PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 9, Number 28 (July 12, 2015) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Melissa Lane Co-Editors: Susan Benecchi, Mark V. Sykes Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. [NASA] Gravity and Radiation Working Groups for the Europa Science Team 2. [NASA] Step-2 for the Hayabusa2 Participating Scientist Program 3. [NASA] SOFIA Third Generation Science Instrument Program Element 4. [NASA] Membership Call for the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) Formulation Assessment and Support Team (FAST) 5. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowships 6. July 2015 MEPAG Newsletter Available 7. Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Lecture Series 8. Aeolian Research Special Issue for The Fourth International Planetary Dunes Workshop 9. Student Travel Grants for VEXAG Meeting in Washington, DC 10. Interactive Website Featuring Pluto and Ceres 11. AGU Session 7177 - Judging a Book by its Cover: From Surface Observations to Planetary Interiors 12. AGU Session 7445 - Volcanism and Tectonism Across the Solar System 13. AGU Session 8599 - Science from Current and Future Planetary Missions 14. AGU Session 8728 - Vesta and Ceres as seen by Dawn and Earth-based Instruments 15. AGU Session P003 - Direct Imaging of Habitable Exoplanets: Progress and Future 16. AGU Session P029 - Solar System Small Bodies: Relics of Formation and New Worlds to Explore 17. GSA 2015 Session T171 - Exploring the Sedimentary Rock Record of Mars 18. GSA 2015 Session T175 - Oceans, Fire, and Ice in the Outer Solar System 19. 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] GRAVITY AND RADIATION WORKING GROUPS FOR THE EUROPA SCIENCE TEAM SMD seeks to form gravity and radiation working groups to provide guidance on using Europa Multiple Flyby mission engineering subsystems and/or elements of the selected science instrumentation to conduct additional high priority science. Interested persons should read the full announcement at: http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2015/07/07/GandRWGs4EST.pdf and send a curriculum vitae and a cover letter to Dr. Curt Niebur at curt.niebur@nasa.gov by July 27, 2015. 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] STEP-2 FOR THE HAYABUSA2 PARTICIPATING SCIENTIST PROGRAM SMD has released final text and announced a Step-2 due date for ROSES-15 C.19 Hayabusa2 Participating Scientist Program. The old text has been totally replaced, the changes have not been tracked. However, the major changes are that the text now contains references to the Proposal Information Package and the roster for the Hayabusa2 Joint Science Team, both of which appear under "Other Documents" on the NSPIRES web page for this program element. Hayabusa-2 Participating Scientist Program Step-1 proposals were due on April 1, 2015, and only those who previously submitted a Step-1 proposal are now eligible to submit a Step-2. The due date for Step-2 proposals is now October 5, 2015. Questions concerning this program element may be directed to Tony Carro at anthony.carro-1@nasa.gov 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] SOFIA THIRD GENERATION SCIENCE INSTRUMENT PROGRAM ELEMENT NASA solicits proposals for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Program. Two-page Step-1 Proposals are due August 19, 2015, and full 25-page Step-2 proposals are due by October 7, 2015. NASA will host a preproposal telecon for prospective proposers on July 23, 2015 at 2 pm eastern. Prospective proposers may connect to the teleconference at 800-779-9017 (toll free within the United States) or at the international toll number 1-212-287-1641 with passcode 1958408. Additional information about the workshop will be posted under "Other Documents" on the NSPIRES page for this program element. This Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2015" (NNH15ZDA001N) is posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and appears on the RSS feed at: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/ roses-2015 Questions concerning this program element may be directed to Eric Tollestrup at eric.v.tollestrup@nasa.gov 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 [NASA] MEMBERSHIP CALL FOR THE ASTEROID REDIRECT MISSION (ARM) FORMULATION ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT TEAM (FAST) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a membership call for the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) Formulation Assessment and Support Team (FAST). This Call is open to all qualified and interested individuals (U.S. citizens and permanent residents) at U.S. institutions or representing themselves. Responses to the membership call are due by August 7, 2015. ARM is part of NASA’s plan to advance the new technologies and spaceflight capabilities needed for a human mission to the Martian system in the 2030s, as well as other future human and robotic missions. ARM includes the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) and the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM), along with leveraging the global asteroid-observation community’s efforts to detect, track and characterize candidate asteroids. For