PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 13, Number 02 (January 13, 2018) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Karen R. Stockstill-Cahill Co-Editors: Mark V. Sykes, Elisabeth Adams Email: pen_editor@psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. [NASA] ROSES-18 Amendment 50: Delay of Due Dates 2. Discovery Draft AO Comment Period Extended: Message from the AA 3. Pellas-Ryder Award Nominations for Best Student Paper in Planetary Sciences due January 31 4. AbSciCon 2019 Session: Astrobiogeochemistry - Modelling Biology and Its Co-Evolution with the Environment on Earth and Implications for Exoplanets 5. AbSciCon 2019 Session: To Boldly Go - Next-Generation Instrumentation for In Situ Life Detection 6. AbSciCon 2019 Session: Origins and Evolution Pathways of Organics in Ocean Worlds 7. AbSciCon 2019 Session: From Organic Molecules to Biosignatures 8. Centaur Exploration Workshop: The Roots of Activity 9. 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] ROSES-18 AMENDMENT 50: DELAY OF DUE DATES Because of the continuing government shut down, the following changes are made to three programs with near term due dates: C.28 Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads Step-2 proposal due date is changed from January 17, 2019 to TBD. C.29 Astrodynamics in Support of Icy Worlds Missions Step-1 proposal due date is changed from January 18, 2019 to TBD. E.4 Habitable Worlds Step-2 proposal due date is changed from January 17, 2019 to TBD. This amendment notes that several programs with upcoming due dates have had their due dates changed to TBD. A new due date will be set for each program, and announced via amendment(s) to ROSES-2018, after the government returns. It is expected that some additional time will be provided because there are proposers who have been unable to work because of the shutdown. Please note that the solicitation close date shown in NSPIRES is NOT a proposal due date; the system requires a specific date be used rather than 'TBD'. [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 DISCOVERY DRAFT AO COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED: MESSAGE FROM THE AA NASA Associate Administrator Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen has released the following tweet about the upcoming Draft Discovery AO comment period: #NASAScience released a draft "Announcement of Opportunity" (AO) in December to solicit mission proposals for our Planetary Science Division's Discovery Program. At this time, the comment period will be extended. More information will be shared once available. https://mobile.twitter.com/Dr_ThomasZ/status/1082392559664709632? ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet 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 PELLAS-RYDER AWARD NOMINATIONS FOR BEST STUDENT PAPER IN PLANETARY SCIENCES DUE JANUARY 31 This award, which is jointly sponsored by the Meteoritical Society and the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America, is awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student who is first author of the best planetary science paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal during the year prior to the award. Potential topics include: Asteroids, Comets, Craters, Interplanetary Dust, Interstellar Medium, Lunar Samples, Meteors, Meteorites, Natural Satellites, Planets, Tektites, Origin and History of the Solar System. The first author must have been a registered student at a degree awarding institution at the time the paper was submitted to the publishing journal. Two letters of certification are required: (1) From the student's department head attesting that the individual was a student at the time of paper submission to the publishing journal; (2) From the student's advisor detailing the portion of the work done by the student and contributed by others including the advisor. The deadline for nominations of 2018 papers is January 31. Submissions (PDF) for consideration should be emailed to the Chair of the Selection Committee, Prof. Jon Friedich (friedrich@fordham.edu). Further information here: https://community.geosociety.org/pgd/awards/pellas-ryder 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 ABSCICON 2019 SESSION: ASTROBIOGEOCHEMISTRY - MODELLING BIOLOGY AND ITS CO-EVOLUTION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EXOPLANETS Submission Deadline: 23 January 2019 23:59 EST https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon19/prelim.cgi/Session/67196 As the field of astrobiology has matured it has become clear that interdisciplinary approaches are essential for identifying habitable and inhabited environments and increasing our chances of locating life elsewhere in the universe. Investigating the co-evolution of life and its environment is important to understand the role of biology in maintaining stable long-term conditions on a planetary surface, as well as the role specific environments play in promoting life. Our search for life on exoplanets will depend on our ability to spectrally characterize and understand the abiotic and biotic contributions to planetary atmospheric chemical compositions and disequilibria. Essential for this undertaking is an understanding of the type and extent of biology (including metabolisms) that can support, or be supported by, differing atmospheric states on exoplanets. We welcome a diverse array of presentations that seek to further our understanding of the co-evolution of life with its environment on a planetary scale, including novel interdisciplinary strategies relevant to remote life detection. Conveners: Aditya Chopra, Dennis Honing, Matthieu Laneuville, Stephanie Olson, Christopher T. Reinhard, Edward Schwieterman 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 ABSCICON 2019 SESSION: TO BOLDLY GO - NEXT-GENERATION INSTRUMENTATION FOR IN SITU LIFE DETECTION Submission deadline: 23 January 2019 23:59 EST https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon19/prelim.cgi/Session/67147 We would like to encourage you to attend the Astrobiology Science Conference, which will be held 24-28 June 2019 in Bellevue, Washington. https://connect.agu.org/abscicon/home To Boldly Go: Next-Generation Instrumentation for In Situ Life Detection The recently released National Academies' Astrobiology Strategy emphasized the need to place the search for life front and center in mission planning and instrument design. To meet this challenge, we must develop and mature in situ life detection instruments for planetary missions. This session will cover measurement requirements, technologies, and instruments for life detection, and challenges for their implementation in situ on or within Solar System worlds (including, but not limited to Mars, Enceladus, Europa). We welcome approaches suitable for detecting ancient and extant life, including molecular biomarkers, environmental signatures, and/or other properties of life. