PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 15, Number 53 (December 26, 2021)

PEN Website: https://planetarynews.org
Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Alex Morgan, Georgiana Kramer
Email: pen_editor@psi.edu
Twitter: @pen2tweets

o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o

1. NSF: Geoscience Lessons for and from Other Worlds (GLOW)
2. SOFIA Cycle 10 Calls for Proposals Open
3. Postdoctoral Researcher at CU Boulder/LASP
4. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Salty Goodness II - Return of the Brines (In 
   Memoriam of Ronald Oremland)
5. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Crossing the Threshold - In Situ 
   Instrumentation to Seek Life, its Precursors, and Geophysical 
   Context on Europa and other Ocean Worlds
6. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Chemometric, Chemoinformatic, and Machine
   Learning Strategies to Characterize Complex Organic and Inorganic
   Mixtures
7. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Prebiotoc/Abiotic Chemistry in Alternative 
   Solvents
8. Open Tenure-Track Positions as Assistant Professor, Umea University, 
   Sweden
9. Auburn Graduate Programs in Planetary Science and Aerospace 
   Engineering
10. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions
11. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers

o---------------------------------------------------------------------o

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NSF: GEOSCIENCE LESSONS FOR AND FROM OTHER WORLDS (GLOW)

NSF's Divisions of Earth Sciences (EAR), Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS), and Astronomical Sciences (AST) encourage the submission of proposals that bring together researchers and experts to develop projects which: 1) use the study of other worlds as a way to broaden and deepen our understanding of the Earth and its evolution, including all processes and systems from the core to the magnetosphere, and/or 2) use our geoscience knowledge to understand the environments of other worlds. Science drivers include but are not limited to:

- What can the study of other worlds reveal about the first billion 
  years of Earth history?
- What can the study of other worlds reveal about Earth's past and its 
  future climate?
- What can the study of other worlds reveal about interactions between 
  the Earth and space environment?
- What can the study of Earth's systems reveal about environments and 
  processes that shape other worlds?
- How can our basic science understanding of Earth processes and 
  systems guide the identification of other habitable worlds?

For the full program announcement go to:

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22032/nsf22032.jsp


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

SOFIA CYCLE 10 CALLS FOR PROPOSALS OPEN

SOFIA Cycle 10 Calls for Proposals are open, with a deadline of January 
28, 2022, 21:00 PST (January 29, 2022, 4:00 UTC). A total of 
approximately 650 hours of observing time is offered, along with ~$7.5M 
of funding for eligible proposers.
sykes-2:newsletters sykes$ !v
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PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 15, Number 53 (December 26, 2021)

PEN Website: https://planetarynews.org
Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Alex Morgan, Georgiana Kramer
Email: pen_editor@psi.edu
Twitter: @pen2tweets

o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o

1. NSF: Geoscience Lessons for and from Other Worlds (GLOW)
2. SOFIA Cycle 10 Calls for Proposals Open
3. Postdoctoral Researcher at CU Boulder/LASP
4. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Salty Goodness II - Return of the Brines (In 
   Memoriam of Ronald Oremland)
5. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Crossing the Threshold - In Situ 
   Instrumentation to Seek Life, its Precursors, and Geophysical 
   Context on Europa and other Ocean Worlds
6. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Chemometric, Chemoinformatic, and Machine
   Learning Strategies to Characterize Complex Organic and Inorganic
   Mixtures
7. AbSciCon 2022 Session: Prebiotoc/Abiotic Chemistry in Alternative 
   Solvents
8. Open Tenure-Track Positions as Assistant Professor, Umea University, 
   Sweden
9. Auburn Graduate Programs in Planetary Science and Aerospace 
   Engineering
10. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions
11. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers

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

NSF: GEOSCIENCE LESSONS FOR AND FROM OTHER WORLDS (GLOW)

NSF's Divisions of Earth Sciences (EAR), Atmospheric and Geospace 
Sciences (AGS), and Astronomical Sciences (AST) encourage the 
submission of proposals that bring together researchers and experts to 
develop projects which: 1) use the study of other worlds as a way to 
broaden and deepen our understanding of the Earth and its evolution, 
including all processes and systems from the core to the magnetosphere, 
and/or 2) use our geoscience knowledge to understand the environments 
of other worlds. Science drivers include but are not limited to:

- What can the study of other worlds reveal about the first billion 
  years of Earth history?
- What can the study of other worlds reveal about Earth's past and its 
  future climate?
- What can the study of other worlds reveal about interactions between 
  the Earth and space environment?
- What can the study of Earth's systems reveal about environments and 
  processes that shape other worlds?
- How can our basic science understanding of Earth processes and 
  systems guide the identification of other habitable worlds?

For the full program announcement go to:

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22032/nsf22032.jsp


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

SOFIA CYCLE 10 CALLS FOR PROPOSALS OPEN

SOFIA Cycle 10 Calls for Proposals are open, with a deadline of January 
28, 2022, 21:00 PST (January 29, 2022, 4:00 UTC). A total of 
approximately 650 hours of observing time is offered, along with ~$7.5M 
of funding for eligible proposers.