additional information on how to apply for FAST membership, go to the NASA NSPIRES website at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method= init&solId={A680142F-8F79-93C8-CED4-644C30C5F31A}&path=open​ 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, astrophysics, planetary science, astrobiology, space bioscience, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration and operations, and space technology. An example of one of the research opportunities in planetary science is: https://www3.orau.gov/NPDoc/Catalog/18818 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/1UA7aHs 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 JULY 2015 MEPAG NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE Dear Members of the Mars Community, On behalf of Lisa Pratt (MEPAG Chair), Dave Beaty, Rich Zurek, and Serina Diniega of the Mars Program Science Office, the July 2015 edition of the Mars Exploration Science Monthly Newsletter can be found at: http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov Please send your Mars community announcements and calendar items for inclusion in the newsletter to Meredith at: Meredith.A.Cosby@jpl.nasa.gov 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 SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH VIRTUAL INSTITUTE (SSERVI) LECTURE SERIES NASA’s SSERVI announces the “Planetary Evolution: Phobos and Deimos” lecture series, organized by Dan Britt and Carle Pieters. These talks will be broadcast online every Monday at 3 pm ET starting Sept 14th at: https://connect.arc.nasa.gov/marsmoons/ (Note: the same link will be used for each seminar, active 30 mins before each talk). All talks will be archived at: http://sservi.nasa.gov/event/planetary-evolution-phobos-and-deimos/ Schedule/Topic/Speaker Sept 14: Introduction [discovery, physical properties, orbit…]; Dan Britt Sept 21: The Age and Cratering History of Phobos and Deimos, speaker TBD Sept 28: Ambiguity of current compositional data for Phobos and Deimos; Andy Rivkin Oct 5: The Surface: character and origin of Phobos’ Grooves; Murray/ Ramsley Oct 12: Holiday (no lecture) Oct 19: The Surface: Geology and Geomorphology of Phobos and Deimos; Basilevsky/Head Oct 26: Origin of Phobos: Capture; Joe Burns Nov 2: Origin of Phobos: Mars Link (co accretion; big impact); Robin Canup Nov 9: Properties of Meteorite Analogues; Chris Herd Nov 16: Space weathering and Regolith, Dust; Pieters/Horanyi Nov 23: Microgravity within Mars’ gravity well; Scheeres Nov 30: Phobos-Deimos ISRU; Metzer/Mueller Dec 7: Phobos as an Exploration Destination and Base for Mars Exploration; Michael Gernhardt Teague Soderman SSERVI Sr. Science Writer 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 AEOLIAN RESEARCH SPECIAL ISSUE FOR THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY DUNES WORKSHOP The Fourth International Planetary Dunes Workshop: Integrating Models, Remote Sensing, and Field Data was held May 19–22, 2015 in Boise, Idaho (see Final Announcement). More than 60 researchers and students participated in two and a half days of presentations and lively discussion, plus a full day field trip toBruneau Dunes State Park. The workshop focused on the many landforms and deposits created by the dynamic interactions between granular material and airflow (aeolian processes). These processes are known to occur on several planetary bodies, including Earth, Mars, Titan, Venus, and most recently the surface of a comet. A special issue in Aeolian Research is planned to highlight the results presented at the workshop, in addition to other recent aeolian studies of planetary surfaces. Manuscripts on any topic within planetary aeolian studies are solicited, but those focusing on planetary dune systems are particularly encouraged. While terrestrial analog studies are welcome for the special issue, these manuscripts should include discussion of how the results relate to the analysis of features in planetary environments. Please send an email (as an indication of interest) that includes a working title, proposed author list, and two-sentence description of the manuscript to chojan1@pirl.lpl.arizona.edu by August 29, 2015. Deadline for submission of final manuscripts is February 1, 2016. 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 STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS FOR VEXAG MEETING IN WASHINGTON, DC Limited student travel support may be available for VEXAG Meeting #13, October 27–29, 2015, Washington DC. Selected students will have 5-10 minutes to present. I. Provide a Notice of Intent by Friday, July 17, 2015 to twthompson@jpl.nasa.gov containing: - Legal Full Name - Date of Birth and City/State of Birth - Preferred Email Address + Phone Numbers - Home Address - Emergency Contact – Name, Relationship, and Phone Number - Your Affiliation with Full Address and Phone Number - Gender If you are a foreign national or permanent resident alien, also provide: - Country of Citizenship - Birth Date and Birth City, State/Region and Country - Passport Number, with Expiration Date - Visa Type, with Effective and Expiration Dates - Alien Registration # (if applicable) II. Verify your request for by submitting by Friday, September 4, 2015 to twthompson@jpl.nasa.gov: 1. A one-page description of how your participation in this meeting will benefit you professionally and contribute to NASA's explorations of Venus. 