PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 7, Number 60 (December 15, 2013) 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. Space Weather Journal iPad App Now Available, Along with Radio Science and JGR Space Physics and Planets 2. Debuting the Updated MEPAG Webpage 3. Announcing the Cometary Coma Image Enhancement Facility 4. Life Journal Special Issue - Planetary Exploration: Habitats and Terrestrial Analogs 5. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowships 6. [NASA] The Astrophysics Research and Analysis Program 7. [NASA] Three-Day Training Course on Planetary Protection 8. Input Requested: Planetary Science and the Hubble Space Telescope 9. [NASA] Mars Science Laboratory Release 4 10. 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 SPACE WEATHER JOURNAL IPAD APP NOW AVAILABLE, ALONG WITH RADIO SCIENCE AND JGR SPACE PHYSICS AND PLANETS The Space Weather Journal, published by AGU, is now available through an iPad App. Joining the other AGU journals, including JGR Space Physics and Planets, and Radio Science, you will now be able to access your Space Weather Journal subscription via compatible mobile devices. Those without a subscription will enjoy the open access articles. Download the free apps: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/space-weather-journal/ id723016111?ls=1&mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/radio-science/id684339676?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/journal-geophysical-research/ id674229020?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/journal-geophysical-research/ id674312447?mt=8 Note that the apps will appear in the ipads Newstand. If you or your institution has a subscription, you only need to synch it through that account or address once every 3 months; you can then access the content anywhere. Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications is an online publication devoted to the field of space weather and its impact on the design and operations of technical and engineered systems, including telecommunications, electric power, and satellite navigation. The journal's readers include engineers, system operators, systems designers, space weather forecasters, space weather modelers, as well as the solar and space physics research community. [Edited for length.] 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 DEBUTING THE UPDATED MEPAG WEBPAGE To Members of the Mars exploration community, We invite you to visit the updated MEPAG webpage: http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/ We hope that this redesign makes the site easier to navigate and more aesthetically pleasing. In general, content has not been altered (just updated), with the exception of the expanded "About Us" section which provides more information about the MEPAG Committee members. We welcome any comments you have about the structure, content, and organization of this site -- you can submit it under the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the webpage. 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 ANNOUNCING THE COMETARY COMA IMAGE ENHANCEMENT FACILITY This facility hosted by PSI and available at the URL: http://www.psi.edu/research/cometimen will enable cometary researchers to digitally enhance coma images of comets using five different image enhancement techniques that are not widely available in the public domain. Users can upload their images in FITS format and can download the enhanced FITS images. Please refer to documentations in the help page at the website for details. Nalin Samarasinha, Patrick Martin, Steve Larson 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 LIFE JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE - PLANETARY EXPLORATION: HABITATS AND TERRESTRIAL ANALOGS Planetary exploration is moving at a fast pace as we learn about environmental conditions on various planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond. Habitable conditions at some time during the history of the solar system have been proposed to have existed on Mars, Venus, and a number of icy moons of the outer solar system, some of which may still exist today. For this "LIFE" Special Issue, we particularly encourage submissions describing habitable conditions on planetary bodies and of how life could have interacted with them; also a description of analog environments on Earth from which we can learn about possible adaptations and life strategies on other planets and moons. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline (30 May 2014). Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on the website. More information: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/special_issues/terrestrial-analogs Dirk Schulze-Makuch & Alberto G. Fairen Guest Editors 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 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) provides opportunities for scientists and engineers to conduct research largely of their own choosing, yet compatible with the research opportunities posted on the NPP Web site. Selected by a competitive peer-review process, NPP Fellows complete one- to three-year Fellowship appointments that advance NASA's missions in earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, space bioscience, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration and space operations, and astrobiology. An sample research opportunities in planetary science is: https://www3.orau.gov/NPDoc/Catalog/17702 Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in hand before beginning the fellowship, but may apply while completing the degree requirements. U. S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and foreign nationals eligible for J-1 status as a Research Scholar may apply. Stipends start at $53,500 per year, with supplements for high cost- of-living areas and for certain academic specialties. Financial assistance is available for relocation and health