PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Number 41 (September 6, 2009) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Melissa Lane Co-Editor: Nic Richmond, Mark V. Sykes Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Lunar Dust, Plasma and Atmosphere: The Next Steps 2. Outer Planets Colloquium Series 3. Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference 4. Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month 5. [NASA] Outer Planets Research Program - New Proposal/Start Dates 6. Venus White Papers for NRC's Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey 7. 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 LUNAR DUST, PLASMA AND ATMOSPHERE: THE NEXT STEPS A scientific workshop on "Lunar Dust, Plasma and Atmosphere: The Next Steps" will be held January 27–29, 2010 at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics of the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. Go to http://lpa2010.colorado.edu/ This meeting is being organized by the Colorado Center for Lunar Dust and Atmospheric Studies (CCLDAS), a NASA NLSI center. Go to http://lasp.colorado.edu/ccldas/ 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 OUTER PLANETS COLLOQUIUM SERIES Would your institution like a visit and colloquium presentation this academic year from an expert in outer solar system science, at no expense to you? Would you like travel support to share your outer solar system research? Presenters and host institutions are sought for the Outer Planets Colloquium Series, a program that matches planetary scientists with university campuses and research institutions. Participation is open to two- and four-year undergraduate colleges, and to research institutions throughout the United States. Host institutions commit to making the necessary local arrangements. Presenters are encouraged to address the needs of the next generation of scientists (graduate students, interns, and undergraduates) and to give an additional presentation that is free and open to the general public. Other interactions that increase awareness of outer solar system science may also be considered as part of the visit. These may include guest teaching a class, interacting informally with students and faculty, visiting local precollege campuses, or other outreach activities. A range of topics is anticipated on the basis of speaker participation. The Colloquium Series will cover the presenter's travel expenses. There will be no honorarium for the speaker. For further information see http://outerplanets.jpl.nasa.gov/ 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 NEXT-GENERATION SUBORBITAL RESEARCHERS CONFERENCE February 18-20, 2010 Boulder, Colorado A new generation of space vehicles capable of economically delivering payloads and researchers is coming on line beginning in 2010. These vehicles will revolutionize space access by providing frequent, low- cost access to space. Fields that will potentially benefit include atmospheric science, solar physics, microgravity science, planetary science, space life science, space physics, and education and public outreach (EPO). NSRC 2010 will provide a forum to learn about the research and EPO capabilities of these new systems, along with their experiment and EPO integration processes, and to provide input on vehicle design requirements for science and education. The abstract deadline for the conference will be November 12, 2009. To subscribe to a mailing list to receive e-mail updates about the conference, please submit the Indication of Intent form by October 14, 2009. View the Announcement Now!! http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010 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 GEOMORPHOLOGY IMAGE OF THE MONTH The September 'Image of the Month' is now available at the IAG's Planetary Geomorphology web page http://www.psi.edu/pgwg/images/sep09image.html This month's topic is "Low-latitude landscape of fire and ice on Mars," contributed by Mark Bishop. 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 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 [NASA] OUTER PLANETS RESEARCH PROGRAM - NEW PROPOSAL/START DATES Outer Planets Research (OPR), solicits proposals for diverse scientific investigations that contribute to the understanding of the outer Solar System, including the giant planets, their satellites, and smaller solid bodies including comets, asteroids, and Kuiper Belt objects. The program includes both data analysis from NASA missions and fundamental research. Proposals are now due December 18. The planning date for start of investigation has been changed to November 1, 2010. In addition to the change in the due date, the text of Appendix C.7 has been clarified to specify that proposals to provide refinement of mission datasets or create data products are included in the requirement to "…describe a complete scientific investigation organized in terms of unresolved scientific questions to be addressed; objectives of the research; lines of inquiry, methodology, and analysis; and conclusions." Go to http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH08ZDA001N". Questions concerning OPR may be addressed to Dr. Curt Niebur Planetary Science Division Science Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters Washington, DC 20546-0001 (202) 358-0390 curt.niebur@nasa.gov [Editor's Note: text has been reduced for length] 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 VENUS WHITE PAPERS FOR NRC'S PLANETARY SCIENCES DECADAL SURVEY The list of white papers on Venus science topics supporting the NRC's Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey is posted on the VEXAG website http://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag To determine which papers represent community consensus, the NRC encourages community members to endorse papers they support. Multiple endorsements are permitted. The papers must be submitted by Sept. 15. Please visit this site and add your endorsements soon. Sanjay Limaye and Sue Smrekar, VEXAG co-chairs 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 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS October 12-14, 2009 9th European Workshop on Astrobiology EANA'09 http://www.exobiologie.be/eana/ Brussels, Belgium December 15-17, 2009 Exploration Remote Sensing - GRSG AGM 2009 http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/grsg2009 London, UK January 3-7, 2010 American Astronomical Society Meeting #215 http://aas.org/meetings/aas215/ Washington, DC January 10-15, 2010 Origin of Life http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2010&program=origin Galveston, TX March 17-18, 2010 MEPAG Contact: Joyce Pulliam (Joyce.N.Pulliam@jpl.nasa.gov) Monrovia, CA May 31 - June 4, 2010 PAHs and the Universe http://pahconf.cesr.fr/ Toulouse, France [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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