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 - Mars Exploration - The Past, Present, and Future Exploring Mars Presented by Daniel McCleese JPL, Chief Scientist, Mars Exploration Program RealPlayer (with caption): "Exploring Mars" Archived Webcast.  RealPlayer (without caption): "Exploring Mars" Archived Webcast.  If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.   Thursday, September 15 The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA For directions, click here. Friday, September 16 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. In less than a decade, six robotic spacecraft, one lander, two rovers, and three orbiters have explored the atmosphere, surface, and interior of the planet Mars. Among the highlights of over 40 years of Mars exploration are the Mars Exploration Rovers, conducting extremely successful investigations of sites postulated to have been covered by liquid water long ago. Spirit and Opportunity have returned data that point to a past very different from the cold, arid Martian landscape that we see today. Building upon these and earlier findings, NASA is returning to the planet with the recently launched Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. In 2007, a lander will examine subsurface ice in the northern polar region, and in 2009 a large rover carrying a payload of laboratory instruments will search for ancient habitable environments. This lecture focuses on our emerging understanding of Mars and NASA strategies for future exploration. To learn more about the Mars Exploration Program click here.