It is with pleasure that I invite you to submit papers for the 7th Australian Mars Exploration Conference, to be held in Perth on 13th - 15th July, 2007.

This conference aims to expand the breadth and depth of scientific, technological and cultural development in support of the human exploration of Mars.

Three of the world's space agencies, ESA, NASA and Roskosmos, now have plans for human flight to the red planet between now and 2030.

To succeed, such missions will depend not only a great deal of scientific and technological know-how, but also on a new kind of spacefaring society - one able to bridge the gulf between worlds: a two-planet culture. To this end, in addition to scientists and technologists, I extend our invitation to the social experts, managers, writers and artists who will be instrumental in forging such a culture.

Since 2001, the AMEC conferences have been an international forum for Mars exploration. Past AMEC guests have included speakers such as Apollo 17 geologist Dr. Harrison Schmidt, space simulation expert Dr. Vadim Gushin of the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems and Dr. Steven Squires, Principle Investigator of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover team.
AMEC conferences are run by the Mars Society Australia, an incorporated, non-profit research body that does practical research in support of an eventual human mission to Mars. MSA is the Australian branch of the worldwide Mars Society which has about 6,000 members. MSA funds and manages three major technical projects: the Starchaser Marsupial analogue rover, the MarsSkin analogue spacesuit and the Mars-Oz analogue research station, as well as a number of smaller experiments. Members publish widely in peer-reviewed international journals and papers, and conduct numerous public seminars and lectures.
The organisation has conducted two expeditions to central Australia. It has a high media profile, logging tens of impressions on radio, television, the Internet and the print media each year.
It is certified by CSIRO as an Approved Research Institute. Its records are being archived by the National Library in Canberra as documents of historical importance.
MSA also participates in international collaborative projects with organisations such as NASA and ESA, including the Outward Bound educational initiative and a month-long simulation at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.

All papers submitted to AMEC 2007 will be peer-reviewed in accordance with DEST guidelines for conference publications. Papers should be practical in orientation and address the following topics:

• Preparing for the first human mission to Mars
• Advances in space suit technology
• Use of robots in surface operations
• Strategies and technologies for surface exploration
• Field science for exploration
• Educational needs for a spacefaring culture
• Recruiting the next generation of explorers, astronauts, scientists and engineers
• The Mars Society as a culture
• New concepts in technical program management
• Future trends in project funding
• Remote-area engineering
• Colonization of Mars
• Mars as an inspiration to artists

Papers must be no more than 7 pages in length and be formatted according to this template

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Authors should include a brief cover note including their name and contact details.

Notification of the review results will be distributed by 9th June, 2007. Registration and presentation at the conference is a requirement for publication. Looking forward to seeing you at the conference,

Dr. Graham Mann Program Chair, AMEC 2007