.

The proposal, called the MARs Volcanic Emissions and Life Scout 
(MARVEL), includes a Canadian atmospheric imaging instrument called 
MICA. The Mars Imager for Clouds and Aerosol is a multi-band imaging 
camera that will support the search for evidence of life and active 
volcanism through a sensitive survey of the atmosphere.

U of T physics professor James Drummond, who is the principal 
investigator on the MICA instrument, is excited about the opportunity 
to survey the Mars atmosphere. "The Pathfinder mission revealed a Mars 
atmosphere rich in cloud and dust," says Drummond. "MICA will record 
images of cloud and dust using the light available during a Martian 
sunset. In addition to showing us the full glory of a Mars sunset, 
these images will give us information about cloud layers important for 
understanding the water cycle on Mars."

The MARVEL mission is headed by Mark Allen of NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory and its goal is to detect evidence of life and active 
volcanism through a sensitive survey of the atmosphere. MICA was 
developed by a consortium of Canadian universities and industrial 
partners including the universities of Toronto, Waterloo, New 
Brunswick, York University and COM DEV Ltd.

Researcher Vicky Hipkin is a U of T physicist and a MICA 
co-investigator. "Our present success reflects international 
recognition of the valuable contribution Canada can make to the Mars 
Exploration Program," says Hipkin. "MICA has been evaluated alongside 
top U.S.  proposals and has been selected against extremely stiff
competition for the excellence of its science and engineering."

A finalist from the four Mars mission proposals will be chosen after 
each undergoes six months of study. The 2007 Mars Scout mission is 
designed to be a highly targeted, low-cost mission to search for 
detailed answers to questions raised by the last decade of Mars 
exploration. 

[Nicolle Wahl is a news services officer with the department of public 
affairs.]

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