PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 6, Number 5 (January 29, 2012) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Mark V. Sykes Co-Editors: Melissa Lane, Susan Benecchi Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. MEX Lunar List Solicitation for Payloads 2. DAP-2012 3. IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology 4. Pellas-Ryder Best Student Paper Award Nominations Due 5. Availability of Hayabusa Mission Samples / New Cosmic Dust Catalog 6. Volcano-Ice Interactions on Earth and Other Planets Conference III 7. NASA Lunar Science Forum Director's Seminar 8. [NASA] ROSES-2012 to be Released February 14 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 MEX LUNAR LIST SOLICITATION FOR PAYLOADS Moon Express Inc. is a Google Lunar X PRIZE Team based at NASA-Ames Research Park and partnered with NASA-Ames on lunar lander development. Moon Express plans to fly a series of robotic commercial lunar landing missions. These missions will carry scientific, educational, and commercial payloads to the lunar surface, beginning in late 2013 with Moon Express-1 (ME-1). Moon Express is also now soliciting payloads for ME-2, to fly in 2014/2015. Several payloads are already under agreement to fly on ME-1 but open payload space remains on ME-1, and ME-2 has not yet begun to fill. Moon Express seeks to discuss payload flight opportunities with funded US or overseas PIs and organizations with research or educational payloads that can be ready for launch aboard ME-1 in late 2013, as well as PIs/organizations interested in proposing to NASA, NSF, or other agencies/sources for the ME-2 launch in 2014/2015. Interested PIs and organizations should contact Moon Express Chief Scientist Dr. Alan Stern (alanstern@moonexpress.com; 303.324.5269). 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 DAP-2012 The Dust, Atmosphere and Plasma Environment of the Moon and Small Bodies (DAP-2012) workshop will take place June 6-8, 2012, in Boulder, Colorado. It will be a forum to discuss our current understanding of the surface environment of the Moon and asteroids, to share new results from past and ongoing missions, and to describe expectations for planned upcoming missions. The workshop will be focused on the open science questions, the status and future of our modeling and laboratory experimental capabilities, the definition of the required measurements and instrument capabilities for future investigations from orbit, or to be deployed on the surface. Contributions to DAP-2012 are planned to be published in a special issue of Planetary and Space Sciences. The workshop is hosted by A. Stern and M. Horanyi, and supported by the NASA Lunar Science Institute: Colorado Center for Lunar Dust and Atmospheric Studies, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and the Center for Integrated Plasma Studies of the University of Colorado. Program Committee: Bill Bottke (SWRI) Andy Cheng (APL) Dan Britt (UCF) Mihaly Horanyi (CCLDAS) Robert Lin (UC Berkeley) Alan Stern (CCLDAS and SWRI) Abstracts Due: March 30, 2012 Conference webpage: http://ldap2012.colorado.edu/ [Edited for length.] 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 IAG/AIG INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GEOMORPHOLOGY The IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology will be held in Paris, France, from August 27 to 31, 2013. Go to: http://www.geomorphology-iag-paris2013.com/en There will be planetary geomorphology sessions. 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 PELLAS-RYDER BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE Just a reminder that nominations for the Pellas-Ryder Best Student Paper Award are due next Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Please send your nomination to P-R Nominations Committee Chair David Williams (David.Williams@asu.edu). The Pellas-Ryder Best Student Paper Award, jointly sponsored by MetSoc and the GSA Planetary Geology Division, is awarded to a student who is first author of the best planetary science paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Any first author of a paper published on a topic listed on the cover of Meteoritics & Planetary Science is eligible for consideration for this award. The award is limited to undergraduate and graduate students who are first authors of a paper published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between January 1 - December 31, 2011. For full details on eligibility, go to this website: http://rock.geosociety.org/pgd/awards.html#_pellas-ryder Thank you for your interest. Sincerely, Dr. David A. Williams Chair, Pellas-Ryder Nominating Committee 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 AVAILABILITY OF HAYABUSA MISSION SAMPLES / NEW COSMIC DUST CATALOG (1) Hayabusa Mission Samples Today JAXA and NASA announce the general availability of samples of asteroid Itokawa returned to Earth by the Hayabusa Mission. While the bulk of the samples are available from JAXA, by agreement 10% of the Itokawa samples are available from NASA. Please see the announcement of opportunity letter from JAXA, their sample catalog, and directions