PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Number 12 (March 8, 2009) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Mark V. Sykes Co-Editors: Matt Balme, Nic Richmond Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Mario Acuna, Friend and Colleague 2. Help Design a Lunar Lander 3. Geomorphology Image of the Month 4. Planetary Geophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship 5. 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 MARIO ACUNA, FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE Dear Friends: There's no easy way to convey sad news, so I'll do it as Mario would have. Mario Acuna passed away last night, in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his family and loved ones. He leaves a devoted wife, Barbara; sons Jamie, Andrew, and Daniel; daughter Marta, and five grandchildren, with more on the way. He passed peacefully, content with all that life afforded him. Mario's struggle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood, is chronicled in a blog posted by his family: http://supermarioacuna.wordpress.com/ I will pass on details of the arrangements as they are available. Jack Connerney (Jack.Connerney@nasa.gov) 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 HELP DESIGN A LUNAR LANDER ESA’s Directorate of Human Space Flight has released a Request for Information about experiments and payload elements for their first lunar lander. It is intended that these inputs shall be used to inform the early design phases of the mission, it is not however a formal Announcement of Opportunity. The mission will support human exploration activities and will have the following objectives, in order of priority: 1. To advance European technological capabilities for future human exploration of the Moon; 2. To characterise the lunar environment and potential in situ resources to identify their implications for future human exploration; 3. To progress in the definition of tools, interfaces and operational techniques related to surface exploration; 4. To increase our understanding of the formation, history and evolution of the Moon. We would be interested to learn of potential payload elements that you are involved with. Please pass this message on to anyone you think may be interested in responding to this call. For information on this call and for details of how to submit a response please go to http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMBM4CDNRF_index_0.html B. Gardini Head of Transportation and Human Exploration Department 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 GEOMORPHOLOGY IMAGE OF THE MONTH The March 'Image of the month' is now available at the IAG's Planetary Geomorphology web page http://www.psi.edu/pgwg/images/mar09image.html This month's topic is on Impact Craters on Earth and Mars: Monturaqui and Bonneville Past images and captions are available at http://www.psi.edu/pgwg/images/index.html Mary Bourke Coordinator of the IAG Working Group on Planetary Geomorphology 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 Planetary Geophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship The Universities Space Research Association's Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in planetary geophysics. The successful candidate will work with Dr. Walter Kiefer on a NASA-funded project studying the nature of mantle convection on Mars and its effects on the thermal evolution and volcanic history of the planet. The candidate will also have the opportunity to conduct research in planetary geophysics of his or her own choosing. The position requires a Ph.D. in Planetary Science or Geophysics and experience in computer programming and numerical modeling methods, particularly finite elements. Experience with parallel computing in a Linux environment will be an asset. The position will be offered for an initial period of two years with a possible extension to a maximum of three years. Applicants should send a letter of interest, a CV with list of relevant publications, a brief (maximum 3 pages) statement of research interests, and a list of three references. Applications should be sent to resume@lpi.usra.edu by April 15, 2009. Review of candidates will begin on April 15, with a hiring decision as soon as possible thereafter. Additional information about LPI can be found at www.lpi.usra.edu. 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 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html March 20, 2009 Cambridge Area Astro2010 Town Hall http://cxc.harvard.edu/cdo/astro2010townhall/registration.html Cambridge, MA March 30 - April 2, 2009 25th National Space Symposium http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/ Colorado Springs, CO May 18-20, 2009 Workshop on Robotic Autonomous Observatories http://rts2.org/malaga Malaga, Spain August 17-21, 2009 The Dynamics of Discs and Planets http://www.newton.ac.uk/programmes/DDP/ddpw01.html Cambridge, UK August 24-27, 2009 Conference on Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing http://www.spacedynamics.org/conferences/calcon/ Logan, UT *********************************************************************** * * 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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