PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 5, Number 7 (January 30, 2011) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Susan Benecchi Co-Editors: Mark V. Sykes, Melissa Lane Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. AOGS Session: Outer Planets and Icy Worlds (PS.06) 2. AOGS Session: Astrobiology - Life in the Universe (PS.14) 3. [NASA] Availability for Summer of Innovation (SOI) Competitive Grants Peer Review 4. Dawn Science Team - Education and Public Outreach Liaison Call for Applications 5. Mars Express OMEGA data release 6. Resources for Skeptical Examination of Astrology from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 7. 41st Saas-Fee Advanced Course "From Planets to Life" 8. Japan Geoscience Union International Symposium 2011: Session on future exploration of the Jupiter and Saturn systems 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 AOGS SESSION: OUTER PLANETS AND ICY WORLDS (PS.06) Annual Meeting of the AOGS (Asia-Oceania Geosciences Society) Taipei, Taiwan August 8-12, 2011 http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2011/public.asp?page=home.htm This session will be devoted to outer planet satellites, including Io and icy worlds large (e.g. Titan) and small (e.g. Enceladus), rings and icy dwarf planets. The session will include solicited, contributed, and poster presentations addressing observational, laboratory, and theoretical studies relevant to past, ongoing, and future missions. Relevant topics include: (1) interior structure, composition and thermal evolution, (2) surface geology and composition, (3) composition and dynamics of neutral atmospheres (4) orbital dynamics and satellite interactions, (5) structure and dynamics of planetary rings, (6) physical properties of ring particles and small satellites of outer planet satellites. Contact: Dr. Steve Vance (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, United States) svance@jpl.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 AOGS SESSION: ASTROBIOLOGY - LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (PS.14) Annual Meeting of the AOGS (Asia-Oceania Geosciences Society) Taipei, Taiwan August 8-12, 2011 http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2011/public.asp?page=home.htm This session invites solicited, contributed, and poster presentations addressing (1) conditions on the early Earth that may have been necessary for the origin of life (2) subsequent events and conditions that may have contributed to the evolution of organisms and the development of Earth's climate (3) biological and geochemical characterization of extreme environments (4) habitability of extraterrestrial atmospheres, surfaces and interiors (5) methods or technological approaches for detecting biosignatures. Contact: Dr. Louise Prockter (Johns Hopkins University , United States) louise.prockter@jhuapl.edu 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 [NASA] AVAILABILITY FOR SUMMER OF INNOVATION (SOI) COMPETITIVE GRANTS PEER REVIEW NASA Research and Education Support Services (NRESS) is seeking persons to evaluate proposals submitted in response to the NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) titled, "2011 Summer of Innovation Project". NASA is seeking reviewers with various backgrounds and professional affiliation including Pre-K through 12 teachers and principals, college and university educators, researchers and evaluators, social entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, grant makers and managers, and others with education expertise. The Summer of Innovation is a solicitation-driven project that supports student interest in STEM by strengthening the capacity of community- and school-based organizations that inspire and engage middle school students in STEM content during the summer. SoI then continues to support follow-on and extended learning efforts designed to keep students involved in NASA-themed STEM activities during the academic year. For details please visit: http://nspires.nasaprs.com or http://www.grants.gov/ The review period is scheduled for March 1-8, 2011. If you would like to be a reviewer, please e-mail NASASOIP2011@nasaprs.com by COB February 18, 2011. Include contact information, resume/vita, and a summary of your expertise and experience in the relevant areas (see webpage for details). Questions, please contact: Rob Lasalvia, Summer of Innovation Project Manager grc-2011summerofinnovation@mail.nasa.gov [Edited for length.] 