PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 19, Number 15 (April 13, 2025) 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. Editorial: NASA Science Needs Your Help 2. [NASA] PDS: JUNO Data Release 29 3. [NASA] MRO/MCS Level 2 Data in Version 6 Publicly Available on PDS 4. [ICG 2026] Call for Abstracts: Planetary Geomorphology 5. Abstract Deadline Update for Progress in Understanding the Pluto System: 10 Years After Flyby 6. Europlanet Juice Webinar 7. Upcoming Cornell ArcGIS Workshops - May/June 2025 8. [EPSC-DPS] Session EXOA14: Transit Timing Trends and Light Curve Archiving - Challenges for the Next Fifty Years 9. [EPSC-DPS] Session EXOA16: Advances in Terrestrial Planet Formation - A Comparison of the Three Currently Leading Scenarios 10. [EPSC-DPS] Session MITM16: Confirming Terrestrial Transits Outside the Solar System - Remote Observing, Smart Telescopes and Transit Expeditions 11. [EPSC-DPS] Session TP4: Exploring Venus - Unveiling Mysteries of Earth's Twin from Core to Atmosphere 12. OPAG June Hybrid Meeting Website, Lightning Talks and Poster Session 13. How to Submit Guest Observer Proposals for CHEOPS 14. Last Call for DPS Prize Nominations Due Tuesday, April 15 15. Planetary Workforce Integration, Development, and Empowerment (PWIDE) Community Alliance 16. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions 17. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers 18. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets - New Papers Commercial/Fundraising Announcements: C1. Explore Lassen Volcanic National Park with Planetary Scientists 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 EDITORIAL: NASA SCIENCE NEEDS YOUR HELP The draft NASA budget proposal includes: - 30% cut to planetary science - 50% cut to Earth science - 40% cut to heliophysics - 70% cut to astrophysics Further details are available here: https://tinyurl.com/NASA-cuts This is an extinction-level event for the Earth and space science communities, undoing decades of work and tens of billions in taxpayers' investment. The bipartisan Planetary Science Caucus is requesting full funding for the NASA Science Mission Directorate in Fiscal Year 2026. You can send a message to your representative and senator asking them to reject these cuts and restore proper funding to NASA science: https://www.planetary.org/advocacy-action-center#/52 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 [NASA] PDS: JUNO DATA RELEASE 29 The Planetary Data System announces the 29th release of data from the JUNO mission. The release includes EDR and RDR level data acquired between 2024-06-15 and 2024-09-20, which covers Juno Orbits 63, 64, 65. Data sets from the following experiments are now available: - FGM (magnetometer) - Gravity - JADE (plasma) - JEDI (energetic particle detector) - JIRAM (infrared auroral mapper)* - JunoCam (camera) - MWR (microwave radiometer) - SPICE - UVS (ultraviolet imaging spectrometer) - Waves (radio and plasma wave science) *MWR data for these dates were released in release 28 To access the above data, please visit the following link: https://pds.nasa.gov/datasearch/subscription-service/SS-20250407.shtml JUNO data are archived at the PDS Atmospheres (ATM), Imaging (IMG), NAIF, and Planetary Plasma Interactions (PPI) Nodes. The data can be accessed from these nodes' web sites and from the main PDS home page: https://pds.nasa.gov 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 [NASA] MRO/MCS LEVEL 2 DATA IN VERSION 6 PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON PDS The MRO/MCS team at JPL announces that Mars Climate Sounder Derived Data Records (Level 2 data) in version 6 are now publicly available on the Atmospheres Node of NASA's Planetary Data System. This version of the data uses both mid- and far infrared wavelength ranges for the retrieval of aerosol profiles, significantly extending the vertical range of the atmospheric retrievals. It also contains dust and water ice column optical depths derived from the profile retrievals as well as improved atmospherically corrected surface brightness temperatures. The complete MCS dataset has been reprocessed from the start of the mission in September 2006 through the most recent data from October 2024. The data may be accessed from https://atmos.nmsu.edu/data_and_services/atmospheres_data/MARS/mcs.html The MCS team strongly recommends downloading this new version of the dataset for any research projects. 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 [ICG 2026] CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: PLANETARY GEOMORPHOLOGY Abstract submission is now open for the International Conference on Geomorphology to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand (Otautahi, Aotearoa) from 2-6 February 2026. We invite you to submit to our session on planetary geomorphology. https://www.confer.co.nz/icg2026/call-for-abstracts/ Planetary missions over the past decade have shown that while surface conditions on planetary bodies across the Solar System vary widely, their landscapes often mirror features found on Earth. Understanding how geophysical flows-such as wind, water, ice, and sediment transport-shape these landscapes is key to interpreting both current and past climatic conditions. This session welcomes abstracts on any aspect of planetary geomorphology, including but not restricted to: Earth analogues, laboratory experiments, numerical models, planetary comparison, mapping, in situ data or remote sensing studies. Studies are welcome that concern rocky or icy solid bodies of the Solar System as well as exoplanets. By bringing together researchers from both planetary science and Earth surface processes, this session aims to foster collaboration and deeper insights into how diverse environments, both on Earth and beyond, respond to physical forces. We hope to see you in New Zealand! Conveners: Susan Conway, Alex Morgan, Lonneke Roelofs, Marisa Palucis 