PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 10, Number 7 (February 7, 2016) 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. Visiting Faculty Position in Astronomy 2. Planetary Geomorphology 'Image of the Month' 3. Ballooning Company Offering Proposal Assistance 4. Free Booklet About the 2017 Eclipse of the Sun 5. 2016 Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Meeting 6. [NASA] Request for Information - Use of the Planetary Science Division Facilities 7. February 2016 MEPAG Newsletter Available 8. SBAG Announcements and Future Meetings 9. International Conference - Search for Life: From Early Earth to Exoplanets 10. Microsymposium 57 - Polar Volatiles on the Moon and Mercury: Nature, Evolution and Future Exploration 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 VISITING FACULTY POSITION IN ASTRONOMY The Department of Astronomy at Mount Holyoke College invites applications for a full-time, visiting faculty member in astronomy, astrophysics, or a closely related field to begin fall 2016. This is a 3-year, non-renewable teaching position, with competitive salary and benefits. Excellent facilities for teaching and research are available in a modern, integrated, science complex. The teaching load for this position is five courses per year, and the successful candidate will teach at the introductory and advanced levels. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated record of strong teaching at the undergraduate level and experience mentoring students who are broadly diverse with regard to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, and religion. All candidates should have their doctoral degree in hand by the start of the contract period. Post-doctoral experience is desirable. Approaches involving spacecraft observations, laboratory, field, telescope, and theoretical methods, and remote sensing are all welcome. For the complete job listing and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.mtholyoke.edu/ 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 PLANETARY GEOMORPHOLOGY 'IMAGE OF THE MONTH' The February 'Image of the Month' is now available at the IAG's Planetary Geomorphology web page at: http://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/ This month’s topic is "Inverted Wadis on Earth: Analogs for Inversion of Relief on the Martian surface". Contributed by Abdallah S. Zaki, Department of Geography, Ain Shams University. You can now follow IAG Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PlanetaryGeomorphology or Twitter @PlanetGeomorpho 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 BALLOONING COMPANY OFFERING PROPOSAL ASSISTANCE Tucson-based high altitude scientific ballooning company World View (WV) Enterprises is offering proposal assistance to interested PIs responding to NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program (FOP) Announcement of Opportunity (AO) NNH16ZOA001N-16FO-F1. More information about the company can be found at: http://worldviewexperience.com/ WV offers dedicated payload flights as well as the opportunity for smaller payloads to share the cost of a complete mission. For further information contact Bill Gibson, bill@worldviewexperience.com. Proposals to NASA for FOP are due March 8th. 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 FREE BOOKLET ABOUT THE 2017 ECLIPSE OF THE SUN On August 21, 2017, there will be a beautiful total eclipse of the Sun visible from the U.S. The path of the total eclipse is only about 60 miles wide and goes from a beach in Oregon to a beach in South Carolina, crossing the country diagonally. A partial eclipse will be visible to 500 million people in the other parts of the US and North America. It is not too early to start thinking about how and where best to see this sky event. Eclipse enthusiasts are already busy reserving lodging and viewing space in the narrow region where the total phase can be seen. The non-profit National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is making available a popular-level introduction to help explain the eclipse and how to view it. The free 8-page booklet is available at: http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/extras/files/solarscience/ SolarScienceInsert.pdf The eclipse information comes from a new book for educators in and out of the classroom, entitled Solar Science. It includes 45 hands-on learning experiences (and background information) about the Sun, the Moon, the sky, the calendar, the seasons, and eclipses. You can see the full table of contents and some sample activities at: http://static.nsta.org/files/PB403Xweb.pdf 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 2016 MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM ANALYSIS GROUP (MEPAG) MEETING You are invited to attend the 2016 face-to-face meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), scheduled for 1.5 days, March 2-3, 2016. Wednesday, March 2nd – 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM Thursday, March 3rd – 8:00 AM until 12:30 PM DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Washington DC - Silver Spring 8727 Colesville Road Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910 Phone: 1-301-589-5200 Hotel Reservation Information: A block of rooms reserved at the rate of $226.00 per night plus tax are available on a first-come, first- served basis for rooms reserved by February 20th (after this date, the room block hold will be released). To make a reservation, please call the DoubleTree at 1-301-589-5200 and refer to the group “Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group” or book directly through this link: http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/groups/personalized/D/ DCASSDT-MEP-20160301/index.jhtml If you need additional information, please contact Lindsay Hays, MEPAG meeting coordinator (lhays@jpl.nasa.gov, phone 818-354-6180). If you have updates to the master MEPAG e-mail list (correction of faulty email addresses, addition of Mars science colleagues who have been inadvertently omitted, or deleted) please contact: mepag-signup@jpl.