PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 11, Number 46 (November 5, 2017) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Elisabeth Adams Co-Editors: Karen R. Stockstill-Cahill, Mark V. Sykes Email: pen_editor@psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. 2nd Cospar Workshop on Refining the Planetary Protection Requirements for Human Missions 2. ELS Letter of Intent to Participate 3. Geophysical Planet Definition (GPD) Users Page 4. [NASA] NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program 5. Workshop in Geology and Geophysics of the Solar System 6. Research Associate in Planetary Atmospheric Science, University of Leicester 7. Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month 8. Reminder: Lunar Science For Landed Missions Workshop 9. Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) 2018 10. Final Announcement: Water During Planet Formation and Evolution 11. [NASA] ROSES-17 Amendment 44: ECF Not Solicited This Year 12. [NASA] ROSES-17 Amendment 45: SOFIA Next Generation Instrument Draft Text for Community Comment 13. Research Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 14. One PhD and Two Postdoc Positions with the ExoMars TGO mission 15. 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 2ND COSPAR WORKSHOP ON REFINING THE PLANETARY PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR HUMAN MISSIONS COSPAR, with support from ESA and NASA, is pleased to announce the 2nd COSPAR workshop on refining the planetary protection requirements for human missions, "Closing Planetary Protection Knowledge Gaps for Future Human Missions", to be held February 27-28, 2018, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. This workshop is an interdisciplinary meeting seeking to align previously identified knowledge gaps in planetary protection with mission opportunities in the timeframe between now and the first crewed flight to the martian surface. This workshop will feed into subsequent working meetings that produce COSPAR reports assessing potential opportunities to address knowledge gaps in the areas of: i) Microbial and human health monitoring ii) Technology and operations for contamination control iii) Natural transport of contamination on Mars. Further information on agenda, logistics, registration and opportunities for remote participation, will be available shortly. The workshop seeks to ensure a balance of discipline specialty and nationality among the participants. Accordingly, in person attendance may be limited by the capacity of the facilities. Initial indications of interest in participation can be sent to james.a.spry@nasa.gov. 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 ELS LETTER OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE We are pleased to announce that the 6th European Lunar Symposium (ELS) will be held in Toulouse, France May 13-16, 2018. This meeting, organized in partnership with NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), will cover current advances and prospects in lunar science and exploration in Europe and elsewhere. Building upon successful previous ELS meetings and acknowledging a growing interest in lunar science exploration worldwide, we anticipate a larger number of participants for ELS 2018. In order to make necessary logistical arrangements, we would like your help (before abstract submission and registration dates are announced) in letting us know before December 1st 2017 about your firm intention to attend ELS 2018. Please visit the following link to submit your response - European Lunar Symposium (ELS) - 2018 Letter of Intent to Participate Patrick Pinet (patrick.pinet@irap.omp.eu) and Mahesh Anand (mahesh.anand@open.ac.uk) (On behalf of the ELS Organizers) 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 GEOPHYSICAL PLANET DEFINITION (GPD) USERS PAGE The Geophysical Planet Definition (or GPD) can be stated as "A planet is a sub-stellar mass body that has never undergone nuclear fusion and that has enough gravitation to be round due to hydrostatic equilibrium regardless of its orbital parameters." We are sampling community usage in GPD. Specifically, we want to know if you as a planetary scientist think that the GPD is a useful planet definition (recognizing that other planet definition may also be useful to you). To that end we've developed a form at: http://bit.ly/GPD_list for those who find GPD a handy definition and who want to help us gauge that interest. Will Grundy Tod Lauer Phil Metzger Kirby Runyon Kelsi Singer Alan Stern Mark Sykes 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] NASA EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE FELLOWSHIP (NESSF) PROGRAM NASA's Science Mission Directorate announces the call for graduate fellowship proposals to the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) program for the 2018-2019 academic year. This call for fellowship proposals solicits applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines. The deadline for new applications is February 1, 2018, and the deadline for RENEWAL applications is March 15, 2018. The NESSF call for proposals and submission instructions are located at the NESSF 18 solicitation index page at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ Click on "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then select the "NESSF 18" announcement. All proposals must be submitted in electronic format only through the NASA NSPIRES system. The faculty advisor has an active role in the submission of the fellowship proposal. To use the NSPIRES system, the faculty advisor, the student, and the university must all register. Extended instructions on how to submit an electronic proposal package are posted on the NESSF 18 solicitation index page listed above. You can register in NSPIRES at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ For further information, contact: Earth Science: Claire Macaulay, (202) 358-0151, claire.i.macaulay@nasa.gov Space Science (Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrophysics): Marian Norris, (202) 358-4452, mnorris@nasa.gov [Edited for length] 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 WORKSHOP IN GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM June 23rd-July 1st 2018 Petnica Science Center, Petnica, Serbia http://petnica.rs/planetary2017/ This multi-disciplinary workshop will cover wide range of topics related to the formation, structure and dynamics of the Solar System bodies. The workshop is aimed for students (PhD students, but advanced undergraduate and Master's students are also welcome) and young researchers of various backgrounds and different levels of experience in the fields of planetary science and space exploration. Please visit out website for more info and get in touch if you are interested! 