Notice of Intent to Release a Solicitation
for
NASA Mars Science Laboratory Investigations

November 2003


Office of Space Science (OSS), National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), intends to release an Announcement of Opportunity
(AO) in March 2004 timeframe to solicit proposals for Mars Science
Laboratory (MSL) mission investigations for a space flight mission to be
launched in December 2009. This AO is part of the Mars Exploration Program
managed by the Solar System Exploration Division of OSS. Additional
information about the intent and the likely capabilities of the MSL rover
is located at: http://centauri.larc.nasa.gov/msl. These investigations
will respond to the overall MSL science objective to explore and
quantitatively assess Mars as a potential habitat for life, past or present.

Participation in this AO will be open to all categories of organizations
both foreign and domestic, including educational institutions, industry,
nonprofit organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers,
NASA Centers and other Government agencies. Principal Investigators are
responsible for and may assemble their investigation teams from any of
these organizations. This solicitation will be open for 90 days after its
release.

Questions or comments about this planned solicitation may be addressed to
the NASA Program Scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory: Dr. Michael
Meyer, Ref.: MSLFBO 2003, Solar System Exploration Division, Code SE,
Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Washington, DC 20546-0001; E-mail: michael.a.meyer@...; Telephone:
(202) 358-0307; Facsimile: (202) 358-3097.