insurance, and $8,000 per year is provided for professional travel. Applications are accepted three times each year: March 1, July 1, and November 1. The latest NPP Newsletter: http://bit.ly/18GSlHK For further information and to apply, visit: http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc/description/index.htm Questions: nasapostdoc@orau.org 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 [NASA] THE ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS PROGRAM This amendment permits proposals for development of new data analysis methods for future space missions to APRA, see Section 1.2.3, and also corrects dates for Sounding Rocket launches from Woomera, see Section 1.2.1.1. Budget instructions for Co-I proposals are clarified in several places. Instructions for the use of the Wallops Arc-second Pointing System are clarified, see Section 1.2.1.2. This Amendment also removes the portion of this solicitation on Laboratory Astrophysics proposals of potentially larger scope that address the acquisition of data for understanding the molecular universe at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths (see Section 1.2.4). The funding level for Laboratory Astrophysics indicated in the table in section 2.1 of element D.3 remains unchanged. This amendment also changes the point of contact for Infrared, Submillimeter, and Radio Astrophysics (see Section 3). New text is in bold and deleted text is struck through. The due dates for NOIs and proposals remain unchanged at January 24, 2014, and March 21, 2014, respectively. Announcement #: NNH13ZDA001N http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ RSS feed at: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/ roses-2013 Questions: Michael R. Garcia 202-358-1053 Michael.R.Garcia@nasa.gov [Edited for length.] 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] THREE-DAY TRAINING COURSE ON PLANETARY PROTECTION Course: "Planetary Protection: Policies and Practices" Dates: March 11-13, 2014 Location: Kennedy Space Center, Florida We cordially invite all interested parties to participate in the upcoming course on Planetary Protection Policies and Practices, which is designed to familiarize current and future practitioners with NASA, ESA, and COSPAR planetary protection programs. The course provides an overview of applicable policies, practices and procedures necessary to implement a successful planetary protection program, emphasizing integration of managerial, administrative, and laboratory activities. It is supported by the NASA Planetary Protection Officer. Enrollment: 14 participants Application: contact Amy Baker at tasalb@msn.com 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 INPUT REQUESTED: PLANETARY SCIENCE AND THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE Solar System observations have played a major role in HST's science program since its launch in 1990, but in recent years the overall proposal pressure has declined. After consultation with the Space Telescope Users Committee, STScI's Director, Matt Mountain, has constituted an advisory committee to examine this issue and provide advice on future strategies for planetary science programs with HST. The committee is chaired by Prof. Phil Nicholson (Cornell) and the committee members are Michele Bannister (U. Victoria), Bonnie Buratti (JPL), Marc Buie (SWRI), Jean-Luc Margot (UCLA), Stefanie Milam (GSFC) and Glenn Orton (JPL). The committee is charged with: * Reviewing the evolution of HST usage by the planetary community; * Soliciting input on the future role that HST can play in planetary science and on methods for increasing participation by the solar system community; and * Investigating potential mechanisms for coordinating HST science programs with priorities among the planetary community. We would like to solicit suggestions from the community on ways that HST could better support planetary science. Please submit your suggestions either in text form or as short white papers to hstsolarsys@stsci.edu, or contact any committee member. 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] MARS SCEINCE LABORATORY RELEASE 4 The NASA Planetary Data System announces the fourth release of data from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, covering data acquired from Sol 270 through Sol 359 (May 9, 2013, to Aug 10, 2013). This release consists of raw and derived data sets from the following instruments: APXS ChemCam CheMin DAN Hazcam MAHLI MARDI Mastcam Navcam RAD REMS SAM SPICE To access the above data for this release: http://pds.nasa.gov/subscription_service/SS-20131213.html Links to all MSL data sets may be found on the PDS Geosciences Node web site: http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/ The data may also be reached from the main PDS home page: http://pds.nasa.gov/ MSL data are archived at the PDS Atmospheres, Planetary Plasma Interactions (PPI), Geosciences, Imaging, and Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) Nodes. PDS offers two services for searching the MSL archives: The Planetary Image Atlas at the Imaging Node allows selection of MSL image data by specific search criteria. http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/search The MSL Analyst's Notebook at the Geosciences Node allows searching and downloading of all MSL data in the context of mission events. http://an.rsl.wustl.edu/msl The PDS Team pds_operator@jpl.nasa.gov (818) 393-7165 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html September 7, 2014 Using Radar Imagery for Meteorite Fall Detection and Recovery http://www.metsoc2014casablanca.org/workshops.php Casablanca, Morocco September 8-11, 2014 Electrification in Dusty Atmospheres Inside and Outside the Solar System http://leap1.sciencesconf.org/ Pitlochry, United Kingdom [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.php, 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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