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 ABSTRACT DEADLINE UPDATE FOR PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY This is a notice that the abstract deadline for this conference, to be held July 14-18, 2025 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, has been extended by one week to April 25 at 5 pm CDT. NASA's New Horizons mission conducted the first and only exploration flyby of the Pluto system, culminating at the closest approach on July 14, 2015. This meeting will assess advances regarding all aspects of the Pluto system and other dwarf planets of the Kuiper Belt made since then, using New Horizons and all other data (ground-based, JWST, HST, etc.), as well as theory and modeling. Session topics include: Pluto; Charon; Pluto's Small Satellites; Kuiper Belt Dwarf Planets; Pluto and Satellite System Origins; and Past and Future Exploration of Pluto, the Kuiper Belt, and the Outer Solar System. https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/plutosystem2025/ Abstracts for both oral and poster presentations are being accepted. Oral papers can be given in person or virtually. Registration will last until the end of the meeting, with an early bird deadline for a reduced registration rate. Optional events are available for meeting attendees. 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 EUROPLANET JUICE WEBINAR 25 April at 11am CEST (9am UTC): Couplings in the Jovian System: What We Expect to Find With Juice In this Europlanet Juice webinar, Juice Project Scientist Olivier Witasse (ESA) will present the status of the mission after two years in space, and with the Venus Gravity Assist coming up at the end of August 2025. After that, Michel Blanc (IRAP, Toulouse, France) will talk about the many different couplings - gravitational, magnetospheric - that are at work in the Jovian system, why they are so interesting and how Juice will decipher them. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XGYQscIgSmKffl8yR4DJEA 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 UPCOMING CORNELL ARCGIS WORKSHOPS - MAY/JUNE 2025 The Planetary Data Training Workshops program is pleased to announce our next Introduction to ArcGIS Pro for Planetary Science workshops, facilitated by Cornell's Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility (SPIF). May 23 Online, 10am - 6pm EDT Notice of Interest (deadline is May 16, required to receive the Zoom registration): https://tinyurl.com/3k2hhvna https://www.facebook.com/events/2345364832486222/ June 11-12 In-person at Cornell Registration (deadline is May 28): https://tinyurl.com/45cbw33m Travel Grant Application (deadline is May 2, up to $1500 each): https://tinyurl.com/fcdfvrh9 Day 1: ArcGIS workshop, dinner at a local restaurant Day 2: further ArcGIS discussion (including which topics should be covered in the next workshop we will develop as a follow-up to this one), meet with the COMPASSE research group, tour of SPIF, outreach workshop, geology tour of a local waterfall and gorge (weather permitting). https://www.facebook.com/events/2414921992225791/ 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-DPS] SESSION EXOA14: TRANSIT TIMING TRENDS AND LIGHT CURVE ARCHIVING: CHALLENGES FOR THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS This session aims to bring the community together to discuss problems relating to long-term transit studies. Relevant session topics include: (1) the challenges of precise and accurate timing, including best practices for small and citizen science telescopic observations; (2) recommendations for best publication and citation practices, including transit light curve archiving and proper identification and tracking of prior observations; and (3) any research topics in long-term transit studies that would benefit from improved archival practices. We also welcome presentations on long-term studies of planetary occultations (or secondary eclipses), which are subject to the same archival issues and are even less likely to have publicly available source data. https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2025/session/55190 Convener: Elisabeth Adams | Co-conveners: Filip Walter, Gunther Wuchter, Lauren Sgro, Brian Jackson 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 [EPSC-DPS] SESSION EXOA16: ADVANCES IN TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION: A COMPARISON OF THE THREE CURRENTLY LEADING SCENARIOS The past few years have witnessed major developments in the field of terrestrial planet formation. Thanks to the advances in computational technology, the three leading scenarios, namely, the traditional model, pebble accretion, and formation in rings, have become more complex, and have demonstrated their expansive success. How these approaches compare and contribute to developing a comprehensive model are among outstanding questions in planetary astrophysics. This session aims at introducing each scenario and assessing their capabilities by comparing their results to our knowledge of terrestrial planets in our Solar System. We also organize a press conference or town hall, where experts from each scenario will answer questions from the press and audience. We cordially invite abstracts for oral and poster contributions in all areas of theoretical, observational, and experimental studies of terrestrial planet formation. Abstracts can be submitted using the link below. The deadline is 7 May 2025, 13:00 CEST. https://www.epsc-dps2025.eu/programme/how-to-submit.html We strongly encourage contributions from early career scientists. Looking forward to seeing you in Helsinki. Convenors: Nader Haghighipour, Jeffrey Sudol, Nikolaos Georgakarakos 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 [EPSC-DPS] SESSION MITM16: CONFIRMING TERRESTRIAL TRANSITS OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM - REMOTE OBSERVING, SMART TELESCOPES AND TRANSIT EXPEDITIONS The PLATO mission is scheduled for launch at