PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER 
Volume 4, Number 12 (March 21, 2010)

PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org
Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Melissa Lane, Nic Richmond
Email: pen_editor at psi.edu

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

1. Venus-GRAM Now Available as Public Domain Software
2. [NASA] Civil Service Position at NASA Johnson Space Center: 
   Small bodies and near-Earth objects
3. [NASA] Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Release 1
4. MEPAG WebEx and Teleconference information
5. Information Session on ESA's Lunar Lander: A Precursor to Human 
   Exploration 
6. International Venus Conference, Aussois, France, 20-26 June 2010
7. Abstracts & Registration Being Accepted for August 2010 ASP Meeting
8. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions

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


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VENUS-GRAM NOW AVAILABLE AS PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE

The Venus Global Reference Atmospheric Model (Venus-GRAM) was developed 
by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Natural Environments Branch.  
Venus-GRAM is suitable for a variety of engineering applications at all 
attitudes, locations, and times within the atmosphere of Venus and is 
based on the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Venus International 
Reference Atmosphere (VIRA).  Venus-GRAM has recently been reclassified 
as public domain software.  As a result of this change, Venus-GRAM is 
now available upon request through the website: 

http://see.msfc.nasa.gov/tte/model_Venusgram.htm


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[NASA] CIVIL SERVICE POSITION AT NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER: 
SMALL BODIES AND NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS

The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate 
at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) announces an opening for a civil 
service research scientist in the Astromaterials Research Office.  The 
incumbent will serve as a Planetary and Exploration Science Expert and 
will be expected to conduct fundamental research and to support 
mission planning for exploration of small planetary bodies (asteroids, 
near-Earth objects, comets). A Ph.D. or equivalent experience in 
chemistry, physics, geology, geochemistry, planetary sciences, 
astronomy, or a related field is required. The position requires an 
expert knowledge of advanced principles and practices of planetary and 
space sciences, with detailed scientific competence that enables the 
incumbent to investigate and provide consultative services on the 
entire range of complex scientific questions within the area of 
expertise.  The position will be filled at the GS-14 level.

All applications must be made through the www.USAJobs.gov website, 
using position number JS10D0059.  The application opportunity will 
close 9 April 2010.  Please address inquiries to Drs. David Draper 
(Manager, Astromaterials Research Office, david.draper@nasa.gov), 
Gregory Byrne (Assistant Director, ARES, gregory.j.byrne@nasa.gov) 
or Eileen Stansbery (Director, ARES, eileen.k.stansbery@nasa.gov).


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[NASA] LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER RELEASE 1

The NASA Planetary Data System announces the first release of data from 
the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. This release includes 
raw and derived products for data acquired from the start of mapping on 
September 15, 2009, through December 14, 2009, along with data 
collected during the commissioning phase June 23 - September 14, 2009.

Data sets from the following experiments are included in this release:

- Cosmic Ray Telescope for Effects of Radiation (CRaTER)
- Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE)
- Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP)
- Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND)
- Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)
- Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC)
- Mini-Radio Frequency technology demonstration (Mini-RF)

The data may be accessed from 

http://pds.nasa.gov/ 

or 

http://pds.nasa.gov/subscription_service/SS-20100315.html.

PDS offers two services for searching the LRO archives:

The Planetary Image Atlas at the Imaging Node allows selection of LRO 
data by specific search criteria. The Image Atlas will be available 
shortly. Please check the Imaging Node web site for information about 
its availability.

http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/.

The Lunar Orbital Data Explorer at the Geosciences Node allows 
searching and downloading of LRO data and other lunar orbital data sets 
(Clementine and Lunar Prospector). 

http://ode.rsl.wustl.edu/moon/.


