PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Number 11 (March 1, 2009) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Mark V. Sykes Co-Editors: Nic Richmond, Matt Balme Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Decadal Survey for the Planetary Sciences 2. Joint ESA-ASI workshop on Methane on Mars: Current Observations, Interpretation and Future Plans. 3. 3rd Lunar Regolith Simulant Workshop 4. Polar Processes on Earth and Mars: Comparative Studies 5. Reminder - The Lunar Exploration Roadmap 6. [NASA] PDS Releases Data from the Phoenix Lander Mission 7. [NASA] Proposal Writing Workshop at LPSC 8. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions o---------------------------------------------------------------------o 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 DECADAL SURVEY FOR THE PLANETARY SCIENCES The National Research Council's Space Studies Board has been requested by NASA and NSF to initiate a decadal survey of the planetary sciences to update and expand the 2002 decadal survey, "New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy." A website, containing information about the survey, has been established and is accessible via . The survey is currently accepting nominations for members of the decadal survey's steering group and its supporting panels. A nomination form is available on the website. Presentations describing the likely scope, organization and schedule for the survey will be held at the following meetings: MEPAG, Arlington, Virginia; OPAG, Bethesda, Maryland; Royal Astronomical Society, London, England; and LPSC, Houston, Texas. See the website for details. David H. Smith, Study Director, Planetary Science Decadal Survey. 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 JOINT ESA-ASI WORKSHOP ON METHANE ON MARS: CURRENT OBSERVATIONS, INTERPRETATION AND FUTURE PLANS 25-27 November 2009 - ESA/ESRIN (Frascati, Italy). Methane has been detected in the Martian atmosphere by ground-based telescopes and from orbit. This discovery indicates that the planet is either biologically or geologically active. The goal of the workshop is to review the available measurements, the potential reservoirs and release mechanisms of Methane and its circulation in the atmosphere, and to discuss all possible origins of this constituent. Abstract submission deadline: 1st September 2009 Web page: http://www.congrex.nl/09c26/ Olivier Witasse on behalf of the organising committee. 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 3RD LUNAR REGOLITH SIMULANT WORKSHOP March 17-20, 2009 Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville, Alabama The focus of this Workshop will be on Lunar Regolith Simulant Development and Characterization, in addition to Simulant User Needs Assessments. This Workshop is geared towards anyone that will need to use simulants, such as technology developers, engineers, scientists, and human health researchers. Registration for the Workshop is now open at http://isru.msfc.nasa.gov. We look forward to your participation. 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 POLAR PROCESSES ON EARTH AND MARS: COMPARATIVE STUDIES Session GA22 at the 2009 Joint Assembly, 24-27 May 2009 Abstracts due: March 4, 2009 Go to http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/ Polygonal terrain, scalloped depressions, and lineated valley fill are seen on Mars. On Earth, these form through glacial and periglacial processes. The Phoenix mission has even trenched into the Martian subsurface, discovering water ice at only a few centimetres depth. Together, these results suggest that the polar and high-altitude equatorial terrains of Mars preserve large amounts of ground-ice and potentially debris covered surface ice (glaciers), which periodically may melt to provide transient water sources. But how can we be certain of this? A fundamental paradigm is that interpretations of Mars – and other planetary bodies – must begin by understanding and using the Earth as a reference. This introduces the concept of terrestrial analogues, which are settings on Earth that may approximate, in some respect, the geological features and/or environmental conditions on Mars or other planetary bodies, either at present or sometime in the past. The goal of this session is to bring together a wide range of Earth and planetary scientists interested in cold-climate geomorphological processes. 