<p>
NASA’s Mars Exploration Program (MEP) calls for a series of highly ambitious missions over the next decade and beyond. The overall goals of the MEP must be achieved with relatively low mission risk and within tightly constrained cost resources. The current overarching scientific goals of the MEP are: life, climate, geology, and preparation for human exploration. These have a common, measurable link: water. For Mars (like Earth), water is central to the planet’s history; it is also the primary reason for interest in it as a potentially habitable world. No new proposals are being solicited or funded in FY 2012 under this project line. Proposals for Mars instrument technology development are now included in PIDDP and no new awards will be provided under the Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP).</p>