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 [NASA] REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - USE OF THE PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION FACILITIES The Planetary Science Division (PSD) is interested in maximizing the scientific productivity of its Facilities Program. To assess its Facilities Program, PSD initiated a review of its existing funded facilities, organized a special session at the upcoming Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in Houston, Texas, and is now soliciting comments from the planetary science community through this RFI. In its review of existing facilities, PSD was focused on assessing how the currently funded facilities are working, how they serve the science needs of the broader planetary community, identifying the impact and productivity of each funded facility, and determine best practices and lessons learned for further development of a Facilities Program. More information may be found at: http://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/nasa- request-information-assessing-planetary-science-communitys-use- planetary-science-division-facilities/ Responses to this RFI are due as a PDF submitted via email by April 30, 2016 to Doris Daou atDoris.Daou@nasa.gov with subject line: RESPONSE to Facilities RFI. 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 FEBRUARY 2016 MEPAG NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE To the Mars Community, On behalf of Lisa Pratt (MEPAG Chair), Dave Beaty, Rich Zurek, and Serina Diniega of the Mars Program Science Office, the February 2016 edition of the Mars Exploration Science Monthly Newsletter can be found on the web 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 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 SBAG ANNOUNCEMENTS AND FUTURE MEETINGS SBAG recently completed a productive meeting, and draft findings from the SBAG 14 meeting are now posted for community comment at: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/findings/ Additionally, the SBAG Goals Document is also available for community comment at: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/goals/ Comments on both are due by February 19, 2016, and can be directed to Nancy.Chabot@jhuapl.edu. The dates for the next two SBAG meetings are set for: SBAG 15 Meeting June 28-June 30, 2016 Laurel, MD SBAG 16 Meeting January 11-13, 2017 Tucson, AZ 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 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE - SEARCH FOR LIFE: FROM EARLY EARTH TO EXOPLANETS December 12th-16th 2016, Qhy Nonh, Vietnam More information may be found at: http://rencontresduvietnam.org/conferences/2016/search-for-life The program of the conference will focus on 4 main themes: - Formation, evolution and habitability of planetary systems - Early Earth environment - From prebiotic chemistry to early Earth - Life in the universe, societal impacts and ethical issues A 2-day training school on Basics in Astrobiology will be held before the conference (December 9th-11th). Important Deadlines: - Training school registration: June 15th - Application for contributed talk: June 15th - Early bird conference registration fee: September 15th - Application for poster: November 1st - Registration and hotel booking: November 1st Contact: Muriel Gargaud (gargaud@obs.u-bordeaux1.fr) and Nikos Prantzos (prantzos@iap.fr), co-chairs of the conference. 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 MICROSYMPOSIUM 57 - POLAR VOLATILES ON THE MOON AND MERCURY: NATURE, EVOLUTION AND FUTURE EXPLORATION The Woodlands Waterway Marriott, Montgomery Ballroom, The Woodlands, Texas March 19-20, 2016 The Microsymposium 57 program is now online at: http://www.planetary.brown.edu/html_pages/micro57.htm The discovery of polar volatile materials on the Moon and Mercury has revolutionized our thinking about the origin, evolution and exploration of these significant scientific legacies and potential future resources. What is the nature and distribution of these materials? How did they form? What is their age, how are they maintained, what is their abundance and what records do they hold of the geological, geochemical and orbital history of the Moon and Mercury? What can they tell us about the degassing history of the Moon and Mercury and the flux of comets in the Solar System? What can we learn from the comparison of polar volatile materials on Mercury and the Moon? In this Microsymposium, we will explore our current knowledge and seek to identify the key questions, goals and objectives to underpin and motivate future exploration. We will review current exploration plans, including the U.S. Resource Prospector and CubeSats, Russian Luna and ESA BepiColombo missions. 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 July 24-28, 2017 CHEOPS Science Workshop http://geco.oeaw.ac.at/links_CHEOPSsw17.html Schloss Seggau, 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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