for preparing sample requests at: http://hayabusaao.isas.jaxa.jp/ The NASA website for their share of the Itokawa samples is at: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/hayabusa/index.cfm (2) New Cosmic Dust Catalog NASA's Cosmic Dust Catalog 18 is now online at: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/dust/cdcat18/index.cfm 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 VOLCANO-ICE INTERACTIONS ON EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS CONFERENCE III Abstract deadline: 15 February 2012 Conference date: 18-22 June 2012 Fairbanks, AK http://volcanoes.dickinson.edu/iavcei_iacs_viic/events2012.html#june The joint IAVCEI-IACS Commission on Volcano-Ice Interactions would like to announce the Third International Conference on Volcano-Ice Interactions on Earth & Other Planets, to be held in Anchorage, Alaska, June 18-22, 2012. We are planning a three-day oral and poster session meeting format followed by two days for field excursions to the Wrangell volcanic field and Cook Inlet volcanoes. The conference precedes the International Glaciological Society symposium on mountain glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets in a warming climate that will be held in Fairbanks the following week from June 25-29. The purpose of the conference is to bring together scientists with a common interest in volcano-ice interactions and to highlight recent studies and eruptions at snow- and ice-clad volcanoes. We are particularly interested in encouraging students and post-docs to attend and present their research results. 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 LUNAR SCIENCE FORUM DIRECTOR'S SEMINAR NLSI's new Director's Seminar will be the last Tuesday of every month. January 31, 2012, 9:00AM PST, 17:00 GMT Excavation and Mobility Modeling of Lunar Regolith as Part of the NLSI "Scientific Exploration Potential of the Lunar Poles" Project Speaker: Jerome B. Johnson, PhD, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Webinar abstract: The "Excavation and Mobility Modeling" task of the "Scientific Exploration Potential of the Lunar Poles" project is to develop physically based discrete element method (DEM) models of the interaction of wheeled mobility platforms and excavation tools with lunar regolith at the poles and elsewhere. The DEM explicitly models the dynamics of assemblies of particles, such as regolith (the layer of loose rock particles covering bedrock). The goal is to develop a DEM modeling capability that is usable by non-specialists and that can be configured to accurately simulate a wide range of applied and basic science and engineering problems beyond the current focus on mobility and excavation problems. Participation Instructions: RSVP to Ricky Guest (Ricky.Guest@nasa.gov) if joining by Polycom or other videoconferencing system. The slides and audio/video for this meeting will be presented using Adobe Connect. To join, connect to: http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/nlsi_directors_seminar/ 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] ROSES-2012 TO BE RELEASED FEBRURARY 14 Notice of Intent to Propose Due: March 16, 2012 - January 25, 2013 Proposals Due: May 4, 2012 - March 22, 2013 The Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences - 2012 (ROSES-2012) will be available on or about February 14, 2012. Go to: http://nspires.nasaprs.com Choose "Solicitations" followed by "Open Solicitations". This NASA Research Announcement solicits proposals for supporting basic and applied research and technology relevant to Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrophysics. Awards range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to more than $1M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of science experiment hardware). The funds available for awards in each program element offered in this ROSES NRA range from less than one to several million dollars, which allow selection from a few to as many as several dozen proposals depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. The typical period of performance for an award is four years, although a few programs may specify shorter or longer (maximum of five years) periods. Questions concerning general ROSES NRA policies and procedures may be directed to: Dr. Max Bernstein sara@nasa.gov 202-358-0879 [Edited 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 March 17-18, 2012 Early History of the Terrestrial Planets: New Insights from the Moon and Mercury http://www.planetary.brown.edu/html_pages/micro53.htm The Woodlands, TX June 18-22, 2012 Volcano-Ice Interations on Earth and Other Planets Conference III http://volcanoes.dickinson.edu/iavcei_iacs_viic/events2012.html#june Fairbanks, AK August 27-31, 2013 IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology http://www.geomorphology-iag-paris2013.com/en Paris, France [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, or * send a request to pen_editor at psi.edu * * To unsubscribe, send an email to pen_editor at psi.edu * * 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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