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 DAWN SCIENCE TEAM - EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH LIAISON CALL FOR APPLICATIONS The Dawn project has an immediate opening for an EPO-Science Team liaison who will coordinate with the Dawn Science and EPO Teams to engage the Public in the Dawn Mission. The incumbent requires a PhD in planetary science with working knowledge of small solar system bodies strongly preferred. The funding available for FY11 activities is approximately $33K which is expected to cover both salary, travel and other expenses associated with the position. The available funding in following years will be about $43K. Interested individuals should send an email to margie@igpp.ucla.edu who will supply a statement of work for the position Applicants should then provide a detailed budget and resume that clearly outlines their experience that prepares them for these responsibilities as well as their vision for public outreach while Dawn orbits Vesta beginning in July 2011 and cruises to its eventual rendezvous with Ceres in 2015. The incumbent is expected to have no ties with any Dawn investigation. The incumbent does not gain data analysis or publication rights through this position. All applications received by February 14, 2011 will be considered. C. T. Russell Dawn PI 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 MARS EXPRESS OMEGA DATA RELEASE New data has been released in the ESA Planetary Science Archive from the Mars Express OMEGA instrument. Data from the entire second mission extension is now available in the data set: MEX-M-OMEGA-2-EDR-FLIGHT-EXT2-V1.0 This covers the period from November 2007 until January 2010. The new data can be accessed via the standard PSA user interfaces available from our website: http://www.rssd.esa.int/PSA Best regards, Planetary Science Archive 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 RESOURCES FOR SKEPTICAL EXAMINATION OF ASTROLOGY FROM THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC In light of the recent media interest into problems with astrology and the fact that the astrological signs and astronomical constellations no longer line up, the non-profit Astronomical Society of the Pacific has updated its long-popular article examining astrology from an astronomical perspective and is making it available on the Web at: http://www.astrosociety.org/astrology.pdf (It includes the suggestion of a new "science" of jetology -- where the position of jumbo jets at the time a person is born determines his or her destiny and love life -- which many educators have found useful over the years.) There is also a resource guide for looking at a wide range of astronomical pseudo-science at: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib.html 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 41ST SAAS-FEE ADVANCED COURSE "FROM PLANETS TO LIFE" From the Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy 41st Saas-Fee Advanced Course "From Planets to Life" 3-9 April 2011, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland This astrobiology course consists of 28 lectures organized in three parts as follow: - Astrophysical conditions for development of life Prof. Jonathan Lunine (University of Arizona) - Earth geology and climatology history Prof. James Kasting (Pennsylvania State University) - Origin and critical steps of life development on Earth Prof. John Baross (University of Washington) In addition to the formal course, the setting of this event provides ample time for informal discussions during the meals and other social events. We are approaching our maximum hosting capacity, however, we can still accommodate for about a dozen additional participants. The regular registration deadline is JANUARY 28th, 2011. After this date the registration fee will raise from CHF450.- to CHF500.-. For more information please visit: http://www.isdc.unige.ch/sf2011/ We look forward to seeing you soon, Pierre Dubath, for the organizing committee 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 JAPAN GEOSCIENCE UNION INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM 2011: SESSION ON FUTURE EXPLORATION OF THE JUPITER AND SATURN SYSTEMS We would like to invite you to attend and contribute to the Japan Geoscience Union International Symposium 2011 (JpGU 2011), held in Chiba-city, Japan, 22-27 May 2011, See: http://www.jpgu.org/meeting_e/index.htm Pay attention particularly to session: P-PS01: "Future explorations of Jupiter and Saturn system" Giant planets are the most prominent representative bodies not only in the solar system but also in other extrasolar systems. The origin of the Jovian planets and the icy moons are inseparable and thus their origin, internal structure, composition, etc. will be comprehensively discussed. In front of the future mission Era, we'd like to promote the study of Jovian planets and their satellites. Also, progress in developing a solar sail mission to observe Jupiter system and Trojan asteroids will be discussed. Important Dates: Feb, 4 12:00 JST Deadline of Abstract submission May, 9 Pre-JpGU Meeting registration closes We would appreciate forwarding this session announcement to interested colleagues and look forward to seeing you in Chiba, Japan. 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 May 22-27, 2011 Japan Geoscience Union International Symposium 2011 http://www.jpgu.org/meeting_e/index.htm Chiba-city, Japan July 19-21, 2011 Fourth Annual Lunar Science Forum http://lunarscience2011.arc.nasa.gov/ Moffett Field, CA Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html [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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