alcaray wrote:
How do the experts feel about the exclusions and inclusions?

Alex writes:
I'm glad to say that my own personal favorite, Gusev Crater, is still in the running. Some may be interested in a few of the relevant PowerPoint presentations from the recent 2003 MER Landing Sites Selection Workshop (Pasadena) that pertain to the Gusev Crater/Ma'adim Vallis landing site, which are online (in PDF format) at:

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Overview of Science and Testable Hypotheses at the Gusev Crater MER A Landing Site
Nathalie Cabrol, NASA Ames, E. A. Grin, D. Fike, H. Newsom, I. Thorsos, N. G. Barlow, R. De Hon, and J. Bishop
http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/mer/March_2002_presentations/Cabrol/Cabrol_Gusev_MER_A_Final_version.pdf
(3.14 Mb PDF)

Identification of a Large Lake Basin At the head of Ma'adim Vallis, Mars
R. P. Irwin III, T. A. Maxwell, A. D. Howard, R. A. Craddock and D. W. Leverington, NASM Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/mer/March_2002_presentations/Irwin/Irwin_3rd_MER.pdf
(4.95 Mb PDF)

Impact Hydrothermal Processes at the Gusev Crater MER A Landing Site, and the Sinus Meridiani Site
H. Newsom, UNM, C. Barber, I. Thorsos, A. Davies, N. A. Cabrol, E. A. Grin, N. G. Barlow, R. De Hon, and J. Bishop
http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/mer/March_2002_presentations/Newsom/MER_2003_3rd_Newsom.pdf
(2.16 MB PDF)

Gusev Crater: Assessing its Relevance as the MER-A Landing Site
N. G. Barlow (U. Central FL), N. Cabrol (NASA/ARC), E. Grin (NASA/ARC), H. Newsom (UNM), R. DeHon (U. LA Monroe)
http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/mer/March_2002_presentations/Barlow/BarlowMER3.pdf
(1.37 Mb PDF)

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Alex R. Blackwell
University of Hawaii