EVENTS For information on JPL tours and the speakers bureau, visit our PUBLIC SERVICES site. The Solar System Ambassador Program sponsors events in communities around the country. Find out how to become a volunteer Solar System Ambassador.		Topic - The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft MRO: Following the Water with New Capabilities Dr. Suzanne Smrekar JPL, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Deputy Project Scientist & Dr. Richard Zurek JPL, Project Scientist, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter RealPlayer (with caption): "Following the Water" Archived Webcast RealPlayer (w/out caption): "Following the Water" Archived Webcast If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.   Thursday, December 7 The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA For directions, click here. Friday, December 8 The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College 1570 East Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA For directions, click here. Both lectures begin at 7 p.m. PST and run for approximately an hour. Admission is free. Seating is limited. For more information, call (818) 354-0112. Following orbit insertion in March 2006 and a six-month aerobraking campaign, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will have begun an intensive period of science observations lasting two years in a low-altitude, near-circular science orbit. The MRO spacecraft carries a sophisticated suite of instruments whose higher spatial resolutions, extended coverage at current best resolutions, improved signal-to-noise, and complementary exploitation of different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum will provide a wealth of new detail to address many questions of how the Martian climate has changed over time. Of particular interest are the implications of that change for our understanding of the planetary surface and atmosphere that we see today, the role of water during different epochs, and for the habitability of the planet, past or future. The ability of MRO to deploy and operate these instruments in their various observing modes, to coordinate their imaging, and to return the order of magnitude more data that they will generate will enable-as its name implies-a thorough reconnaissance of the planet and a storehouse of data that will be mined for years to come. To learn more about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, click here.