PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 5, Number 6 (January 23, 2011) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Mark V. Sykes Co-Editors: Susan Benecchi, Melissa Lane Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Workshop: Cold Temperature Technology Applications for Exploring the Lunar Surface and Searching for Volatiles 2. AbGradCon 2011 - Abstract Submissions Are Now Open! 3. Second Announcement: Conference on Mars Habitability 4. Training workshops on Venus Express and Mars Express science data 5. Announcement for a Planetary Special Session at IUGG 6. Mars Express Images of Phobos 7. Fourth Meeting of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group - Webex Instructions 8. Outer Planets Colloquium Series 9. 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 WORKSHOP: COLD TEMPERATURE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS FOR EXPLORING THE LUNAR SURFACE AND SEARCHING FOR VOLATILES This cross-disciplinary workshop, to be held just prior to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and open to a broad cross-section of scientists, technology implementers and developers, will describe the nature of breakthroughs in the development of Low Temperature Technologies that could support operation below 100 K and are thus essential for exploration of the lunar (and other planetary) surfaces, particularly polar or permanently shadowed regions where prevailing cryogenic conditions would allow entrapment and thus characterization and collection of volatiles. Technologies includeHigh Temperature Superconductors for Materials and Mechanisms, Ultra Low temperature Ultra Low Power Electronics and Cold Temperature Power System Components. Advanced concepts for instrument packages and missions requiring cold temperature operation will be discussed. For more information go to: http://lsa2011.org 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 ABGRADCON 2011 - ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN! The 7th Annual AbGradCon (Astrobiology Graduate Conference) will be held at the University of Montana, Bozeman MT on June 4th-8th. AbGradCon (Astrobiology Graduate Conference) provides a unique setting for astrobiologically inclined graduate students and early career researchers to come together to share their research, collaborate, and network. Since it is organized and attended by only graduate students and post docs, AbGradCon is an ideal venue for the next generation of career astrobiologists to form bonds, share ideas, and discuss the issues that will shape the future of the field. Abstracts are requested on all subjects related to Astrobiology. This includes, but is not limited to, geomicrobiology, molecular biology, oceanography, atmospheric science, instrumentation, mission design, origin & evolution of life, remote sensing, planetary science, astrophysics, education & public outreach and policy. Full funding is available for US applicants. Limited funding may be available for international students. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding funding. Deadline for Abstract Submission: February 28, 2011 Participant Notification: April 4th, 2011 For more information please see: http://abgradcon2011.org/ Please send questions and concerns to: abgradcon2011@gmail.com 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 SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT: CONFERENCE ON MARS HABITABILITY We are pleased that the announcement and the call for papers is now online at: http://www.congrex.nl/11a14/ The conference will be held at the Tivoli Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, on June 13-15, 2011. The conference will begin after lunch on Monday, June 13, and will run for 2.5 days through the end of the day on Wednesday, June 15. The conference will be immediately followed by the first International Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting (MEPAG #24), June 16-17 at the same venue. All participants in the Habitability Conference are strongly encouraged to stay for the MEPAG meeting. Finally, a post-meeting field trip to the important Mars analog site at Rio Tinto, Spain, is planned for June 17-19. Note that the abstract deadline is February 11, 2011. We hope to see you in beautiful Lisboa in June! With best regards, Conference Conveners Ivo Alves, Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal, Chair of local organizing committee) David Beaty, Mars Program Office, JPL/Caltech (United States) Jack Mustard, Brown University (United States) Gian Gabriele Ori, IRSPS (Pescara, Italy) Lisa Pratt, Indiana University (United States) Fernando Rull, University of Valladolid (Spain) Olivier Witasse, European Space Agency (Netherlands) 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 TRAINING WORKSHOPS ON VENUS EXPRESS AND MARS EXPRESS SCIENCE DATA ESA is planning a data workshop related to the Mars Express and Venus Express instruments PFS, SPICAMand SPICAV/SOIR for summer 2011 (June / July), at ESAC in Spain. There are several options for this and we would like to gauge interest in the following possibilities: 1) 1 week Mars Express 'atmosphere' workshop: - PFS data - SPICAM UV and IR data Required: knowledge of IDL. 2) 3 days Venus Express workshop: - SPICAV UV and IR data - SPICAV-SOIR data Required: knowledge of IDL and Matlab. 