Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Matthew R Perry, Alex Morgan
Email: pen_editor@psi.edu
X: @pen2tweets
Bluesky: @planetarynews.bsky.social

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

1. NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Strategic Planning - Seeking
   Community Input
2. [NASA] ROSES-25 F.6 Science Activation: Corrections of Requirements
   for Budget Submission
3. [NASA] ROSES-25 Amendment 33: D.3D TESS General Investigator Final
   Text and Phase-1 Proposals Due March 10, 2026
4. [AbSciCon 2026] Session 70: Turning Ocean Worlds Inside Out - From
   Drilling Beneath the Seafloor to Cryosphere Surfaces
5. [AbSciCon 2026] Session 96: Planetary Caves and Voids as Targets for
   Astrobiology Science
6. [AbSciCon 2026] Session 97: Sample Collection and Handling - The
   Critical Path for Astrobiology Missions
7. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions
8. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers
9. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets - New Papers

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

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NASA INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY STRATEGIC PLANNING - SEEKING COMMUNITY
INPUT

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) 10-year strategic plan is
being developed. The plan will cover an important period for
observatories on Maunakea. It will ensure that IRTF continues to be a
leading facility for researchers in planetary science and astrophysics
as JWST makes more ground breaking discoveries and Rubin, Roman, NEO
Surveyor and other facilities, both ground and space based, begin
producing vast amounts of data.

IRTF is a facility open to anyone, regardless of affiliation. We are
seeking broad community input on the evolution of the scientific
landscape, science priorities and cases, the roadmap for new
capabilities and ideas for new instrumentation, enhancements to
operations and training, and improvements to the archive, to chart the
course for IRTF for the next decade.

A survey has been developed to gather inputs from across the planetary
science and astrophysics research communities. We encourage everyone
with an interest in IRTF to provide their input.

https://forms.gle/kMDvFSwULkvyx5tw9

Everyone that completes the survey can participate in a prize draw for
an observing session with IRTF that includes full support and training
for planning, conducting and reducing the observations


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[NASA] ROSES-25 F.6 SCIENCE ACTIVATION: CORRECTIONS OF REQUIREMENTS
FOR BUDGET SUBMISSION

The Science Activation program element (F.6 SciAct) of ROSES-25
solicits a portfolio of projects that together cover the full breadth
of NASA science disciplines, operate across all 50 states plus U.S.
territories, reach people of all ages and backgrounds, include both
formal and informal learning organizations, and engage community
partners to deepen and extend reach and impact. NASA seeks a balance
of: (1) projects that seek to broadly share resources and
opportunities that leverage NASA assets, and (2) projects that seek
to meet specific community (both geographically- and interest-based)
needs through NASA assets.

F.6 Science Activation was corrected regarding requirements for
budget submission: the Table on Formatting Guidelines for Year 2-5
Budgets was moved from 3.3.2 to 3.3.4 and related corrections were
made to Sections 2.5 and 3.3.2. New text is in bold and deleted text
is struck through. The due dates remain unchanged: Notices of intent
to propose are requested by January 26, 2026, and proposals are due
March 31, 2026. Go to:

https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025

Questions concerning F.6 SciAct may be directed to Lin Chambers at
lin.h.chambers@nasa.gov.

[Edited for length]


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[NASA] ROSES-25 AMENDMENT 33: D.3D TESS GENERAL INVESTIGATOR FINAL TEXT
AND PHASE-1 PROPOSALS DUE MARCH 10, 2026

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) General Investigator
(GI) Program (ROSES-25 D.3D) solicits proposals for the acquisition and
analysis of new scientific data from the TESS mission taken during
Cycle 9 from Sector 108 starting September 7, 2026, to Sector 121
ending September 19, 2027. Additionally, proposals that support the
acquisition and/or analysis of scientific data from ground-based
telescopes are also solicited if they directly support the analysis
and/or interpretation of TESS scientific data, either taken during
Cycle 9 or in the archive.

ROSES-2025 Amendment 33 releases final text for TESS GI and announces
that the Phase-1 due date, which was previously TBD is March 10, 2026
(via ARK RPS). Go to:

https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025

Programmatic questions concerning TESS GI may be directed to John
Wisniewski at john.p.wisniewski@nasa.gov and Joshua Pepper at
joshua.a.pepper@nasa.gov for technical questions concerning this.