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 RESEARCH ASSOCIATE IN PLANETARY ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER Full Details: https://goo.gl/UTxqvx Salary Grade 7 - 33,518 to 38,833 pounds per annum, available for 3 years Closing date: 23 November 2017 The Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Leicester invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Planetary Atmospheric Science. You will join a planetary science team funded by the European Research Council (ERC), specialising in the application of radiative transfer and spectral inversion to explore atmospheric processes on the giant planets of our Solar System. You will analyse subsets of existing observations from world-leading ground- and space-based facilities (e.g., Cassini, Spitzer, VLT) to prepare data analysis procedures for upcoming observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, due for launch in 2019. This will develop the expertise and tools required for the first publications exploiting JWST infrared maps of these distant worlds. The ERC "GIANTCLIMES" project seeks to investigate the natural cycles of meteorology, circulation, and chemistry shaping the environments on the four giant planets. Inversions of planetary spectra will be used to reconstruct these atmospheres in three dimensions to explore their spatial and temporal variability. See: http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/207884_en.html Enquiries to Dr. Leigh Fletcher at leigh.fletcher@le.ac.uk 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 PLANETARY GEOMORPHOLOGY IMAGE OF THE MONTH The November image of the month is now available at the IAG's Planetary Geomorphology web page: http://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/ This month's topic is "Small martian landslides - are they similar to large landslides on Earth?" Contributed by Susan J. Conway and Anthony Guimpier, CNRS Laboratoire de Planetologie et Geodynamique a Nantes, France. You can follow IAG Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PlanetaryGeomorphology or Twitter: @PlanetGeomorpho Susan Conway (Chair, IAG Planetary Geomorphology working group) 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 REMINDER: LUNAR SCIENCE FOR LANDED MISSIONS WORKSHOP SSERVI and LEAG, in partnership, are pleased to announce the "Lunar Science for Landed Missions Workshop," January 10-12, 2018, at NASA Ames Research Center. This workshop is intended to produce a set of priority targets for near-term landed missions on the Moon, primarily, but not exclusively, from commercial exploration firms interested in pursuing ventures on the Moon. Abstracts are solicited describing target areas on the Moon for near-term in-situ science, network science, and sample return missions. Abstracts should be up to one page in length and are intended to stimulate discussion about specific targets. This workshop will result in a report to be presented to NASA Headquarters as an initial community consensus of priority landed targets, with the potential of future solicitations for science-focused payloads at such target sites. Further information on this workshop, along with information on logistics, abstract guidelines and submission, and workshop registration, is available at: https://lunar-landing.arc.nasa.gov Abstracts are due on November 10, 2017. 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 ASTROBIOLOGY GRADUATE CONFERENCE (ABGRADCON) 2018 AbGradCon (Astrobiology Graduate Conference) provides a unique setting for astrobiologically-inclined graduate students and early career researchers to come together to share their research, collaborate, and network. AbGradCon 2018 marks the 14th year of this conference - each time in a different place and organized by a different group of students, but always with the original charter as a guide. AbGradCon 2018 will be hosted by Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA from June 4-8, 2018. Application opens on December 1, 2017. For more details, please visit: http://abgradcon.org/ 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT: WATER DURING PLANET FORMATION AND EVOLUTION Zurich, Switzerland 12-16 February 2018 Topics: Water and... The ISM and protoplanetary disk Dust, ice and planetesimals Evidence from the meteoritic record Laboratory experiments Ice lines and disk dynamics Solar System formation Gas & Ice giant planets Protoplanetary collisions Mantle-atmosphere feedback Observational prospects Population synthesis Biomarkers & 'habitability' Confirmed Invited Speakers: Til Birnstiel (LMU Munich) Ilsedore Cleeves (CfA Harvard) Jay Farihi (University College London) Keiko Hamano (ELSI, Tokyo Tech.) Alessandro Morbidelli (Nice Observatory) Lena Noack (FU Berlin) Chris Ormel (University of Amsterdam) Laura Schaefer (Arizona State University) Alice Stephant (Open University) Meeting Organizers: Joanna Drazkowska (University of Zurich) Tim Lichtenberg (ETH Zurich) Caroline Dorn (University of Bern) Julia Venturini (University of Zurich) Scientific Advisory Board: Yann Alibert (University of Bern) Ravit Helled (University of Zurich) Anders Johansen (Lund University) Martin Jutzi (University of