PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 18, Number 18 (April 28, 2024) PEN Website: https://planetarynews.org Editor: Alex Morgan Co-Editors: Mark V. Sykes, Matthew R Perry Email: pen_editor@psi.edu Twitter: @pen2tweets o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. [NASA] SMD: Correction and Clarification of C.26 Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return 2. LPI is Seeking a New Director 3. 3 Year PhD Scholarship at LPG, Nantes, France 4. Postdoc Position Within UCF Department of Physics 5. NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship 6. PlanetInsitu24 Workshop: Rise of the Drones 7. EPSC Session SB13: Icy Ocean Worlds, Comets and Asteroids in the Laboratory 8. EPSC Session TP7: Volcanism and Tectonism Across the Solar System 9. IBS Conference on Planetary Science and Space Exploration 10. AbSciCon Town Hall - Sample Curation Survey 11. 2024 Pellas-Ryder Award 12. Open MExAG Steering Committee Positions 13. NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) Steering Committee (SC) Solicitation 14. Planetary Advisory Committee Nomination Deadline Extended 15. Annual GSA Planetary Geology Division Button Contest 16. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions 17. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers Commercial Announcements: C1. Commercial: Earth and Space Experience for Educators 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] SMD: CORRECTION AND CLARIFICATION OF C.26 RAPID MISSION DESIGN STUDIES FOR MARS SAMPLE RETURN NASA recognizes that U.S. industry has innovative ideas and substantial capabilities that may be relevant to a Mars Sample Return campaign. This Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return program element seeks to establish whether there are viable mission designs or mission element options to return samples from Mars that offer benefits compared to NASA's reference mission design. Studies may be for complete mission designs, for mission designs that include elements of NASA's Mars Sample Return Program or NASA's Artemis Program as Government Furnished Equipment, or for individual mission elements. The results of these studies may inform revisions to NASA's Mars Sample Return Program and may result in future procurements. https://go.nasa.gov/rasmsr24 Only for-profit U.S. organizations are eligible to submit proposals to this program element, but there are no restrictions on the types of organizations that may participate as subawardees. Awards will be firm-fixed-price 90-day contracts. There is a correction and a clarification to C.26. New text is in bold and deleted text is struck through. Proposals are due May 17, 2024. Direct questions to Lindsay Hays at HQ-RASMSR@mail.nasa.gov. [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 LPI IS SEEKING A NEW DIRECTOR Universities Space Research Association is an independent, nonprofit research corporation seeking a Director for the Lunar and Planetary Institute. The Director of the LPI provides scientific leadership for and management of the program of research and operations of the Institute to maintain it as a premier research center supporting NASA's strategic goals in lunar and planetary sample science and exploration of the Solar System. The Director oversees multiple activities carried out by the LPI, including conducting cutting-edge scientific research through grants and contracts; running highly successful conferences and workshops, including the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference; training and providing resources for early-career researchers; connecting the public to planetary science through a variety of events and activities; and providing extensive library and digital resources to the planetary science community. The LPI enjoys a strong partnership with the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center, facilitated by the proximity of the two organizations and historic collaborations. The complete job description and a link to the application website is available at: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/positions-available/#director Review of applications will begin on May 15, 2024. 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 3 YEAR PHD SCHOLARSHIP AT LPG, NANTES, FRANCE The Laboratoire de Planetologie et Geosciences (LPG, Nantes, France), invites applications for a 3-year PhD position on the characterization of aeolian processes on Pluto through modeling, experiments and comparisons with Earth and Mars. The position is funded by the ANR (Agence Nationale pour la Recherche) grant SHERPAS "Studying HazE Radiative Processes and Atmosphere-Surface interactions on Pluto and Triton". Starting date: October 2024 More information: https://tinyurl.com/ywcdrzab 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 POSTDOC POSITION WITHIN UCF DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS Evaluation of applications will begin in the next week, make sure to submit applications as soon as possible. We seek a teaching postdoctoral researcher at the University of Central Florida that will be advised by Dr. Kerri Donaldson Hanna. This is a 12-month position with possibility of renewal pending funding