5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5 REMINDER - THE LUNAR EXPLORATION ROADMAP The Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) needs your help once again with developing the Lunar Exploration Roadmap. We have taken earlier input and now have driven down to Objectives and Investigations. We now need the community to review these and vote on their time-phasing and prioritization. Please note that this is a far more extensive web site and we are not requesting that you respond to every question! We would like you to address those questions in the areas where your expertise is. YOUR INPUT IS VITAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF THIS ROADMAP, as it needs to be a community effort. The web site can be found at: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/survey/LER/ [NOTE: "LER" must be in capital letters] This will bring up a log-in frame, where you enter: "leag" Password: "moonorbust" Make sure "leag" and the password are in lower case letters. If you have any questions, please contact the LEAG Chair, Clive R. Neal at neal.1@nd.edu. 6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6 [NASA] PDS RELEASES DATA FROM THE PHOENIX LANDER MISSION The NASA Planetary Data System announces the second release of data from the Mars Phoenix Lander mission, including raw and derived products from Sols 31 - 90, collected June 26 - August 26, 2009. The release includes EDR and RDR data sets for most instruments. Phoenix data may be accessed from the PDS Atmospheres, Geosciences, and Imaging nodes' web sites and from the main PDS home page, http://pds.nasa.gov/ or http://pds.nasa.gov/subscription_service/SS-20090223.html PDS offers two services for searching the Phoenix archives: - The Planetary Image Atlas at the Imaging Node: http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/search/phoenix/ - The Phoenix Analyst's Notebook at the Geosciences Node: http://an.rsl.wustl.edu/phx One more Phoenix data release is scheduled. Release 3 will occur on April 29, 2009. To receive email announcements of future releases of Phoenix data, please use the PDS Subscription Service at: http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/subscription_service/top.cfm. 7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7 [NASA] PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP AT LPSC NASA will again sponsor a Proposal Writing Workshop at LPSC this year. The workshop will be held on Sunday, March 22, from 1-5 pm at the conference hotel. The workshop is open to all interested planetary scientists from senior graduate students to senior scientists. There will be no charge for the workshop. The workshop will focus on understanding NASA's research programs and will include information on how to write a research proposal, where to apply for funding, and what kind of feedback one can expect. Other opportunities for funding, such as participating scientist programs and education/public outreach add-on awards, will also be discussed. To register please email Curt Niebur (curt.niebur@nasa.gov) with your name, institution, and position. 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html May 18-21, 2009 Workshop on Robotic Autonomous Observatories http://www.iaa.es/astrorob2009/ Malaga, Spain June 11-17, 2009 17th IAA Humans in Space Symposium http://iaa-his2009.imbp.ru/index00e-s.html Moscow, Russia June 14-20, 2009 XIV International Clay Conference http://www.14icc.org/ Castellaneta M., Italy June 29 - July 13, 2009 Water, Ice and the Origin of Life in the Universe (Nordic-NASA Summer School) http://www.nordicastrobiology.net/iceland2009/ Reykjavik, Iceland July 20-24, 2009 From Core to Crust: Towards an Integrated Vision of Earth’s Interior http://cdsagenda5.ictp.it/full_display.php?email=0&ida=a08171 Trieste, Italy August 17-21, 2009 Dynamics of Outer Planetary Systems http://www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/DDP/ddpw03.html Edinburgh, United Kingdom September 28-30, 2009 Planetesimal Formation http://www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/DDP/ddpw02.html Cambridge, United Kingdom October 12-16, 2009 60th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) http://www.iac2009.kr/ Daejeon, South Korea October 26-28, 2009 Reionization to Exoplanets: Spitzer's Growing Legacy Contact: Patrick Ogle, ogle@ipac.caltech.edu Pasadena, CA [Editor Note: If there is a planetary-related meeting, conference or workshop that you think your colleagues should be aware of, please send the date, title, URL and location to pen_editor at psi.edu.] *********************************************************************** * * The Planetary Exploration Newsletter is issued approximately weekly. * Current and back issues are available at * * http://planetarynews.org * * To subscribe, go to http://planetarynews.org/pen_subscribe.html * * To unsubscribe, go to http://planetarynews.org/pen_unsubscribe.html * * Please send all replies and submissions to pen_editor at psi.edu. * Announcements and other messages should be brief with links to URLs * for extended information, including detailed descriptions for job * announcements. 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