Bern) Alessandro Morbidelli (Nice Observatory) Sascha Quanz (ETH Zurich) Maria Schoenbaechler (ETH Zurich) Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden University) Important Dates: Registration & Abstract submission deadline: November 15, 2017 Program announcement: Early December 2017 Workshop: February 12-16, 2018 All information at the website: https://waterzurich.github.io 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 [NASA] ROSES-17 AMENDMENT 44: C.23 ECF NOT SOLICITED THIS YEAR The Early Career Fellowship (ECF) program supports the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and stimulates research careers in the areas supported by the Planetary Sciences Division. This program consists of two components with two different submission procedures: the first is an application to be an "Early Career Fellow" and the second is the subsequent submission of a seven-page proposal for start-up funds by an individual previously named a fellow. It is the first component of the ECF program, the application to be an "Early Career Fellow" via program element C.23, that will not be solicited this year. The Planetary Science Division anticipates that it will be included in ROSES-2018. On or about November 3, 2017, this Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2017" (NNH17ZDA001N) will be posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and will appear on the RSS feed at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses- 2017/ Questions concerning this program element may be directed to Mary Voytek at mvoytek@hq.nasa.gov. 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 ROSES-17 AMENDMENT 45: D.13 SOFIA NEXT GENERATION INSTRUMENT DRAFT TEXT FOR COMMUNITY COMMENT This is a DRAFT version of this program element posted for community comment. The scientific community is invited to make comments on this draft solicitation, not only for clarity of the forthcoming solicitation release, but also for inclusion of any ideas, strategies or recommendations that will lead to submission of proposed instruments capable of realizing transformational and compelling science. Similarly, the community is invited to comment on any constraints that may be overly restrictive and preventing the submission of proposals with creative, high-risk / high-return ideas. NASA solicits questions and feedback about the scope of the solicitation and requests for clarification. All questions or comments should be emailed to kartik.sheth@nasa.gov by 11:59pm, Eastern time, January 12, 2018. The anticipated date for the release of the solicitation is January 19, 2018 with proposals due 90 days after the release. Go to: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ Questions and comments on the draft text of this program element may be directed to kartik.sheth@nasa.gov through January 12, 2018. 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 RESEARCH PLANETARY SCIENTIST AT NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER The Planetary Systems Laboratory at NASA GSFC is seeking to hire an early or mid-career (GS13/14) planetary scientist to engage in a strong independent research program, and to strengthen and extend the laboratory's successful track record in the development of instrumentation for planetary missions. Some of the specific requirements sought after for this position include: - Take a leadership role in a program for planetary instrument concept design and development, particularly in the infrared. - Evaluate and revise current instrument concept designs based on science requirements and develops/modifies science requirements to be compatible with available technology. - Maintain an independent science and instrument research program with regular publications. A full description of the requirements and information on how to apply are found on the USAJOBS site: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/483320200 The due date for applications is 11/24/2017. In the event of questions please contact: keith.s.noll@nasa.gov or conor.a.nixon@nasa.gov. US citizenship is required. NASA GSFC is an equal opportunity employer. 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 ONE PHD AND TWO POSTDOC POSITIONS WITH THE EXOMARS TGO MISSION The Space Reasearch Centre of Poland is offering one PhD and two postdoc positions to work with the data to be collected starting from next spring with the instruments onboard the Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft of ESA/IKI's ExoMars2016 mission, in the fields of geosciences (hydrothermal processes, volcanism, mineralogy, tectonics, thermal properties of rocks) and/or atmospheric sciences (atmosphere circulation modelling). The descriptions are here: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/254063 https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/253303 https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/254061 The deadline for applying is December 10, 2017, auditions will be held in January and the contracts will start on March 1st. Please contact Daniel Mege for more information (dmege@cbk.waw.pl). 15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html March 24-28, 2018 Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP 2018) https://www.communicatingastronomy.org/cap2018/ Fukuoka, Japan March 26-30, 2018 Circumplanetary Disks and Satellite Formation https://cpdsf2018.wixsite.com/home Nagoya, Japan June 23-July 1, 2018 Workshop in Geology and Geophysics of the Solar System http://petnica.rs/planetary2017 Petnica, Serbia [Editor Note: If there is a planetary-related meeting, conference or workshop that you think your colleagues should be aware of, please send the date, title, URL and location to pen_editor@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@psi.edu * * To unsubscribe, send an email to pen_editor@psi.edu * * Please send all replies and submissions to pen_editor@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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