PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 4, Number 36 (August 29, 2010) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Melissa Lane Co-Editors: Mark V. Sykes, Susan Benecchi Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Fall AGU Session P22: On the Nature, Origin, and Evolution of Water on Airless Bodies 2. DPS Early Career Scientist Workshop 3. MSL Landing Site Workshop Program Available Online 4. [NASA] PDS Makes Available Cassini Mimas Map 5. [NASA] Due Date Delayed For Astrobiology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Program 6. Student Travel Grants for GSA Meeting 7. [NASA] PDS Releases Mars Exploration Rovers Data 8. [NASA] Keck Telescopes Call for 2011A Proposals 9. [NASA] MEPAG Meeting Announcement 10. Postdoc Position in Impact Research/Cosmochemistry 11. Faculty Position in Astronomy - Cornell University 12. SOFIA Tour During DPS 13. SOFIA Workshop During DPS 14. [NASA] Notices of Intent for Kepler Guest Observer Program 15. [NASA] Outer Planets Assessment Group Meeting 16. Planetary 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 FALL AGU SESSION P22: ON THE NATURE, ORIGIN, AND EVOLUTION OF WATER ON AIRLESS BODIES Water, as H2O or OH, has now been detected on extra-terrestrial objects from the inner Solar System through the Kuiper Belt and is predicted on many more. Water is significant for many reasons, including understanding the origin of life, chemical and geologic processes, and resource utilization. In this session we solicit presentations discussing the fundamental characteristics and processes relevant to understanding H2O and OH, including topics on their formation and stability on the surfaces of airless bodies in the Solar System, interaction with the environment (i.e., other volatiles or mineral grains, thermal and non-thermal processes), mechanical and chemical properties, and detection techniques and limits, among others. Please consider submitting an abstract. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Please contact the conveners for further information: Karl Hibbits (Karl.Hibbitts@jhuapl.edu) Rachel Mastrapa (Rachel.M.Mastrapa@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 DPS EARLY CAREER SCIENTIST WORKSHOP Sunday, October 3, 2010 9am-5pm DPS 2010 Pasadena Room 211 This workshop is open to all graduate students and recent post- graduates interested in learning more about advancing their career in planetary science. The full day workshop will include a networking event, a panel on career pathways, and a tutorial on proposal writing. Lunch and refreshments will be provided to participants. Pre- registration is required for this event due to space limitations. Please contact Rachel Mastrapa (Rachel.M.Mastrapa@nasa.gov) to pre-register. This event is sponsored by NASA and the DPS 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 MSL LANDING SITE WORKSHOP PROGRAM AVAILABLE ONLINE The program for the 4th MSL Landing Site Workshop is now available online at: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/ and http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/msl/ The workshop will be held September 27-29, 2010, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Monrovia, California, and will be just before the MEPAG meeting to be held at the same location. There is no registration or fee to attend. All members of the scientific community are encouraged to participate in this important activity. This workshop is expected to focus on the outstanding science questions, surface characteristics, and relative merits of the final MSL landing sites remaining under consideration. Outcomes will include a list of testable hypotheses that can be accomplished at each site using the MSL science payload. We look forward to your continued involvement in these activities! Sincerely, John Grant and Matt Golombek Co-Chairs, Mars Landing Site Steering Committee 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 [NASA] PDS MAKES AVAILABLE CASSINI MIMAS MAP The Planetary Data System (PDS) is pleased to announce the availability of Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) cartographic map of Saturn's moon Mimas. The volume designation of this delivery is coiss_3006. It may be found at: http://pdsimg.jpl.nasa.gov/volumes/iss.html 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] DUE DATE DELAYED FOR ASTROBIOLOGY: EXOBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY PROGRAM Programmatic schedule conflicts at NASA Headquarters have postponed the EXO peer review and hence the date when SMD must have proposals. A corresponding deferral of the EXO due date will provide the community additional time to prepare proposals. The proposal due date for EXO has been changed to Friday, October 22, 2010. Information on the science scope of Astrobiology can be found at: http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/ This Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2010" (NNH10ZDA001N) has been posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH10ZDA001N". Questions concerning EXO may be addressed to: Michael New NASA Headquarters (202) 358-1766 HQ-EXO@mail.nasa.gov [Editor Note: Shortened 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 STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS FOR GSA MEETING The Planetary Geology Division (PGD) of the Geological Society of America is offering two travel grants of $500 each to help defray costs for PGD student members who are traveling to the 2010 GSA Annual Meeting in Denver to present first-authored papers. Applicants for student travel awards must: - Be first author and presenter of a paper (or poster) - Be a Student Member of both GSA and the Planetary Geology Division. - Be registered for the meeting before applying for a travel grant. - Submit a completed Travel Grant Application, current CV, and a short justification (~300-500 words) for why travel funding is needed. If you are a co-convener of a session, also give that session's title. To join or to renew your membership go to: http://www.geosociety.org/members/ To register go to: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2010/reg.htm A student may only receive one GSA travel grant per meeting. You will be notified of your application status in early October. Checks will be presented at the meeting, following your talk or poster. The application deadline has been extended to September 24th, 2010. The application form can be requested from, and submitted to Simon Kattenhorn, simkat@uidaho.edu. [Editor Note: Shortened and clarified.] 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] PDS RELEASES MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS DATA The Planetary Data System (PDS) is pleased to announce Release 25 of Mars Exploration Rover data. This release includes primarily data from Sols 2071 through 2160 for both rovers. To access the above data, please visit the following link: http://pds.nasa.gov/subscription_service/SS-20100823.html The following special services are provided for accessing MER data: - MER Analyst's Notebook: http://an.rsl.wustl.edu/mer/ - Planetary Image Atlas: http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/search/mer/ To access the latest PDS Data Releases, please visit the following link: http://pds.nasa.gov/subscription_service/SS-Release.html All available PDS data may be found at: http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/data-search/ For further information, see the PDS Home Page: http://pds.nasa.gov/ 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 [NASA] KECK TELESCOPES CALL FOR 2011A PROPOSALS NASA is soliciting proposals to use the Keck Telescopes for the 2011A observing semester (February 2011 - August 2011). NASA intends the use of the Keck telescopes to be highly strategic in support of on-going missions and/or high priority, long term science goals. Thus NASA allows disciplines including exoplanets and solar system topics, galactic and extragalactic topics as well as cosmology and high energy astrophysics. This semester and onward, there is limited time available for observations of targets based on public Kepler data or data obtained through the Kepler Guest Observer programs. The call for CoRoT Key Science has been extended to semester 2012B. Proposals are also sought in the following discipline areas: (1) investigations in support of EXOPLANET EXPLORATION science goals and missions; (2) investigations of our own SOLAR SYSTEM; (3) investigations in support of COSMIC ORIGINS science goals and missions; (4) investigations in support of PHYSICS OF THE COSMOS science goals and missions; and (5) direct MISSION SUPPORT. All proposals are due on 16 September 2010 at 4 pm PDT. Please see: http://nexsci.caltech.edu/missions/KeckSolicitation/index.shtml KeckCFP@ipac.caltech.edu 9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9 [NASA] MEPAG MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT You are invited to attend the next MEPAG meeting, which will be held Thursday-Friday, September 30-October 1, in Monrovia, CA. http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/meeting/sep-10/index.html This MEPAG meeting will be held the two days immediately following the 4th MSL Landing Site Workshop (September 27-29, 2010), and at the same location, and all members of the community are welcome to attend both. We will begin the meeting at 8:30 a.m. The meeting is open to all members of the Mars science community, specifically including our international colleagues. In addition, we will broadcast the meeting via WebEx for those who cannot attend in person. Dave Des Marais MEPAG Chair [Editor Note: Shortened for length.] 