and satisfactory performance and pays $60,000 annually. Additional details can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/5da84xbx 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 NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers US and international scientists the opportunity to advance their research while contributing to NASA's scientific goals. The NPP supports fundamental science; explores the undiscovered; promotes intellectual growth; and encourages scientific connections. Selected by a competitive peer-review process, NPP Fellows complete one- to three-year Fellowship appointments that advance NASA's missions in Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics, astrophysics, biological and physical science, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration systems, space operations, space technology, and astrobiology. Search for NPP research opportunities in planetary science here: https://npp.orau.org/applicants/opportunities.html Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in hand before beginning the fellowship, but may apply while completing the degree requirements. Please see current eligibility requirements: https://npp.orau.org/applicants/eligibility.html Stipends start at $70,000 per year, with supplements for higher cost-of-living areas and for certain academic specialties. Financial assistance is available for relocation and health insurance, and $10,000 per year is provided for travel and professional development. Applications are accepted three times each year: March 1, July 1, and November 1. For further information and to apply, visit: https://npp.orau.org/applicants/index.html Questions: npp@orau.org 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 PLANETINSITU24 WORKSHOP: RISE OF THE DRONES Following the great discussions at "Optimizing Planetary In Situ Surface-Atmosphere Interaction Investigations" workshops in 2022 and 2023 as well as the success of Ingenuity, the PlanetInsitu24 workshop will be held following the "10th International Conference on Mars" with a focus on identifying and enabling future Mars surface and near-surface investigations using drones. The PlanetInsitu24 workshop will be hybrid and held Friday, July 26, ~9am-12pm PDT, in Pasadena, CA. Advance registration is required, but is free: https://tinyurl.com/569u2w4h Travel grants (for expenses related to in-person attendance of 10th Mars and PlanetInsitu24) are available to US persons, with deadline of May 17. Questions can be sent to Serina Diniega (serina.diniega@jpl.nasa.gov). 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 EPSC SESSION SB13: ICY OCEAN WORLDS, COMETS AND ASTEROIDS IN THE LABORATORY Icy ocean worlds, comets and asteroids offer a rich, diverse array of targets to explore that address questions ranging from origin and evolution to habitability and even biosignature searches. The Cassini mission discovered spectacular findings about the chemistry, physics and geology of Saturn's moon Enceladus. JUICE and Europa Clipper will shed light on Jupiter's moons. The Stardust mission returned samples from comet 81P/Wild2 and Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx recently returned samples from carbonaceous asteroids Ryugu and Bennu. To fully exploit space mission data and prepare for upcoming missions, laboratory experiments are an essential part of calibrating instruments on board future spacecraft, verifying data returned by missions and informing numerical models of the diverse environments present on these bodies. We seek contributions discussing laboratory experiments or studies with a laboratory component, including the analysis of returned samples, and their applications to icy ocean worlds, comets or asteroids. Please submit your abstract here: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2024/session/51329 Abstracts are due 15 May 2024, 13:00 CEST. We look forward to seeing you in Berlin and online! Fabian Klenner, Baptiste Journaux, Lucas Fifer, Rachael Hamp, Cecile Engrand, Morgan Cable 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 EPSC SESSION TP7: VOLCANISM AND TECTONISM ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM Berlin, Germany, September 8-13, 2024 Abstract submission deadline: May 15, 2024, 0600 CDT/1300 CEST Volcanism and tectonism are two of the most ubiquitous processes at work in the Solar System, substantially shaping the diverse surfaces of terrestrial planets, main-belt asteroids, and icy satellites. High-resolution orbital data, samples from the lunar surface, and seismic data from the Moon and Mars, have provided important sources of knowledge to understand the evolution of planetary bodies. This session invites observational, analytical, theoretical, and analogue fieldwork research into any aspect of planetary volcanic and tectonic activity. We welcome submissions that compare landforms and processes on multiple bodies, geochemical and chronological data from planetary material, numerical modeling results and how lessons from specific studies can be applied to understanding volcanism and tectonism across the Solar System. Session page: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2024/session/51343 