Cycle 10 features two Calls for Proposals: one Call for regular 
programs, and a separate Call for the SOFIA Legacy Program (SLP).

Cycle 10 is expected to last from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 
2023. During the Cycle, SOFIA plans to carry out three Southern 
deployments: a long deployment scheduled approximately June through 
September 2023 (GREAT and HAWC+), and two short deployments in 
November 2022 (FIFI-LS) and March 2023 (EXES).

Detailed information about the Cycle 10 calls may be found at: 

https://www.sofia.usra.edu/proposing-observing/proposal-calls/cycle-10 

Note opportunities for joint proposals with IRTF and GBO.

An information session on Cycle 10 Calls will be offered at the 2022 
Winter AAS meeting (Monday January 10, 10:30-11:00 am Mountain Time), 
and will also be available online for virtual attendees. More 
resources and guidance, including video tutorials about the typical 
pitfalls in observing time estimates, are available at: 

https://www.sofia.usra.edu/events/meetings-and-workshops/proposal-resources


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 AT CU BOULDER/LASP

The Exploration of Planetary Ices and Climates (EPIC) group at the 
University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics 
(LASP) seeks a postdoctoral researcher (RS-I, i.e., within ~3 years of 
Ph.D.) in planetary science. Research in the EPIC group encompasses 
theoretical and observational studies of the surfaces and atmospheres 
of planets, natural satellites, and small bodies. The successful 
candidate will collaborate with EPIC group members on currently funded 
projects and seek to develop an independent research program. A focus 
of this position will include investigations using data from NASA's 
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Dawn at Ceres mission to address 
fundamental questions about ice on airless bodies.

For further information and to apply, see the link below or contact 
Dr. Paul Hayne (paul.hayne@colorado.edu) or Dr. Margaret Landis 
(margaret.landis@colorado.edu).

https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/?jobId=35763


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ABSCICON 2022 SESSION: SALTY GOODNESS II - RETURN OF THE BRINES (IN 
MEMORIAM OF RONALD OREMLAND)

Abstract Submission deadline January 19th, 2022.

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon21/prelim.cgi/Session/112203

Hypersaline systems prove to be some of the most challenging 
environments for microorganisms to reside in, where biology must
 overcome extreme osmotic stresses, low water activities, and 
chaotropicity, among others. Despite these stressors, hypersaline 
environments on Earth host an astounding diversity of micro- and 
macro-organisms. Beyond Earth, these environments remain some of the 
most compelling for extant life detection (i.e. Europa and Enceladus), 
or represent the last vestiges of a potentially habitable environment 
on early Mars, characterized now by extensive evaporitic deposits. In 
Salty Goodness I, we hosted discussions centered on habitability - this 
year we concentrate on the biology, encouraging abstracts focused on: 

1) expanding upon the biological effects of chaotropic fluids, 
2) the microbial ecology of, and adaptations to, extreme hypersaline 
   systems, 
3) methodologies for biological investigations of brines, 
4) ecological modeling utilizing quantified habitability metrics, and 
5) laboratory-based biological experiments conducted under relevant 
   Solar System body conditions.


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ABSCICON 2022 SESSION: CROSSING THE THRESHOLD - IN SITU INSTRUMENTATION 
TO SEEK LIFE, ITS PRECURSORS, AND GEOPHYSICAL CONTEXT ON EUROPA AND 
OTHER OCEAN WORLDS

Please submit your abstracts here:

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon21/prelim.cgi/Session/112403

Submission deadline: January 19

Recent missions have revealed a host of potentially habitable 
environments on Ocean Worlds. The next step in the search for signs of 
life, complex abiotic organic chemistry, and habitability will be to 
perform landed investigations with access to the near-subsurface. 
Astrobiologically-relevant materials including organics may be present 
on these worlds at very low concentrations, driving the need for 
specialized sample handling, enrichment and preparation techniques, 
and/or extreme instrument measurement sensitivity. Missions will also 
perform critical geophysical and geochemical investigations of the 
moons' internal structures and composition, and conduct ground truth 
observations to verify remote sensing observations. Additional 
challenges are strict planetary protection constraints, limited 
communication intervals, and operation in harsh environments with 
stringent mass, power, and volume limits.

This session seeks to highlight measurement requirements, laboratory 
techniques, and instruments and technologies under development to 
address these challenges and enable detection/characterization of 
biosignatures, geophysical context, and habitability on Ocean Worlds.

Conveners: Carina Lee, Rachel Moore, Tom Nordheim, Kate Craft
 

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ABSCICON 2022 SESSION: CHEMOMETRIC, CHEMOINFORMATIC, AND MACHINE 
LEARNING STRATEGIES TO CHARACTERIZE COMPLEX ORGANIC AND INORGANIC 
MIXTURES

We are inviting abstracts that apply machine learning and/or building 
databases to facilitate the characterization of complex 
organic/inorganic mixtures.