2. A short abstract for a 5-10 minute talk 3. Your resume 4. An endorsement from a faculty member. 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 INTERACTIVE WEBSITE FEATURING OUR SOLAR SYSTEM To see a great online exhibit showing the number of planets thru time, go to: http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/dwarfs/dwarf.html 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 AGU SESSION 7177 - JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER: FROM SURFACE OBSERVATIONS TO PLANETARY INTERIORS We are organizing a session focused on elucidating and placing constraints on the past and present-day state of planetary interiors through a combination of spacecraft-derived datasets, modeling, and theory. We welcome contributions on all planetary bodies and from a range of disciplines including, but not limited to: planetary science, tectonophysics, petrology, and volcanology. Additional information can be found at: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/preliminaryview.cgi/Session7177 Deadline to submit an abstract: 5 August 2015, 11:59 P.M. EDT Alex Evans, Brad Foley, Peter James & Jenny Suckale 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 AGU SESSION 7445 - VOLCANISM AND TECTONISM ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM There will be a session on planetary volcanism and tectonism at this year's AGU Fall Meeting, 14-18 December. Please consider submitting an abstract for this session. Further details are provided below. The submission deadline is Wednesday, August 5, 2015. https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/preliminaryview.cgi/Session7445 Volcanism and tectonism are two of the most ubiquitous processes at work in the Solar System, shaping substantially the surfaces of worlds as diverse as the terrestrial planets, main-belt asteroids, and icy satellites. Through a combination of solicited and contributed presentations, this session will host observational, laboratory, theoretical, or analogue fieldwork research into any aspect of planetary volcanic and tectonic activity. We particularly welcome submissions that compare landforms and processes on multiple bodies, and how lessons from specific studies can be applied to understanding volcanism and tectonism across the Solar System. Conveners: Thomas Platz (MPS/PSI), Paul Byrne (LPI), Matteo Massironi (Univ. Padua), and Debra Buczkowski (APL) 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 AGU SESSION 8599 - SCIENCE FROM CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANETARY MISSIONS We solicit new results from planetary missions, or design studies that target planetary bodies inside or outside of our solar system, with a special focus on science that can only be achieved through international cooperation. This includes mission concepts that identify room for internationally contributed science investigations, and instrument concepts that could be contributed to international missions. A topical interest of our session is the science addressed by mission concepts proposed to NASA's Discovery Program in early 2015. We also solicit concepts for missions and instruments that respond to the next New Frontiers call, for which an Announcement of Opportunity is expected in 2016. Deadline to submit an abstract: 5 August 2015, 11:59 P.M. EDT Conveners: Steve Vance, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States Kunio M Sayanagi, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, United States, Sho Sasaki, National Astron Obs Japan, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan Jun Kimura, Tokyo Kogyo Daigaku, Tokyo, Japan 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 AGU SESSION 8728 - VESTA AND CERES AS SEEN BY DAWN AND EARTH-BASED INSTRUMENTS There will be a session on the largest two planetary bodies within the main asteroid belt at this year’s AGU Fall Meeting, 14-18 December 2015. Though the session is focussed on Ceres and Vesta, presentations on recent advances in small body research are welcome. Please consider submitting an abstract for this session. Further details are provided below. Abstract submission deadline is 5 August 2015. https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/preliminaryview.cgi/Session8728 Ceres and Vesta are the largest bodies in the main asteroid belt. Unlocking their geological histories will advance our understanding of how proto-planets form and evolve. This session is focused on Dawn mission data and its three onboard instruments: two framing cameras (FC), the visible and IR spectrometer (VIR), and the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer (GRaND). First results from Ceres observations constitute the highlights of this session supplemented by thorough investigations on Vesta geology. Complementary Earth-based (ground and orbital) observations along with laboratory, numerical, and theoretical applications and analyses are particular welcome. Primary Section/Focus Group: Planetary Sciences Conveners: Thomas Platz (MPS/PSI), Andreas Nathues (MPS), Eleonora Ammannito (UCLA), Vishnu Reddy (PSI) 15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15 AGU SESSION P003 - DIRECT IMAGING OF HABITABLE EXOPLANETS: PROGRESS AND FUTURE This session consists in a discussion on the potential of new and future facilities and modeling efforts designed to detect, image and characterize habitable exoplanets, studying their formation, evolution and also the existence of possible biospheres. 