PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 8, Number 31 (June 29, 2014) 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. Deadline Extension for PSS "Solar Wind Interaction with the Terrestrial Planets" 2. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowships 3. [NASA] Final Text and a New Name: K2 Guest Observer - Cycle 1 4. Next Generation Lunar Scientists and Engineers Event at NASA Exploration Science Forum 5. Early Career Participant Support Available for NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group Meeting 6. AGU Session Announcement: Mercury - Results from MESSENGER's Low-Altitude Mapping Campaign 7. GSA Session Announcement: Dynamic Planetary Geology Revealed by Long-Term Observations 8. Mars Exploration Science Monthly Newsletter - July 2014 9. [NASA] SBAG 11 Meeting - Hotel Deadline of June 30 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 DEADLINE EXTENSION FOR PSS "SOLAR WIND INTERACTIONS WITH THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS" The deadline for submissions to the special issue "Solar wind Interaction with the Terrestrial Planets" in the Planetary and Space Science journal is now September 1, 2014. Covered topics include all aspects of planetary plasma physics and interactions in the inner Solar System, e.g.: (a) Magnetospheres, ionospheres, auroras (b) The solar wind interaction with planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and their moons, or with asteroids/comets (c) Plasma interactions with exospheres, dust and surfaces (d) Intercomparisons of planetary environments Contributions are welcome that address previous, present, forthcoming and planned observations from space, as well as ground-based observations, theoretical modelling or simulations. Laboratory studies on planetary analogues aiming to simulate the surface-plasma interaction are considered as well. PSS author guidelines are at: http://www.elsevier.com/journals/planetary-and-space-science /0032-0633/guide-for-authors For manuscript submission, go to: http://ees.elsevier.com/pss/ Under 'Article Type' choose 'SI: Solar Wind Planet Interaction'. Please provide 3-4 names of potential reviewers when you submit your manuscript. The papers will be of course available online as soon as the paper is accepted, inside the "in press" online section. P. Garnier, A. Milillo, A. Radioti Philippe.Garnier@irap.omp.eu [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 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 example of one of the research opportunities in planetary science is: https://www3.orau.gov/NPDoc/Catalog/17710 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/1iUrK4I For further information and to apply, visit: http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc/description/index.htm Questions: nasapostdoc@orau.org 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] FINAL TEXT AND A NEW NAME: K2 GUEST OBSERVER - CYCLE 1 This program element solicits proposals for the acquisition and analysis of new scientific data from the K2 mission: http://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/K2 K2 repurposes the space-borne hardware and ground-based operations of the Kepler mission (http://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov) for a pointed survey of pre-determined locations along the ecliptic plane. The single, visible-wavelength instrument onboard K2 provides high-precision photometry capability, with short cadence and long cadence modes (1 minute and 30 minute exposures), and provides a powerful tool for broadband variability analyses of planetary, stellar, extragalactic and solar system sources. Proposals to this program will be taken by a two-step process in which the Notice of Intent is replaced by a mandatory Step-1 proposal that must be submitted by an Authorized Organizational Representative. Step-1 proposals are due August 8, 2014 and proposals are due September 23, 2014. The full AO is posted at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ Technical questions concerning this program element may be directed to: Dr. Thomas Barclay 650-604-3560 keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov Programmatic questions concerning this program element may be directed to: Dr. Douglas Hudgins 202-358-0988 douglas.m.hudgins@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 NEXT GENERATION LUNAR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS EVENT AT NASA EXPLORATION SCIENCE FORUM Join the Next Generation Lunar Scientists and Engineers (NGLSE) group on Wednesday, July 23, for a discussion about mission involvement – What roles are available to you at various levels in your career? What skills should you develop in order to communicate and work together effectively with your peers? A panel of experts representing various mission roles will share their suggestions and lessons learned. The discussion will take place immediately after the Forum at Ames Research Center on Wednesday, July 23, from 5:15-6:30 pm in the Main Room in Building 152 (the same room as the Exploration Science Forum). The panel discussion will also be webcast for those that cannot attend in person (link will be available soon). An informal networking event will take place after the panel discussion at a location to be determined. Cheers, Noah and Lora 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 EARLY CAREER PARTICIPANT SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR NASA OUTER PLANETS ASSESSMENT GROUP MEETING NASA's Outer Planets Assessment Group will provide travel grants for a limited number of interested Early Career participants to attend the OPAG meeting July 23-24 in Bethesda, MD. OPAG plays a key role in sculpting the planetary science community's input into NASA activities for outer planets science and exploration. Thus it is critical for Early Career scientists to attend these meetings both to learn how NASA and Planetary Science programs operate and to represent the community that will work on OPAG-relevant projects in the coming decade. Interested graduate students, postdocs, and other Early Career scientists (within 5 years of PhD/MS/BS) should submit a one page letter of interest and a CV to curt.niebur@nasa.gov by July 3, 2014. Recipients will be notified by July 7. For more information, email Curt Niebur (curt.niebur@nasa.gov). 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 AGU SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT: MERCURY - RESULTS FROM MESSENGER'S LOW-ALTITUDE MAPPING CAMPAIGN We are pleased to announce a special session on Mercury at the 2014 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA, December 15-19, 2014. NASA's MESSENGER mission, now nearing the fourth and final year of orbital operations at Mercury, is well into a low-altitude campaign that is returning images and measurements of the planetary surface and near-surface that are unprecedented in their resolution. This session will highlight the latest results from MESSENGER observations and their implications for Mercury's geological evolution, the interaction of the planet's exosphere and magnetosphere with the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field, and the planet's geophysical and geochemical characteristics. We also welcome contributed papers on future mission opportunities, complementary ground-based observations, laboratory measurements, and theoretical developments relevant to planetary processes at Mercury. Please consider submitting an abstract for this session. For more information, visit: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm14/webprogrampreliminary /Session2116.html The submission deadline is August 6, 2014. Conveners: Paul Byrne (Lunar and Planetary Institute) Larry Nittler (Carnegie Institution of Washington) Sean Solomon (Columbia University) We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco. 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 GSA SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT: DYNAMIC PLANETARY GEOLOGY REVEALED BY LONG-TERM OBSERVATIONS The focus of this session is time-variable geology observed on other worlds. A decade of Cassini observations in the Saturn system and 17 years of continuous Mars imaging have facilitated observations of active processes. At Mars, documented changes range from crater formation to aeolian activity to a variety of seasonal processes and slope flows. On Titan, shifting seasons have led to varying lake levels and surface changes following convective storms, while the distribution of lakes and overlapping dune field patterns reflect variability on longer timescales. Jupiter's moon Io is continually resurfaced by volcanism, and plumes have now been found on icy satellites orbiting 3 of the 4 giant planets. In addition, the Rosetta spacecraft arrives this year at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and will look for signs of activity there. We encourage abstracts on observations and/or modeling of time-variable features from the Moon to the outer solar system, and investigating processes ranging from impact, aeolian, mass-wasting, and lacustrine to phase changes and volatile transport over various timescales. "Unsuccessful" change detection surveys that provide new limits on activity rates are also welcome. The abstract deadline is July 29. Go to: http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2014/science/sessions 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 MARS EXPLORATION SCIENCE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - JULY 2014 On behalf of Lisa Pratt (MEPAG Chair), Dave Beaty, Rich Zurek, and Amy Hale of the Mars Program Science Office, the July 2014 edition of the Mars Exploration Science Monthly Newsletter is online at: http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov 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] SBAG 11 MEETING - HOTEL DEALDINE OF JUNE 30 The 11th Meeting of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group will be held July 29-31, 2014, in Washington, DC. The deadline to reserve a hotel room at the group rate is Monday, June 30. Visit the SBAG website for additional meeting details: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/ Please register if you plan to attend the meeting. Registration is free but helps to assist with planning and also enables continued support of SBAG meetings. 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 October 22-24, 2014 Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/leag2014/ Laurel, MD May 19-22, 2015 4th Annual International Planetary Dunes Workshop http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/dunes2015/ Boise, ID 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, 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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