Dr. Rudolf (Rudi) Schmidt, currently head of ESA's Telecommunications Satellite Programs Department, was previously project manager for several projects in ESA's Directorate of Science and Robotics Exploration, including Mars Express, Venus Express, and Gaia. Rob Manning is the Mars Exploration Program chief engineer at JPL as well as the chief engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. He previously led the spacecraft systems engineering team for the 2004 Mars Exploration Rover project and served as the chief engineer for the 1997 Mars Pathfinder. Both emphasized the need to remain open-minded in the face of the tremendous technical challenges posed by Mars missions. They also agreed about the need for a balance between engineering skepticism and a positive attitude.