Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Matthew R Perry, Alex Morgan
Email: pen_editor@psi.edu
X: @pen2tweets
Bluesky: @planetarynews.bsky.social

o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o

1. In Memoriam: Linda French (1951-2025)
2. Letter from the NASA Planetary Science Division Director: The Future
   of the Planetary Science Analysis and Assessment Groups
3. [NASA] ROSES-25 Amendment 36: New Program Element - F.19
   Collaborative Opportunities for Mentorship, Partnership and Academic
   Success in Science
4. AxiSEM3D Seismic Modelling Community Meeting
5. Announcing the New Issue of Science Ascend
6. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions
7. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers
8. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets - New Papers

Commercial/Fundraising Announcements:

C1. Analog Experiences in Planetary Science and Spaceflight

o---------------------------------------------------------------------o

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IN MEMORIAM: LINDA FRENCH (1951-2025)

Dr. Linda M. French, 74, died on November 9, 2025 in Exeter, NH.

Linda received her PhD (1980) in Astronomy from Cornell University.
Involved in research on the shapes, spin states, and surface
compositions of small Solar System bodies, she emphasized the
properties of Trojan asteroids in an effort to understand their
origins. From 2017-2019, she worked as Program Director, NSF
Astronomical Sciences Division. Linda served as Education Officer
(1993-1997), Secretary (2003-2006), and Education Advisory Board member
(2008-2010), Division for Planetary Sciences, American Astronomical
Society.

A dedicated educator, Linda taught astronomy, physics, and life
sciences to students of all ages throughout her career. She spent the
last two decades of her professional life as a professor at Illinois
Wesleyan University, receiving the Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching
Excellence in 2016. She also developed and taught a popular course on
the music of the Beatles as part of IWU's freshman writing program.

Linda made numerous trips to York, England, to research the life of
18th-century astronomer John Goodricke. She served on the AAS
Historical Astronomy Division Committee (2012-2015).

In 1988, asteroid (3506) French was named in her honor; in 2020, she
was named an AAS Legacy Fellow.


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LETTER FROM THE NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION DIRECTOR: THE FUTURE
OF PLANETARY SCIENCE ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT GROUPS

The NASA Planetary Science Division (PSD) will now formally no longer
be supporting the Assessment Groups (AGs). For more information see the
letter from NASA Planetary Science Division Director Louise Prockter.

https://tinyurl.com/3s4rc5v2


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[NASA] ROSES-25 AMENDMENT 36: NEW PROGRAM ELEMENT - F.19 COLLABORATIVE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MENTORSHIP, PARTNERSHIP AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN
SCIENCE

F.19 Collaborative Opportunities for Mentorship, Partnership and
Academic Success in Science (COMPASS) funds collaborations between NASA
Centers and academic institutions that will advance NASA's scientific
priorities and train the future STEM workforce. COMPASS prioritizes
collaborations with academic institutions that have not traditionally
been funded by NASA as part of an effort to provide funding to a broad
range of recipients rather than to a select group of repeat players.
COMPASS prioritizes research that reflect NASA and the Administration's
priorities and advance the Science Mission Directorate and NASA's
research goals. COMPASS creates undergraduate and graduate student
research opportunities that provide professional development
opportunities for students that help to build the United States' STEM
workforce.

ROSES-2025 Amendment 36 presents a new program element in ROSES-2025.
Notices of Intent are not requested. Proposals are due by March 20,
2026. Go to:

https://tinyurl.com/2svjp8pz

Questions concerning F.19 COMPASS may be directed to Steven Villanueva
at steven.villanueva@nasa.gov


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AXISEM3D SEISMIC MODELLING COMMUNITY MEETING

Register now for the first AxiSEM3D Community Development Workshop,
April 13-14 in Pasadena, California. This meeting will involve
discussions of the AxiSEM3D family of codes for seismic modelling,
with planetary science as a novel focus area. The meeting is free to
attend and is open to any developer, user or potential user of the
AxiSEM3D seismic modeling code (or its precursor AxiSEM).

https://geodynamics.org/events/details/384

For more details, email Benjamin Fernando at bfernan9@jh.edu.
Registration closes March 30.


