PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 9, Number 5 (February 1, 2015) 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. [NASA] New Volunteer Reviewer Forms Posted 2. [NASA] Approval for LPSC Conference Hotels Exceeding GSA 3. Postdoctoral Researcher: Mineralogy and Petrology of Planetary Materials 4. Connection Information for 'Potential for Finding Life in A Europa Plume' Workshop Live Broadcast 5. Professional Development Opportunity for Undergraduate Faculty 6. The Future & Science of Gemini Observatory 7. AbSciCon 2015: Finding Habitable Worlds and Life Beyond the Solar System 8. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowships 9. Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month 10. Astrogeology - ISIS Support 11. 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 [NASA] NEW VOLUNTEER REVIEWER FORMS POSTED The Science Mission Directorate is seeking subject matter experts to serve as mail-in and/or panel meeting reviewers of research proposals in Earth and Space science. We have posted new volunteer reviewer forms for ROSES 2014 Habitable Worlds and Astrophysics Research and Analysis calls and the Earth and Space Science graduate student fellowship programs (NESSF). To volunteer just fill out the forms at: http://science.nasa.gov/researchers/volunteer-review-panels/ 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] APPROVAL FOR LPSC CONFERENCE HOTELS EXCEEDING GSA Conference travel expenses exceeding GSA without approval from NASA could cause audit problems for some organizations later. It has been noted by some observant planetary scientists that the LPSC 2015 conference hotel rate exceeds the GSA allowable lodging for that time and place. NASA intends to provide approval to allow those attending LPSC to be reimbursed for their stay, at most hotels anyway. This advance approval and further details will be posted as a letter from SARA at: http://sara.nasa.gov no later than Friday February 6, 2015. 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 POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER: MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY OF PLANETARY MATERIALS The Universities Space Research Association's Lunar and Planetary Institute, invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in the mineralogy and petrology of planetary materials. The successful candidate will work with Dr. Allan Treiman in NASA- funded efforts, emphasizing planetary crusts and magmas, and their volatile constituents and on the CheMin science team of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The candidate will participate in analysis and interpretation of CheMin X-ray diffraction data of Mars surface materials; and may also participate in operations planning for the CheMin instrument. Applicants should have a recent Ph.D. in petrology or geochemistry; experience with planetary materials is helpful, but not required. The position would be for two years, with possible extension to a third year. The candidate must be a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident, and be able to pass a detailed government background investigation. Applicants should send a letter of interest, a curriculum vita with a list of publications, a brief (maximum three pages) statement of research interests, and a list of three references to the posting at: https://usracareers.silkroad.com/ USRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled 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 CONNECTION INFORMATION FOR 'POTENTIAL FOR FINDING LIFE IN A EUROPA PLUME' WORKSHOP LIVE BROADCAST A live stream of the talks can be viewed at: https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/europa When: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 8:30am - 5pm PDT Where: NASA ARC Bld 152, Moffett Field, California On February 18, 2015, the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) and the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) will co-host the workshop at NASA Ames Research Center. Current Europa missions under study by NASA are focused on answering the question "Is Europa habitable?" However, the potential presence of water plumes on the satellite could present an opportunity to pursue the question "Is there life on Europa?" Answering this question is far more challenging because measurements currently possible may provide only ambiguous results from a mission that either orbits or flies by Europa at relatively high velocity. To that end, NASA's Planetary Science Division is convening a workshop to consider strategies to investigate Europa's putative plumes for evidence of life. Registration is free. All attendees are requested to register at the following website: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/calendar/europa-plume-workshop/ workshop-europa-plume-registration/ The workshop will be followed on Feb. 19-20 by a meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group that will also be held at Ames. 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 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDERGRADUATE FACULTY Description: 3-5 undergraduate faculty will be recruited to attend the Heliophysics Summer School. They will work with leading researchers in the field of heliophysics and develop course materials using heliophysics examples to illustrate important concepts in introductory and upper division physics, astronomy or earth science courses, and general science courses. During the summer school, faculty will be expected to work with the summer school instructors, other educators and each other to outline and draft teaching materials that they can further develop and test during the school year. A strong evaluation plan will be an important part of the expected outcome of this work. Selected faculty must be able to field test these materials during the semester following the summer school. The goal is for these materials to be submitted to NASA for product review and hosting on NASA repositories. Examples of previously developed materials: http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/Heliophysics/science-resources- undergraduate_materials.shtml Requirements: 1. 