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 POSTOC POSITION IN IMPACT RESEARCH/COSMOCHEMISTRY A postdoctoral position in impact research and planetary geology is available at the Department of Lithospheric Sciences, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna: http://lithosphere.univie.ac.at We are looking for candidates with a strong interest in the investigation of terrestrial meteorite impact craters, cosmochemistry, and isotope geology. We furthermore expect that the candidate will participate in the planning and supervision of the renovation and expansion of the radiogenic isotope laboratories of the department, especially regarding the installation of the Re-Os isotopic method. Some knowledge of German is necessary. For details see: https://univis.univie.ac.at/ausschreibungstellensuche/ (reference No. 1421) For further information please contact: Christian Koeberl christian.koeberl@univie.ac.at 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 FACULTY POSITION IN ASTRONOMY - CORNELL UNIVERSITY The Department of Astronomy at Cornell University has an opening for a new faculty member working in planetary astronomy, including both solar system and extrasolar planetary astronomy. Although we are able to hire a full professor, we will also consider applicants at the (tenured) associate professor and (tenure-track) assistant professor levels. We would be grateful if you were to bring this position to the attention of those in your department who might be interested in applying. Ira Wasserman Professor of Astronomy and Physics Chairman, Department of Astronomy Cornell University 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 SOFIA TOUR DURING DPS A guided tour of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft and the NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DAOF) in Palmdale (1-1/4 hours by road from Pasadena) will be offered to DPS attendees in Pasadena on Sunday October 3, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. The tour bus will leave Pasadena at 12:30 pm and return at 5:30 pm. Location of the bus departure point will be posted later at the DPS web site's meeting registration / special events page. Security passes are required for entry into the DAOF. If you wish to go on the tour, you must reserve your seat by contacting Dr. Jeonghee Rho, jrho@sofia.usra.edu, no later than September 3, providing your personal data for the security pass. For more information regarding the tour and personal data required for the security pass, please go to this site: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/index.html 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 SOFIA WORKSHOP DURING DPS SOFIA Workshop during the 2010 DPS meeting, Monday October 4, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Pasadena Convention Center, Room 208. A special workshop session, open to all DPS attendees, during which the status of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), including the aircraft, telescope, and science instruments, will be presented. Opportunities to observe with SOFIA will be explained in detail. Community input is solicited with an aim toward making SOFIA as useful as possible for planetary science. If you have any questions, please contact the workshop organizer Bill Reach, wreach@sofia.usra.edu http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/index.html 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 [NASA] NOTICES OF INTENT FOR KEPLER GUEST OBSERVER PROGRAM The Kepler Guest Observer Program solicits proposals for the acquisition and analysis of new scientific data from the Kepler mission. During its 3.5-year prime mission, Kepler will continuously monitor a ~100 square degree fieldic sources. Notices of Intent are due November 5, 2010, but are optional for this program. The due date for proposal submission remains unchanged at 11:59 PM EST, December 17, 2010. This Amendment is posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH10ZDA001N". Questions may be addressed to: Dr. Douglas Hudgins (202) 358-0988 douglas.m.hudgins@nasa.gov [Editor Note: Shortened for length. Info added.] 15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15 OUTER PLANETS ASSESSMENT GROUP MEETING The OPAG meeting is coming up! The meeting will take place Sept. 16-17 at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder, CO. The bulk of the meeting will focus on the upcoming Announcement of Opportunity for instruments for the Jupiter Europa Orbiter. This is an excellent opportunity not only to hear details about potential AO parameters and policies but also to provide NASA with your feedback on those policies. The Program Scientist, Curt Niebur, is looking forward to extended discussion and debate about this AO - this is your chance to learn about the AO and exert influence on its contents. For further details, please see the logistics website: http://icpi.nasaprs.com/opag or the OPAG main page: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/ William B. McKinnon OPAG chair mckinnon@wustl.edu 16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS December 6-8, 2010 Carbon in the Solar System http://www.busoc.eu/cost/ Brussels, Belgium [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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