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 IBS CONFERENCE ON PLANETARY SCIENCE AND SPACE EXPLORATION Date: July 22-25, 2024 Location: Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, S. Korea https://www.ibs.re.kr/psse2024/ Abstract submission deadline: 17 May 2024 (Friday) Planetary Science and Space Exploration (PSSE) aims to share the latest findings, and recent and upcoming space missions, providing exciting scientific targets for future studies. PSSE welcomes talks and posters on recent results, new methods and facilities, and ongoing modeling efforts that suggest diverse and comparative scientific approaches for general planetary scientists. PSSE is held right after COSPAR2024 as one of its satellite events. Each session at PSSE combines associated planetary science topics, providing excellent opportunities for participants to get an overview of the research trends. This is different from COSPAR, which has specific topics in parallel, resulting in situations where participants likely need to choose to attend one session at a time. Registration is free of charge. Find more details on the PSSE website. 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 ABSCICON TOWN HALL - SAMPLE CURATION SURVEY Wednesday, May 8, 2024 @ 6:15pm, Ballroom A All are welcome. At the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory we are in the early stages of forming a sample repository for Astrobiology/Planetary research. As such, we would like to bring together the community to discuss the current state of these efforts from within the community, and immediate next steps to enhance access. Please fill out this survey, ahead of attending the Town Hall: we would like to get a sense of who is interested in participating, any additional topics that should be considered, what your thoughts are on sample repositories, and also to create a distribution list for future planned events (if interested). Filling out this form is NOT required to attend the Townhall. Survey Link: https://forms.gle/cemv5Ec7fAX463vz9 Link to Town Hall: https://agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon24/meetingapp.cgi/Session/215831 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 2024 PELLAS-RYDER AWARD We are delighted to announce Ren Marquez, who is a graduate student at Caltech, as the recipient of the 2024 Pellas-Ryder Award for the paper entitled "Snapshots of an Evolving Solar Nebula Recorded in Nucleosynthetic Sr and Ba Signatures of Early Condensates" published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. This award is jointly sponsored by the Meteoritical Society and the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America and honors outstanding first author planetary science papers by students. The award honors the memories of meteoriticist Paul Pellas and lunar scientist Graham Ryder. Please see the full announcement for additional details: https://meteoritical.org/news/2024-pellas-ryder-award-ren-marquez 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 OPEN MEXAG STEERING COMMITTEE POSITIONS The Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG) solicits applications for several steering committee members. We organize our annual meeting, write goals and official findings, and take a leadership role in other activities where input from the Mercury community is needed. We are searching for: - a Geophysics Discipline Member (3-year nominal term), and - an International Liaison (3-year nominal term). A detailed description for these positions, a list of the requested application materials, and the application form are found here: https://forms.gle/wKuYHFhaeP3Rhj9u5 Please submit your applications by May 17, 2024. We are looking forward to receiving all your applications! Many thanks in advance, The MExAG Steering Committee 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 NASA SMALL BODIES ASSESSMENT GROUP (SBAG) STEERING COMMITTEE (SC) SOLICITATION SBAG acts as a primary bridge between the small bodies scientific community and NASA and is led by its SC, which organizes SBAG meetings, writes official SBAG findings, and takes a leadership role in activities requiring community input. The SBAG SC is soliciting two general members and a Technology Lead. The term of service is three years, starting in August 2024. The application requires: 1) a two-page CV, including a description of participation in SBAG, other small bodies organizations, or related work, and 2) a short (<300 words) statement of interest. Applicants may specify relevant information in support of diversity. The Technology Lead is responsible for activities relating to technology development applicable to the study and exploration of small bodies. This individual should be actively involved in developing technologies for small body exploration and aware of the current challenges and progress in this field. The application should meet the requirements above, indicate a preference for the Technology Lead position, and include relevant small body technology experience. Send application packages to Lori Feaga (feaga@astro.umd.edu) by May 24, 2024, 8:00 PM EDT. Selections will be announced in July. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/ 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 PLANETARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE NOMINATION DEADLINE EXTENDED The due date for nominations for members of the Planetary Advisory Committee (PAC) has been extended to May 10, 2024. Interested members of the community are invited to review the charter and to submit nominations (including self-nominations) for consideration to fill vacancies on the Committee. There is particular interest this year for nominees with experience/expertise in the following fields: - Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) - "Origins": Protoplanetary evolution, outer Solar System accretion, origin of Earth and inner Solar System bodies - Circumplanetary systems Nominations to be considered for PAC membership are now due to NASA no later than 11:59 PM Eastern time on May 10, 2024. The nomination packages must include the following: (1) a cover email including the name, phone number, full mailing and email address of the Nominee and a statement of why you are interested in the PAC appointment; (2) a professional resume (one-page maximum); (3) a professional biography (one-page maximum); and (4) an up-to-date Current and Pending Support (no page limit). For details, see the full PAC nomination letter: https://tinyurl.com/kjtey56x Also see the PAC website: https://tinyurl.com/34djpwv7 For additional questions and to submit nominations, please contact Ryan Watkins at ryan.n.watkins@nasa.gov. 15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15 ANNUAL GSA PLANETARY GEOLOGY DIVISION BUTTON CONTEST Your design could be featured at GSA and LPSC! Rules: (1) Design must be completed within a 6 cm diameter circle. (2) Letters "PGD" and year "2024" must be included as a central feature in the artwork. (3) Group submissions are acceptable. (4) Any media/software can be used as long is the scanned image sent to the PGD is clear. All submissions must be sent as a PDF and JPEG (min 600 dpi) to mdeahn@purdue.edu (Margaret Deahn) by May 31, 2024. Submission must include brief biographical information about the artist and a brief (500-character limit) description of the artwork. All PGD members may vote from the semi-finalists' buttons (as determined by PGD officers) starting June 7, 2024. Winner will be announced August 1, 2024. The winning artist will need to provide appropriate images for button and t-shirt printing after the design is announced on August 1. 16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16 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 July 16-18, 2024 Mars Interior and Geophysics after InSight https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/marsinterior2024/ College Park, MD [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.] 17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17-17 PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL - NEW PAPERS Direct Links to Open Access Papers Editor, Faith Vilas https://psj.aas.org Heat-flux-limited Cloud Activity and Vertical Mixing in Giant Planet Atmospheres with an Application to Uranus and Neptune Huazhi Ge et al. 2024 PSJ 5:101 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad0ed3 Sulfur Implantation into Water Ice with Propane: Implications for Organic Chemistry on the Surface of Europa Alexis Bouquet et al. 2024 PSJ 5:102 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad3204 VADER: Probing the Dark Side of Dimorphos with LICIACube LUKE Angelo Zinzi et al. 2024 PSJ 5:103 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad3826 Stellar Occultations in the Era of Data Mining and Modern Regression Models: Using Gaussian Processes to Analyze Light Curves and Improve Predictions Bastian Knieling et al. 2024 PSJ 5:104 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad3819 *********************************************************************** COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS *********************************************************************** C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1-C1 COMMERCIAL: EARTH AND SPACE EXPERIENCE FOR EDUCATORS The Earth and Space Experience for Educators (also suitable for students and industry professional students lacking field geology experience), is Oct. 24-28 (inclusive of travel dates) in New Mexico, hosted by Ares Learning, a Public Benefit corporation. Explore four planetary analog sites and also visit Virgin Galactic's launch site at Spaceport America and the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Kilbourne Hole, one of the field sites, is also a training area for NASA's Artemis Program. Participants could be eligible for CEU credits in Earth and Space Science from Adams State University. Register at: https://www.areslearning.com/earthandspace Questions? Email Kirby at kirby@planex.space. *********************************************************************** * The Planetary Exploration Newsletter is issued approximately weekly. * Current and back issues are available at https://planetarynews.org * * To subscribe, go to https://planetarynews.org and click on Subscribe. * * An unsubscribe option is available at the end of every PEN email. 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