3 years teaching experience. Community college faculty encouraged. 2. Currently teaching physics, astronomy/planetary science, or Earth sciences at the undergraduate level. 3. Willingness to work with other faculty and the HSS instructors as a team to develop instructional materials. http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/Heliophysics/summer-apply-how.shtml Deadline: Friday March 27th [Edited for length.] 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 THE FUTURE & SCIENCE OF GEMINI OBSERVATORY June 14-18, 2015 Toronto, Canada Registration is now open for the next Gemini Science and User Meeting. The Gemini Science Meeting occurs every three years. The theme of this year's meeting is "The Future & Science of Gemini Observatory." The meeting will cover a range of exciting scientific results from the international community, such as: Solar System, Exoplanets, Galactic astronomy, The Nearby Universe, Cosmic Explosions, AGNs and QSOs, and Distant Galaxies and Cosmology. If you have used Gemini data in the past several years, or are interested in finding out more about the capabilities of the Observatory, please consider attending. At the User meeting there will be discussions on the next-generation instruments, observing modes and synergies with other facilities as the Observatory looks ahead to 2020 and beyond. In particular, the Gemini Instrument Feasibility Study (GIFS) teams will present their studies for the next Gemini instrument and your feedback is requested on the different concepts to be proposed. Abstract and Early Registration (reduced fee) deadlines are both March 4, 2015. For further information on the program, registration, abstract submission, and the venue, see: http://www.gemini.edu/fsg15 Sincerely, Franck Marchis, on behalf the SOC 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 ABSCICON 2015: FINDING HABITABLE WORLDS AND LIFE BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM Please join us for the session on "Finding Habitable Worlds and Life Beyond the Solar System" at the upcoming AbSciCon meeting this summer, June 15-19 in Chicago, Illinois. This session invites contributions on the science and technology requirements for the next generation of observatories that will undertake the search for life beyond the solar system. Topics to be covered in this session include signs of exoplanet habitability and global biosignatures that can be sought with upcoming instrumentation; instrument requirements and technologies to detect these markers; strategies for target selection and prioritization; and impacts of planetary system properties, telescope architecture, and instrument capabilities on the yield of potentially inhabited exoplanets. Abstract submission is now open (deadline March 4), and details, as well as a list of other session topics, are available at the AbSciCon website: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/ [Edited for length.] 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 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, astrophysics, planetary science, astrobiology, space bioscience, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration and operations, and space technology. A sample opportunities is: https://www3.orau.gov/NPDoc/Catalog/17808 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/1tI5M9x For further information and to apply, visit: http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc/description/index.htm Questions: nasapostdoc@orau.org 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 Geomorphology Image of the Month The February 'Image of the Month' is now available at the IAG's Planetary Geomorphology web page: http://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/ This Month's topic is on Gullies and lobate deposits on Vesta. Contributed by Jennifer Scully, Dept. of Earth, Planetary & Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Mary C. Bourke 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 ASTROGEOLOGY - ISIS SUPPORT ISIS users, As you may know the ISIS websites for documentation and support were unavailable from December 2, 2014 to January 23, 2015. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and your teams. The sites were partially available on January 7, and are fully functional as of January 23. http://isis.astrogeology.usgs.gov/ https://isis.astrogeology.usgs.gov/IsisSupport/ The sites were taken down after an attempted malicious attack was discovered. The process for bringing them back on-line is a lengthy one involving rebuilding the servers and the content from unaffected sources and adhering to strict Department of the Interior procedures concerning their reactivation. If you have any problems or questions please post to the support board. Regards, The ISIS Support Team https://isis.astrogeology.usgs.gov/IsisSupport/index.php 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html July 1-13, 2015 Nordic-Hawai'i Summer School "Water, Ice and the Origin of Life in the Universe" http://www.nordicastrobiology.net/Iceland2015/ Reykjavik, Iceland July 19-23, 2015 2nd International Congress on Stratigraphy, STRATI 2015, Session S 09 - Planetary Stratigraphy http://strati2015.uni-graz.at/sessions/S_9/ Graz (Austria) [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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