3) 1.5 week Mars Express / Venus Express workshop: - PFS data - SPICAM / SPICAV UV and IR data - SPICAV-SOIR data N.B. This would require students to stay over a weekend. Required: knowledge of IDL and Matlab. If you are interested in attending a workshop in summer 2011, please send us an e-mail (dataworkshops@rssd.esa.int) with the following information: - Name - Institution - Level: student, PhD, Post doc, ... - Interest / preference for which workshop: 1) PFS and SPICAM, 2) SPICAV and SPICAV-SOIR, 3) PFS, SPICAM and SPICAV combined (would require a weekend stay) Deadline: 3rd February 2011 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 ANNOUNCEMENT FOR A PLANETARY SPECIAL SESSION AT IUGG Call for Abstracts, Deadline February 1, 2011. IUGG General Assembly, Melbourne, Australia, 28 June - 7 July 2011. IAVCEI Symposium V17. "Planetary Volcanism: What's different out here, what's new and what are we learning?" Co-convenors: G. Leone, T. Gregg, E. Stofan, S. Smrekar and A. Davies. This session will focus on state of the art and new views and concepts concerning the volcanic processes occurring across the Solar System. http://www.iugg2011.com/program.asp 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 MARS EXPRESS IMAGES OF PHOBOS Mars Express has returned images from the Phobos flyby of 9 January 2011. Mars Express passed Mars' largest moon at a distance of 100km. More at: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMIPY6SXIG_index_0.html http://webservices.esa.int/blog/blog/7 7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7 FOURTH MEETING OF THE NASA SMALL BODIES ASSESSMENT GROUP - WEBEX INSTRUCTIONS The 4th meeting of NASA SBAG begins Monday morning, January 24, at 9:30 AM EST at the Westin National Harbor near Washington DC. Information about the meeting and its agenda may be found at: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/ For those of you who would like this meeting by Webex, directions may be found at http://www.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Custom.aspx?cid=18&e =699247b5-3438-4478-ae1b-8a18dc65cfe6 The first half the meeting will be devoted to a forum on technology in small bodies exploration - how it is driven by science goals but also shapes those goals. The second half of the meeting will be devoted to discussing a draft Roadmap for Small Bodies Exploration. Draft sections of the Roadmap are being posted at http://www.psi.edu/~sykes/sbag/roadmap/ You are all welcome to participate! Mark Sykes Chair, NASA SBAG sykes@psi.edu 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 OUTER PLANETS COLLOQUIUM SERIES Would your institution like a visit and colloquium presentation 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 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, or other outreach activities. A current list of presenters and their prospective talks is provided on the Series website. The Colloquium Series will cover the presenter's travel expenses. There will be no honorarium for the speaker. Application details and further information may be found at: http://outerplanets.jpl.nasa.gov/ [Editor: Reduced for length.] 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 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html February 12-13, 2011 SpaceUp Houston http://spaceuphouston.org/ Houston, TX March 5-6, 2011 Analogue Sites for Mars Missions: MSL and Beyond http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/analogues2011/ The Woodlands, TX April 6-7, 2011 ALMA Community Days 2011: Towards Early Science http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2011/alma_es_2011.html Garching, Germany June 13-15, 2011 The International Conference on Exploring Mars Habitability http://www.congrex.nl/11a14/ Lisbon, Portugal June 14-17, 2011 The Second CoRoT Symposium: Transiting planets, Vibrating stars and their connection http://symposiumcorot2011.oamp.fr/ Marseille, France June 28 - July 7, 2011 IUGG/IAMAS General Assembly http://www.iugg2011.com/program-iamas.asp Melbourne, Australia [Editor Note: If there is a planetary-related meeting, conference or workshop of which your colleagues should be aware, 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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