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Conveners and Co-Conveners C. E. Carr, C. M. Phillips-Lander, A. S. Burton, S. A. Getty, C. Glein, K. Retherford, N. C. Speller, A. M. Stockton [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 ABSCICON 2019 SESSION: ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION PATHWAYS OF ORGANICS IN OCEAN WORLDS Submission deadline: 6 March 2019 https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon19/prelim.cgi/Session/65833 We invite abstract submissions to the 2019 AbSciCon (June 24-28 in Seattle) session: Origins and Evolution Pathways of Organics in Ocean Worlds Evidence for organics has been found across the solar system with telescopic observations. Organic compounds have been recently observed with spacecraft at Enceladus, Titan, and Ceres. Understanding the origins and fates of carbon and organics in ocean worlds is an important topic considering the potential of these bodies for fostering conditions conducive to the development of biomolecules. Predicting the cycling of accreted carbon compounds, local prebiotic chemistry, and the mechanisms driving surface exposure requires interdisciplinary research covering astrochemical and geochemical modeling, meteorite analyses, material physics, and geophysical processes to understand the information returned by telescopic and spacecraft observations. This session welcomes contributions covering observations, theory and experiments. Conference website: https://connect.agu.org/abscicon/home Feel free to forward this message to your colleagues and students who might be interested. We look forward to seeing you in Seattle! Julie Castillo-Rogez, Vassilissa Vinogradoff, Marc Neveu, session organizers 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 2019 SESSION: FROM ORGANIC MOLECULES TO BIOSIGNATURES Submission Deadline: 23 January 2019 23:59 EST https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon19/prelim.cgi/Session/65933 Organic matter is critical for habitability of an extraterrestrial environment and development of life. It is believed that life on Earth arose from a chemical self-organization and complexification of simple organic molecules. Many questions remain about the nature and origin of these building blocks of life. Understanding chemical processes that occur in varied environments of the solar system, and investigating the nature, abundance and distribution of organic molecules, give insights into prebiotic chemistry that occurred on primitive Earth. It also provides valuable information on the habitability and potential for life throughout the solar system. We invite contributions about multiple aspects of the search for organic molecules and biosignatures, including: (1) remote or in situ observations of organic matter; (2) field work, experimental and modeling studies that could predict organics distribution; (3) promising locations, instrument concepts and strategies for investigating organic astrochemistry, including sample return; (4) identify the relevant substances, patterns, or combinations that could be biosignatures; (5) define most relevant array of measurements to be implemented. We look forward to seeing you in Seattle! Session organizers Caroline Freissinet, Daniel Glavin & Cyril Szopa [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 CENTAUR EXPLORATION WORKSHOP: THE ROOTS OF ACTIVITY A workshop addressing the scientific importance and space exploration relevance of active centaurs, with a specific focus on mapping knowledge gaps and paths forward. Workshop URL: https://cew2019.arc.nasa.gov/ Alternate URL for abstract/Registration during the government shutdown: https://sservi.nasa.gov/cew2019 This workshop will be held on March 6-8, 2019 at the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL), under the auspices of the Florida Space Institute, the Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science and SSERVI Central. The workshop's impetus is two-fold: Advance our understanding of how small bodies originate, evolve and become active beyond Jupiter's orbit; Planning of exploration strategies - Both Earth-based observations and Space-based measurements - aimed at representative objects of the Centaur population. The former serves as our science rationale and context, while the latter will help focus our workshop discussions and deliverables on future remote and in-situ characterization of specific targets. We strongly encourage the participation of early career researchers (including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers). Please note: - NOI, Registration and Abstract submission are open. - Abstracts submission and registration deadline: January 15, 2019 - Online participation will be available and still require registration - In-situ participation may be capped due to space limitation 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 MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html June 17-19, 2019 Emerging Researchers in Exoplanet Science (ERES) http://carlsaganinstitute.org/2018/12/emerging-researchers-in- exoplanet-science-eres-symposium-will-be-held-at-cornell-june-17-19- 2019/ Ithaca, NY October 21-25, 2019 White Dwarfs as Probes of Fundamental Physics and Tracers of Planetary, Stellar, and Galactic Evolution http://www.gemini.edu/iau357/ Hilo, HI [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@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. Title plus text is limited to 200 words. Go to * http://planetarynews.org/submission.html for complete submission * directions. * * PEN is a service provided by the Planetary Science Institute * (http://www.psi.edu) using no NASA funds. All editorial work is * volunteer. ***********************************************************************