Hydrologist and geologist, head of UA's department of hydrology and water resources

Member of image research team for Mariner 9, guest investigator for the Viking mission. Since the early 1970s, Baker has been a continuing investigator of water related features on Mars.

"Kindergarten. I took a trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I was fascinated by dinosaurs and decided I wanted to be a geologist. tesdIt was a bit novel growing up in the northeastern U.S. where most little kids said they wanted to be a fireman and I wanted to be a geologist."

Physicist and optical scientist at UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

Member of Peter Smith's UA team that built cameras for the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Polar Lander Missions. This summer, he will be on a crew of scientists that will simulate what it would be like for humans to land on Mars. The scientists will spend the summer working in and around a simulated Mars lander on a crater near the North Pole.

"The Lunar and Planetary lab has had involvement with almost every NASA mission. I can't think of any other place in the world that's better if you're interested in planetary exploration."

Cosmochemist at the UA's department of planetary sciences

Led teams that designed the gamma ray spectrometer for the Mars Observer mission and built the instrument that contained ovens to sample Martian soil of the Mars Polar Lander mission. Now leads the team that built the gamma ray spectrometer for the Mars Odyssey mission. Also led the team that built a gamma ray spectrometer for the NEAR mission, which orbited and landed on an asteroid.

"I'm interested in Mars because it's probably the most fascinating planet in the solar system besides Earth, and probably the only one that could have ever supported other forms of life."

Aerospace engineer in the UA's department of aerospace and mechanical engineering

Member of the team that designed and built the Oxygen Generator System , which takes carbon dioxide from the martian atmosphere and produces pure oxygen that could be used as a propellant and for astronauts to breathe. Originally scheduled for a 2001 mission that was cancelled, the OGS could be included on a Mars lander launched in 2003 or 2007.

"My biggest reason is curiousity. We just want to know what is out there, and Mars is the most accessible to us, and technologically, it is possible to live up there."

Astronomer, painter, writer, senior scientist at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute

Member of imaging teams for Mariner 9, Mars Observer, and Mars Global Surveyor missions, member of spectronomy team for Russia's Mars 6 mission. He also has painted dozens of portraits of Mars and is the author of several books, including three astronomy textbooks and a novel titled, "Mars Underground."

"I'm interested in Mars because of the romance of the planet and the connections with the history of life. Mars is getting more amazing each month because we keep discovering new things as a result of the Mars Surveyor mission."

Geologist and director of the UA's Space Imagery Center and Meteorite Recovery Program

Has studied samples of 15 Martian meteorites that fell to Earth. Served as a consultant for the Mars Pathfinder mission and was a member of the science team for the Mars Polar Lander mission.

"I view myself as kind of an explorer. I do a lot of geologic studies right here on Earth that takes me to the jungles of South America, the savannas of South Africa, the deserts of Australia. So in some sense, I'm curious to know how and why things are in other places, and for that reason I'm interested in Mars."

Planetary geologist and director of UA's Planetary Image Research Laboratory

Member of teams that processed images from the Viking mission and of teams that built the Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) for Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Climate Orbiter missions.

"Both of my parents are scientists, and unlike many others who have some experience that makes them realize they want to be a scientist, I actually resisted that because I wanted to be different. Then as a young adult I realized I really did want to be a scientist, because my interests and thoughts drifted in that direction."

Planetary scientist at the UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

Led the team that designed the cameras for the Mars Pathfinder mission. Also led teams that designed and built two cameras for the Mars Polar Lander mission and two cameras for a 2001 mission that was canceled. Also is a member of a team that is designing an instrument that uses a camera and a laser sensor to study dust devils. The instrument will be tested near Tucson this year and could be on a 2007 mission to Mars.

"I think I was 13. I was dreaming about flying rockets between the planets, reading science fiction."