Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2014

Convener:*Satoh Takehiko(Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Masaki Ishiwatari(Department of Cosmosciences, Graduate school of Science, Hokkaido University), Ayako Matsuoka Ayako(Research Division for Space Plasma, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Yoshiyuki O. Takahashi(Center for Planetary Science), Sho Sasaki(Department of Earth and Space Sciences, School of Science, Osaka University), Hideaki Miyamoto(The University Museum, The University of Tokyo)

The study on Mars has greatly been advanced due to new data from modern missions as well as to new results from theoretical and numerical works. Morphology and variable phenomena, seen on the surface, in the atmosphere and its surrounding plasma, all indicate that Mars is still an active planet.After the successful launch of Japan's new EPSILON rocket (September 2013), possibilities of small planetary missions are becoming more realistic (Mars is the most important target object, of course). In this session, current researches on Mars, including the latest results from missions, as well as future mission plans are discussed.