PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 2, Number 24 (May 4, 2008) PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org Editor: Nic Richmond Co-Editors: Mark V. Sykes, Matt Balme Email: pen_editor at psi.edu o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. Autumn 2008 Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Internship at the National Research Council's Space Studies Board 2. 15th International Conference on the Origin of Life 3. GSA Abstract Deadline: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 4. GSA Session on Analog Sites and Field Exercises for Training Planetary Field Geologists 5. 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 AUTUMN 2008 LLOYD V. BERKNER SPACE POLICY INTERNSHIP AT THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL'S SPACE STUDIES BOARD As part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of its founding, the Space Studies Board (SSB) has expanded the scope of the Space Policy Intern program it has operated since 1992 by initiating the Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Internships. The goal of the program is to provide promising undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to work in the area of civil space research policy in the Nation's capital, under the aegis of the SSB. Established in 1958 to serve as the focus of the interests and responsibilities in space research for the National Academies, the Board provides an independent, authoritative forum for information and advice on all aspects of space science and applications. It oversees advisory studies and program assessments, facilitates international research coordination, and promotes communications on space science and science policy between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public. The SSB also serves as the U.S. National Committee for the International Council for Science (ICSU) Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Application deadlines: June 16 - Autumn 2008 program (undergraduates and graduate students) February 2 - Summer 2009 (undergraduates only) Full details can be found at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb /Berkner_Space_Policy_Internships.html 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 15TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE The 15th International Conference on the Origin of Life http://www.dbag.unifi.it/issol2008/ sponsored by the ISSOL, The International Astrobiology Society, will be held in Florence, Italy, August 24-29, 2008. As you may see from the on-line program, the current list of speakers, and the Second Announcement, the topics to be covered at the conference include most of astrobiology and relevant planetary science. We are assured of an exciting meeting with a very international participation. We are endeavoring to extend the deadline for early (less expensive) registration for an additional month, past the current deadline of May 1. Of course, later registration is certainly possible. Note that travel grants for young scientists with accepted contributions are available to ISSOL members. William Irvine, Vice-President, IAU Commission 51 (Bioastronomy) Antonio Lazcano, President, ISSOL - The International Astrobiology Society 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 GSA ABSTRACT DEADLINE: TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2008 The Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America will be October 5-9, 2008 in Houston Texas, a joint meeting with several crop/soil societies. The abstract deadline is Tuesday, June 3, 2008. The Planetary Geology Division would like to encourage submissions to our sessions: - Return to the Moon: A new era of lunar exploration (Pardee keynote symposium) - Mineralogic and petrologic mapping of planetary surfaces: The G.K. Gilbert Award Session - Planetary pummeling: Cataclysmic bombardment of the solar system - Terrestrial impact structures: Origin, structure, and evolution - Terrestrial impact craters as windows into planetary crusts - The geology of small volcanic vents and their associated vent fields throughout the solar system - From Magma Oceans to Basalts: Igneous differentiation - Geological and geophysical remote sensing applications - Water-rock interaction on Mars - Glacial and periglacial processes and landforms on Mars - The role of field geology and geophysics in the return to the Moon (cosponsored with FEAT) - Preparations for the new era of lunar science: Laboratory measurements - Current Research Issues in Lunar Stratigraphy - Engineering geology of the lunar regolith - Living on a Dusty Moon - Titan Geology: A New Frontier - Analog sites and field exercises for training planetary field geologists Submit abstracts: https://www.acsmeetings.org/2008/ 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 GSA SESSION ON ANALOG SITES AND FIELD EXERCISES FOR TRAINING PLANETARY FIELD GEOLOGISTS Geological Society of America Joint Annual Meeting, October 5 - 9, 2008, Houston, Texas Sponsors: GSA Planetary Geology Division; GSA Geoscience Education Division; Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies We encourage those interested in planetary sciences, field work, and the education of the next generation to submit an abstract to GSA session T110 which covers educational field activities that can be completed by students at a suite of planetary analog sites. Submissions can cover past, ongoing, or future ideas for activities at a single field site, workshops, camps, trips with activities geared for college and graduate students, post-docs, and K-12 Educators and with no limits to locations, length of activity, or number of field participants. Presentations should focus on: 1) the overall geology and field objectives, 2) data sets and planetary equivalents, 3) field methods and integration of new technology, 4) results of the field exercise and any student feedback, and 5) what comparative insight into planetary geologic processes is gained. GSA Joint Annual Meeting Website: https://www.acsmeetings.org/ Abstract Deadline: June 3, 2008 Conveners: W. Brent Garry (Smithsonian Institution-NASM/CEPS) garryw@si.edu Jacob E. Bleacher (NASA-GSFC) Jacob.Bleacher-1@nasa.gov 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 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html October 6-10, 2008 The Star and its Planetary System in the Wake of Corot Advances (International Young Astronomers School) http://ecole-doctorale.obspm.fr/rubrique163.html Paris, France [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 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.html * * To unsubscribe, go to http://planetarynews.org/pen_unsubscribe.html * * 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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