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon21/prelim.cgi/Session/112057

Astrobiological studies of complex samples often target specific 
analytes such as compounds used in contemporary biochemistry. As a 
result, the majority of other analytes (which often constitute the 
majority of the sample) remain unstudied. Thus, deep understanding of 
the extent to which abiotic processes and geochemical conditions drive 
(geo)chemical complexity is not fully realized. Such understanding may 
be critical for work aimed at deciphering geologic history, 
elucidating conditions conducive for abiogenesis, and detecting 
biosignatures. This session will highlight chemometric techniques 
used to characterize complex organic and/or inorganic mixtures such as 
those generated from laboratory simulations (e.g., Miller-Urey 
reactions, tholins/astrophysical ice analogs) or within 
(astro-)geological materials, including meteorites, Archean rocks, and 
planetary samples. Examples of relevant topics include investigations 
incorporating multivariate techniques and machine learning tools 
(including supervised, unsupervised, and deep learning-based 
approaches). Work aimed towards generating databases useful to the 
chemometrics/astrobiology community are also welcomed.

Abstract Deadline: January 19, 2022, at 23:59 EDT/03:59 +1 GMT.

Conveners: Laura Rodriguez, Bethany Theiling, Jim Cleaves, Lu Chou


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ABSCICON 2022 SESSION: PREBIOTIC/ABIOTIC CHEMISTRY IN ALTERNATIVE 
SOLVENTS

Please consider applying to our session on prebiotic/abiotic chemistry 
in alternative solvents or solvents with very low water activity.

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon21/prelim.cgi/Session/111829

While much of prebiotic chemistry is focused on reactions systems in 
water, as that is the primary solvent on Earth, other solvent systems 
may be possible and some have been argued to be potentially more 
conducive to origin of life (e.g. formamide). Examples where other 
solvents are available on a sufficient scale include Titan, exoplanets, 
and locations with low water activity. This session invites abstracts 
to showcase the current state of knowledge in this area, including 
laboratory and modelling studies on the potential for abiotic chemistry 
under these conditions that may represent the first steps towards 
biological processes.
 
Abstract Deadline: January 19th, 2022 at 23:59 EDT/03:59 +1 GMT.

Conveners: Jessica Weber, Laura Rodriguez, Melissa Trainer, 
Paul Bracher
 

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OPEN TENURE-TRACK POSITIONS AS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UMEA UNIVERSITY, 
SWEDEN

There are presently 5 open tenure-track positions as Assistant
professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Umea University,
Sweden. Some of the positions may well go to physical sciences,
hopefully to space plasma physics.

Please, spread the word about this opportunity among your colleagues
in your institute and all over the world!

This is a six-year appointment for junior researchers and gives the
opportunity to develop a long-term research activity and to qualify
for promotion to an Associate Professorship (Senior Lecturer).

Starting date upon agreement. The application shall be submitted no
later than 23:59 Swedish time (CET) on February 15, 2022.

This is a great chance for anyone who wants to join the Umea Space
Plasma Physics Group in Sweden: 

https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/space-plasma-physics-group/

The successful candidate should conduct research and contribute to the
continued development of the research environment in the
field. Applicants with a research plan that is linked to and/or
complements the department's research activities are given priority.

For further information about the space plasma physics research
environment at Umea University, please contact Maria Hamrin,
maria.hamrin@space.umu.se

The entire advertisement can be found on:

https://bit.ly/3su8iVF


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AUBURN GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN PLANETARY SCIENCE AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

The Departments of Aerospace Engineering and Geosciences at Auburn 
University in Auburn, Alabama, invite graduate student applications 
pursuing Ph.D. degrees to research programs that interdisciplinarily 
explore Astrodynamics and Planetary Science. Outstanding applicants who 
have strong and broad interests in exploring space systems/planetary 
body mechanics and geology using multi-physics modeling and data 
processing are encouraged to apply. The programs offer graduate 
students unique opportunities to bridge planetary science research and 
aerospace engineering technology development. There are two ways to 
join the above programs. The Aerospace Engineering Department offers a 
Ph.D. program for graduate students to pursue astrodynamics education, 
while the Geosciences Department invites graduate students to its Ph.D. 
program to focus on planetary geology. Details of the departments are 
found at:

https://www.eng.auburn.edu/aero/ 

https://www.auburn.edu/cosam/departments/geosciences/    

Questions may be directed to Masatoshi Hirabayashi (he/him) in 
Aerospace Engineering/Geosciences at Auburn University at thirabayashi 
at auburn.edu.


10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10

PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS

Note: Most face-to-face meetings going forward will have online
components. Check their websites for details.

Posted at https://planetarynews.org/meetings.html

May 11-13, 2022
Apophis T-7 Years: Knowledge Opportunities for the Science of Planetary 
Defense
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/apophis2022/
Online

[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.]


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 SCIENCE JOURNAL - NEW PAPERS

Editor, Faith Vilas
https://psj.aas.org

Stick-slip Dynamics in Penetration Experiments on Simulated Regolith
Jack Featherstone et al. 2021 PSJ 2:243
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac3de2

New Evidence for Wet Accretion of Inner Solar System Planetesimals 
from Meteorites Chelyabinsk and Benenitra
Ziliang Jin et al. 2021 PSJ 2:244
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac3d86


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