In early August some eighty international scientists from around the world met in August in Houston, Texas, at the NASA-sponsored GeoMars conference to discuss current and future missions to the Red Planet and instruments, data and observations relevant to the subsurface distribution of volatiles. There was a large contingent of Italian scientists, representing ESA radar missions, and a variety of experts in permafrost, remote sensing, and geophysical technology. Experts came from around the globe to contribute their ideas and experience to the meeting, co-ordinated by Stephen Clifford of the Lunar and Planetary Institute.