diff --git a/ec2/spark_ec2.py b/ec2/spark_ec2.py
index 1190ed47f6bcc4502fa597c704d2c2c870d1b319..7da9355b5ec17ae772af7178df5eb159f64df5ed 100755
--- a/ec2/spark_ec2.py
+++ b/ec2/spark_ec2.py
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ def parse_args():
            "slaves across multiple (an additional $0.01/Gb for bandwidth" +
            "between zones applies)")
   parser.add_option("-a", "--ami", help="Amazon Machine Image ID to use")
-  parser.add_option("-v", "--spark-version", default="0.7.3",
+  parser.add_option("-v", "--spark-version", default="0.8.0",
       help="Version of Spark to use: 'X.Y.Z' or a specific git hash")
   parser.add_option("--spark-git-repo", 
       default="https://github.com/mesos/spark", 
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ def is_active(instance):
 
 # Return correct versions of Spark and Shark, given the supplied Spark version
 def get_spark_shark_version(opts):
-  spark_shark_map = {"0.7.3": "0.7.0"}
+  spark_shark_map = {"0.7.3": "0.7.0", "0.8.0": "0.8.0"}
   version = opts.spark_version.replace("v", "")
   if version not in spark_shark_map:
     print >> stderr, "Don't know about Spark version: %s" % version