[Edited for length]


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[ABSCICON 2026] SESSION 70: TURNING OCEAN WORLDS INSIDE OUT - FROM
DRILLING BENEATH THE SEAFLOOR TO CRYOSPHERE SURFACES

We invite submissions to the following AbSciCon Session entitled,
"Turning Ocean Worlds Inside Out - From Drilling Beneath the Seafloor
to Cryosphere Surfaces"

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon26/prelim.cgi/Session/277012

This session spans interdisciplinary research from Earth's seafloor
drilling and deep ocean environments to icy cryosphere analogues,
connecting insights into the study of Ocean Worlds across planetary
contexts. We invite a wide range of scientific and technological
contributions that leverage seafloor sediments, hydrothermal systems,
deep ocean brines, (sub)glacier environments, and ice sheets as
analogues to advance our collective understanding of habitability and
the search for life on other Ocean Worlds, including Europa, Enceladus,
Titan, and early Mars. Key topics include: (1) physical and chemical
properties of ocean and ice systems; (2) sampling techniques and
technology development; (3) analog studies in marine and cryospheric
settings; and (4) strategies for life detection in extreme
environments. Research spanning oceanography, (micro)biology, geology,
(bio)geochemistry, astrobiology, engineering, and field operations, in
ocean and icy terrains is welcome, as are contributions relevant to
past, ongoing, and future missions exploring Ocean Worlds in our Solar
System and beyond.


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[ABSCICON 2026] SESSION 96: PLANETARY CAVES AND VOIDS AS TARGETS FOR
ASTROBIOLOGY SCIENCE

This session invites contributions on all topics related to the
astrobiology of caves and other subterranean planetary void spaces,
including, though not limited to, detection and characterization using
remote technologies, the distribution of candidate caves in our Solar
System, astrobiology mission concepts, terrestrial analog studies of
life in caves, characterization of biosignatures found in caves, water
and rock energy sources that support microbial life in caves, and
metabolic pathways of microbial communities living in caves. go to:

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon26/prelim.cgi/Session/275210


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[ABSCICON 2026] SESSION 97: SAMPLE COLLECTION AND HANDLING - THE
CRITICAL PATH FOR ASTROBIOLOGY MISSIONS

Abstracts are due January 14, 2026. Go to:

https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon26/prelim.cgi/Session/276485

Many instruments exist that enable the search for life beyond Earth,
but the path from sample collection to analysis is as critical as the
analytical instruments themselves. Each step on that path has the
potential to influence our ability to detect biosignatures,
particularly for extant life, including sample collection mechanisms,
the physical state of the sample and how that changes, pre-treatment of
the sample prior to ingestion into an instrument, among others. Field
and laboratory analog and returned sample investigations reveal how the
human-decision-making process influences science returns on Earth and
thus the factors we must consider in future astrobiology missions. The
believability and veracity of future findings indicating extant life
will depend on detailed planning and rigor in planetary protection and
controlling contamination of acquired samples. We seek
interdisciplinary contributions that explore technical and operational
strategies that will maximize science returns by focusing on this
critical mission planning step.


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PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS

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

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

May 17-22, 2026
Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon 2026)
https://www.agu.org/abscicon
Madison, WI


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PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL - NEW PAPERS

Direct Links to Open Access Papers
Editor, Faith Vilas

https://psj.aas.org

TRIDENT Ice Mining Drill for Lunar Volatile Prospecting for PRIME-1
and VIPER Missions
Kris Zacny et al. 2025 PSJ 6:297
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae0b51

Functionality of Ice Line Latitudinal EBM Tenacity (FILLET). Protocol
Version 1.1
Rory Barnes et al. 2025 PSJ 6:298
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1c3c

The Geology of a Small Main-belt S-class Binary Asteroid System:
Dinkinesh and Its Contact Binary Satellite Selam as Observed by the
Lucy Mission
E. B. Bierhaus et al. 2025 PSJ 6:299
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1968

Orbital Decay Candidates Reconsidered: WASP-4 b Is Not Decaying and
Kepler-1658 b Is Not a Planet
Joshua N. Winn and Gudmundur Stefansson 2025 PSJ 6:300
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae21db

Surface Response of Mercury's Sulfides under Solar Wind Ion
Irradiation
Noah Jaggi and Catherine A. Dukes 2025 PSJ 6:301
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2005

A New Global Perspective on Recent Tectonism in the Lunar Maria
C. A. Nypaver et al. 2025 PSJ 6:302
https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae226a


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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: PLANETS - NEW PAPERS

Direct Links to Open Access (OA) Papers
Editors-in-Chief, Amanda Hendrix & Debra Buczkowski

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21699100

Chlorine on the Surface, Chlorine in the Air, What Is the New Global
View of the Martian Chlorine Cycle?
K. S. Olsen
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009603


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