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MEPAG WEBEX AND TELECONFERENCE INFORMATION

Teleconference numbers and WebEx instructions have been posted 
to the MEPAG website at:

http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/meeting/mar-10/webex.html

And are duplicated below:

WebEx Directions

Topic: MEPAG #22
Date: Every 1 day, from Wednesday, March 17, 2010 to Thursday, 
March 18, 2010
Time: 7:00 am, Pacific Time (San Francisco, GMT-08:00)
Meeting Number: 992 687 152
Meeting Password: MEPAG#22webex

To join the online meeting (Now from iPhones too!):

1. Go to https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=123783202&UID
=0&PW=NOTdmNTgwM2M4&RT=MiM0
2. Enter your name and email address.
3. Enter the meeting password: MEPAG#22webex
4. Click "Join Now".
5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link:

https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=123783202&UID=0&PW
=NOTdmNTgwM2M4&ORT=MiM0

For assistance:

1. Go to https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/mc
2. On the left navigation bar, click "Support".

NASA Conferencing Center:

Call-in toll free number: 888-790-3557
Call-in toll number: 1-517-308-9292
Participant passcode: 5378854
Call-in time: 08:15 AM PACIFIC TIME

Hope you can join us.

Dr. Charles Budney
Mars Program Office
Jet Propulsion Laboratory


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INFORMATION SESSION ON ESA's LUNAR LANDER:
A PRECURSOR TO HUMAN EXPLORAION

ESA's Human Space Flight Directorate will be hosting an information 
session on their plans for a Lunar Lander mission on 14 April 2010; 
a precursor to human exploration for the Moon. This mission will 
perform soft precision landing at the Lunar South Pole and provides 
opportunities for a payload which prepares for human exploration. 

The session is primarily intended to inform and update respondents to 
2009's Lunar Lander Request For Information (RFI) about the mission 
and its objectives, ongoing work and plans for the future.  The session 
may also be of interest to other stakeholders in Lunar Exploration. 

Topics presented will include 

Lunar Lander mission outline 
Formulation of mission objectives 
Model payload 

The session will take place at the European Space Research and 
Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands and will also be broadcast 
online. 

Persons wishing to attend the session in ESTEC or view remotely via 
the internet, either live or later on, are requested to e-mail 
explorationcall@esa.int. Questions regarding the event can also be 
sent via the same address. 

We look forward to sharing our plans for lunar exploration with you. 

The ESA Lunar Lander Team

[Edited for length.]


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INTERNATIONAL VENUS CONFERENCE, AUSSOIS, FRANCE, 20-26 June 2010

With the arrival of Venus Express at Venus in April 2005 Venus research 
got a well deserved boost after being more or less in hibernation for 
more than a decade. Many research groups, worldwide, have intensified 
their work both in data analysis and in modelling. In December 2010 the 
Japanese Venus Climate Orbiter, now named Akatsuki will arrive at 
Venus, allowing for joint simultaneous observations from two spacecraft 
for the first time. This conference will deal with new results in all 
fields related to Venus, from the interior through surface and 
atmosphere to the plasma environment, including reanalysis of older 
datasets and comparative planetology, extended to exoplanets. The 
format is based on sessions of typically half a day in duration, each 
introduced by one or two invited talks. The conference will be held in 
the small village Aussois in the French Alps, reachable via train to 
Modane. The closest international airports are at Lyon, Geneva and 
Torino. Thanks to our sponsors we can offer a very competitive package 
including registration, lodging and meals for the whole week. The 
meeting website   

http://lesia.obspm.fr/venus2010/    

is open for registration and abstract submission. Abstracts are 
accepted until April 6.


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ABSTRACTS & REGISTRATION BEING ACCEPTED FOR AUGUST 2010 ASP MEETING

Registration is Open for ASP Meeting in Boulder in August on Space and 
Earth Science Education

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific's web site for its 2010 
meeting is now accepting registration and abstract submissions at:

http://www.astrosociety.org/2010meeting

This meeting, being held on the scenic University of Colorado campus 
in Boulder from Jul. 31 to Aug. 4, brings together two hands-on 
symposia that the ASP has been sponsoring:

* Cosmos in the Classroom: Teaching Introductory Astronomy and 
  Planetary Science to Non-science Majors
* Earth and Space Science: Making Connections in Education and Public 
  Outreach.

Inexpensive hotel accommodations and campus residence halls have been 
arranged. Some scholarships are available for astronomy instructors 
from community colleges and other colleges where travel budgets are 
limited or non-existent.

Abstracts are welcome for a number of different types of contributions 
to the two symposia. Full instructions are available on the meeting web 
site. The deadline for submitting an abstract is April 23.


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PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS

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

September 11-17, 2011
Extreme Solar Systems II
http://ciera.northwestern.edu/Jackson2011/
Moran, WY

[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.]

 
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