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, ground-based and space telescope architectures, and impacts of instrument capabilities on the yield of potentially inhabited exoplanets. Deadline to submit an abstract: 5 August 2015, 11:59 P.M. EDT To submit abstracts to this session, visit: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/preliminaryview.cgi/Session8592 Conveners: Franck Marchis, SETI Institute Mountain View, Mountain View, CA, USA Ramses M Ramirez, Cornell University, Astronomy, Ithaca, NY, USA David Black, SETI Institute Mountain View, Mountain View, CA, USA 16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16 AGU SESSION P029 - SOLAR SYSTEM SMALL BODIES: RELICS OF FORMATION AND NEW WORLDS TO EXPLORE The composition and physical properties of Small Solar System Bodies (SSSBs), remnants of the formation of planets, are key to better understand our solar system. Increased knowledge of their surface properties and their potential as resources are also necessary to prepare for robotic and human exploration. Hints about the internal structure and composition of SSSBs have been acquired recently thanks to flyby/rendezvous data from space missions, study of complex multiple asteroid systems, or close encounter between asteroids. This session welcomes abstracts on the remarkable results bringing information on the internal structure and composition of SSSBs based on space and ground-based data, numerical models, AS WELL AS instrument/mission concepts in the prospect of future exploration. Deadline to submit an abstract: 5 August 2015, 11:59 P.M. EDT To submit abstracts to this session, visit: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/preliminaryview.cgi/Session7984 Franck Marchis, SETI Institute Padma A Yanamandra-Fisher, Space Science Institute Rancho Cucamonga Julie C Castillo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory 17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17 GSA 2015 SESSION T171 - EXPLORING THE SEDIMENTARY ROCK RECORD OF MARS We solicit contributions to a session at this year’s GSA Annual Meeting to take place November 1-4 in Baltimore, MD. This forum will discuss advances in the study of Mars’ ancient sedimentary rock record and will explore implications for surface processes and paleoenvironmental settings of Early Mars. Contributions relating to the study of sedimentary rocks on Mars through the analysis of rover, orbiter, and meteorite data are welcomed and encouraged. We especially encourage new research findings on the diversity and composition of the Martian sedimentary rock record from orbital dataset such as HiRISE and CRISM/OMEGA, outcrop-scale “field studies” by the MSL Curiosity and MER Opportunity rovers, and studies of meteorite NWA 7034. Abstract submission deadline: August 11, 2015. Additional information can be found at: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2015/sessions/topical.asp Conveners: Kathryn Stack Morgan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Kevin Lewis, Johns Hopkins University Ken Edgett, Malin Space Science Systems 18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18 GSA 2015 SESSION T175 - OCEANS, FIRE, AND ICE IN THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM This year’s annual Geological Society of America meeting features numerous sessions devoted to planetary sciences. We would like to highlight the session titled “Oceans, fire, and ice in the outer solar system (T175).” GSA is scheduled for November 1-4 in Baltimore, MD. We seek abstracts that discuss surface, structural, and tectonic processes; as well as the interior, and thermal evolution of the outer icy satellites and Kuiper belt objects. We are also encouraging abstracts that involve analog studies of these processes. Additional information about all the proposed Planetary Geology sessions at GSA can be found at: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2015/sessions/topical.asp?CatID= Planetary+Geology&x=11&y=8 Additional information about the GSA meeting can be found at: http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2015/home To submit an abstract please visit (Submission Deadline August 11th): http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2015/science-careers/sessions If you have any questions, please contact Alex Patthoff (patthoff@jpl.nasa.gov) or Emily Martin (martines@si.edu). 19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS March 15-17, 2016 2016 Conference on Big Data from Space - BiDS'16 http://congrexprojects.com/2016-events/16m05/introduction Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain [Editor Note: If there is a planetary-related meeting, conference or workshop of which you think 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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