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ANNOUNCING THE NEW ISSUE OF SCIENCE ASCEND

Science Ascend (ISSN: 3062-0090) is an astrophysics journal in the
English language with discussions on cutting-edge astrophysics
research, tools, and interviews with people from the private sector and
universities. It is a non-peer-reviewed, free-to-submit, and
free-to-read journal published by FIRE Research and Training Ltd.

The current issue (Volume 3 Issue 1, January-June 2026) has:

- Two interview notes with Evgeny Smirnov (4xxi/Denovo, United Kingdom)
  and Professor Ozlem Yesiltas (Gazi University, Turkiye),
- A science outreach case observation on the Astrobot JWST account in
  BlueSky by Guray Hatipoglu (FIRE Research and Training Ltd.),
- An article on Venus, its clouds and sulphur by Maarten Roos-Serote
  (Lightcurve Films, Portugal),
- A descriptive article on Cosmic Strings as relics of the early
  universe by Professor Ozlem Yesiltas, followed by
- A description of Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) and some of its
  most used modifications, as well as a review of astronomy papers from
  2025 that utilized SSA by Guray Hatipoglu.

Anyone can freely read the current issue at the following link (along
with previous issues):

https://fire-ae.org/ascend.html


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PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS

Note: Many face-to-face meetings going forward will have online
components. Check their websites for details.

Posted at https://planetarynews.org/meetings.html

April 13-14, 2026
AxiSEM3D Community Development Workshop
https://geodynamics.org/events/details/384
Pasadena, CA

April 20-24, 2026
Empowering Science in the Data-Rich Era of Astronomy
https://noirlab.edu/science/events/websites/data-rich-astronomy
Tucson, AZ

April 21-23, 2026
Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Hybrid Meeting #43
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/mepag/meetings/mepagapril2026/
Baltimore, MD

September 21-25, 2026
Charting the Future of Stellar and Exoplanets Spectroscopy
https://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2026/CHASES2026.html
Garching, Germany


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PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL - NEW PAPERS

Direct Links to Open Access Papers

Editor, Faith Vilas
https://psj.aas.org

3D Reconstruction of DART Ejecta at Dimorphos Reveals an Anisotropic,
Filamentary Structure
J. D. P. Deshapriya et al. 2026 PSJ 7:4
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2c64

Similar Topography and Crater Retention Record yet Divergent Space
Weathering Extents across Reiner Gamma on the Moon
Senmiao Wang et al. 2026 PSJ 7:5
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2be6

Interaction of Solar Wind Energy Helium Ions with Enstatite Surfaces
Progressively Altered by Simulated Impact Melting
Brittany A. Cymes et al. 2026 PSJ 7:6
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2657

Impact-induced Contamination of Ganymede's Deep Ice Shell
Yu Yu Phua and David J. Stevenson 2026 PSJ 7:7
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2307

Reliability of Assessing Lunar Crustal Density Structures Using the
GRAIL Gravity Model
Qingyun Deng et al. 2026 PSJ 7:8
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2bf7

From Dawn till Dusk: How Light Reduces Martian Granular Slope Angles
Laurent Schonau et al. 2026 PSJ 7:9
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2be7


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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: PLANETS - NEW PAPERS

Direct Links to Open Access (OA) Papers

Editors-in-Chief, Amanda Hendrix & Debra Buczkowski
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21699100

No papers this week.


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COMMERCIAL/FUNDRAISING ANNOUNCEMENTS

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ANALOG EXPERIENCES IN PLANETARY SCIENCE AND SPACEFLIGHT

Sharpen your familiarity in planetary analog geology to four of New
Mexico's greatest hits: White Sands, Carrizozo, Aden Crater, and
Kilbourne Hole. Up your game in spaceflight awareness with visits to
the Challenger Learning Center, Virgin Galactic's Gateway to Space, and
the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Registration begins at $999 for
students. Join us March 27-30 with astronaut Chris Sembroski
(Inspiration4). More information and register at:

https://www.areslearning.com/earthandspace

Questions? Contact Kirby Runyon at kirby@planex.space


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