If you haven't made your plans to attend this year's convention or you are already registered and want to do some pre-planning, here is updated information to whet your appetite. Click here to register now. NOTE: If you can get 10 people to come to the Great Mars Blitz, or get five people to sign up for a paid convention registration, your ticket to the convention is free!

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
Each year we are fortunate to have a great lineup of speakers and events and this year we may have the best line up to date. As this schedule is subject to change, please check our website often for the most up-to-date information.

Wednesday, July 29
3:00 pm - 5:30 p.m	Early Registration
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	NASA Goddard Tours
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm	Steering Committee Meeting
Thursday, July 30
8:30 am – 9:00 am	Opening – Dr. Robert Zubrin
9:00 am – 10:00 am	Senior NASA Official - TBA
10:00 am – 11:00 am	Space policy panel
11:00 am – 11:45 pm	Pre-Blitz gathering, team meetings and final instructions
11:45 pm – 1:30 pm	Transportation to Capitol Hill and lunch
1:30 pm – 4:30 pm	Mars Blitz
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm	Reception and Town Hall
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm	Screening of Roving Mars, with commentary by George Butler (Director) and Steven Squyres (Principal Investigator for the science payload on the Mars Exploration Rovers Project).
Friday, July 31
9:00 am – 11:15 am	Space Telescopes: Dr. John Grunsfeld (NASA Hubble Repair Mission Astronaut - tentative), Dr. Mario Livio (Space Telescope Science Institute), Dr. John Mather (NASA Senior Astrophysicist; Senior Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope; Nobel Prize winner)
11:15 am – 12:00 pm	Lou Friedman (Co-Founder and Executive Director, Planetary Society)
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Exploration:  An Historical Perspective: Roger Launius (Curator, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution), Andrew Chaikin (author, speaker and space journalist), Theodore Swanson (Assistant Chief for Technology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Tracks and panels
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm	UMD Space Science Lab Tour
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm	Poster Session
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm	Reporting Space: Miles O'Brien (former CNN news anchor and space/aviation reporter) and a panel of media representatives, including William A. Klanke (Vice President/General Manager, Space News); Bob Asman (Former Producer, NBC News); and A.R. Hogan (University of Maryland)
Saturday, August 1
9:00 am – 12:00 pm	James Garvin (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Sciences and Exploration Directorate Chief Scientist) Chris McKay (NASA Planetary Scientist, Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center) Dr. Paul Mahaffy (Principal Investigator, Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, Mars Science Lander) Joe Cassady (Director, Emerging Exploration Space Systems, Aerojet)
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm	The Art of Space:  Michael Carroll (space artist and science journalist), Bert Ulrich (Multimedia Manager, NASA), Jim Dean , Keith Keplinger, etc.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Tracks and panels
6:15 pm – 7:00 pm	Appetizers/Bar
7:00 pm – 11:00 pm	12th Annual Mars Society Banquet and Awards Dinner
Sunday, August 2
9:30 am – 11:00 am	2009 FMARS mission summary with the FMARS Crew
11:00 pm – 12:00 pm	Tethers Panel - Tom Hill, TEMPO3
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Tracks and panels
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm	Closing, Dr. Robert Zubrin

LODGING

There are several options for lodging this year and all information can be found here.

• Dorm rooms on campus including singles, doubles and triples but you only have until July 1, 2009 to reserve one of these rooms and be aware, if you reserve one of these rooms, there will be no refunds available unless you cancel by July 1, 2009. This is a great option in the pricey DC area and you also get free parking!!! Roommate matching is available.
• Local hotels all within a few miles of the University and some offering free shuttle transportation to and from the University. The Comfort Inns and Suites is offering great rates ($89/night!) to convention attendees and also offers free shuttle to the University and the College Park Metro stop (Green Line).

TRANSPORTATION, DIRECTIONS AND PARKING

If you are flying into one of the 3 major airports you can easily get to the University of Maryland using public transportation, shuttle service or taxi. Super Shuttle is one good option. Information on all modes of transportation and directions to the University of Maryland can be found here.

Parking is available in the parking garage next to the Adele H. Stamp (Stamp) Student Union Building. Rates are $2.00/hr or $12/day. We are waiting on information on parking in lots a few blocks from Stamp which would be $5.00/day on M-Fr and free on weekends. Check the website for updates.

GREAT MARS BLITZ

On June 4, the U.S. House Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee slashed $670 million from NASA's 2010 human exploration budget. While they called this a 'timeout', once money is removed from a budget it is very difficult to get it back. More than ever we need a strong presence on July 30 for the Blitz. You do not need to attend the Convention to participate in the Blitz. In order to set up meetings with the appropriate Congress people we need you to let us know as soon as possible. So if you are attending the Convention but have not yet registered for the Blitz or are not attending the Convention but want to participate, please send an email to blitz@marssociety.org with your name and zip code and we will set up the appropriate meetings. This will also assure that you do not miss any of the pre-Blitz planning and briefings. Mars Needs You!!! webpage. A $10 registration fee will be required to cover transportation and other costs.