the end of 2026 with an Ariane 6. It is designed to discover and photometrically detect transits of planets outside the Solar System with properties that overlap with our system's inner, terrestrial planets. With the increasing orbital periods also the duration of the transits become longer, reaching the length of an equinoctial night for an Earth orbit around a solar-like stars, in particular towards terrestrial sized planet candidate transit-like signal. The session aims to collect first results on long transits, strategies to advertise and collect long period transit in the global south and moderate southern latitudes, including near the polar circle, design of campaigns to aid candidate validation of the space transit searches and in particular discuss the "contamination" photometry with small telescopes. The abstract submission deadline is 7 May 2025, 13:00 CEST https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2025/session/55138 Convener: Gunther Wuchter | Co-conveners: Filip Walter, Elisabeth Adams 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 [EPSC-DPS] SESSION TP4: EXPLORING VENUS: UNVEILING MYSTERIES OF EARTH'S TWIN FROM CORE TO ATMOSPHERE We warmly invite you to contribute to the Venus session TP4 at the EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025 (7-12 September, Helsinki, Finland). Today, Venus is once again in the spotlight of planetary exploration, with several international missions set to transform our understanding of this enigmatic world. Future missions such as ESA's EnVision mission in partnership with NASA, NASA's VERITAS and DAVINCI and ISRO's VOM aim to explore Venus, uncovering its geological history and activity, interior structure, atmospheric composition and dynamics, and climate evolution. Beyond these missions, a diverse array of scientific activities, including ground-based observations, laboratory experiments, and theoretical modeling are contributing to a comprehensive understanding of Venus and to prepare the mission ahead. We welcome contributions from all areas of Venus research, including amongst others interior processes, surface geology, atmospheric composition and dynamics, laboratory simulations, and mission data analysis. By bringing together diverse expertise, this session aims to enhance our understanding of Venus' history and current state, while exploring its broader implications for planetary evolution throughout the Solar System and beyond. https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2025/session/55208 We look forward to your contributions and engaging discussions in Helsinki! [Edited for length] 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 OPAG JUNE HYBRID MEETING WEBSITE, LIGHTNING TALKS AND POSTER SESSION The next Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) community meeting will be held on June 3-5, 2025 as a hybrid meeting, virtually and at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. Meeting details and registration can be found on the website: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/meetings/feb2025/ OPAG will host a poster session on the evening of June 3, for in-person attendees. Posters topics include: - Research (in particular, Uranus science) - Mission concepts - Technology developments (in particular, Uranus-relevant technology) A brief lightning talk (1 min) will be given by presenters to advertise the posters. For virtual attendees who would like to present, we can offer a longer lightning talk (3 minutes, depending on the number of presentations). Come and highlight your work! If you wish to give a present (virtually or in person) please fill out this interest form by May 16, 2025: https://tinyurl.com/3spuu7bs There is also an opportunity for a limited number of stipends for in-person and virtual attendance for students and early career scientists. The deadline to apply is April 25. Further details and form links are on the website. For questions, contact Morgan Cable (morgan.l.cable@jpl.nasa.gov) or Carol Paty (cpaty@uoregon.edu). 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 HOW TO SUBMIT GUEST OBSERVER PROPOSALS FOR CHEOPS The European Space Agency's CHEOPS mission opened its 6th Announcement of Opportunity on 18 March 2025. This Call invites the submission of research proposals to the Guest Observers Programme. The AO-6 Call is foreseen to close on 8 May 2025 (12:00 CEST). The selected proposals will be part of the observing cycle from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026. This period marks the last year of the first mission extension of CHEOPS. Scientific Opportunities: CHEOPS provides observers with access to space-based pointed ultra-high precision photometry. Research areas include the observations of exoplanet transits, eclipses, occultations, and phase curves. Furthermore, the scientific scope may extend to phenomena such as exomoons, ring structures, stellar activity, trans-Neptunian objects or more. Novelties in cycle 6: - More targets - only 50 GTO reserved targets, with all the rest being open to the entire community - More time - up to 30% science observing time (around 1500 orbits) dedicated to the GO Programme - Double-anonymous proposal peer-review - Zero-installation tools: cloud-based visibility, feasibility and ETC web tools Check our tutorial to submit a proposal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKsBT54nlVQ Find out more about the CHEOPS mission: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/cheops Contact: cheops-support@cosmos.esa.int [Edited for length] 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 LAST CALL FOR DPS PRIZE NOMINATIONS DUE TUESDAY, APRIL 15 Nominate your colleagues for one of the following: - The Gerard P. Kuiper Prize honors outstanding contributions to the field of planetary science. - The Claudia J. Alexander Prize recognizes outstanding achievement in planetary research by a mid-career scientist. - The Harold C. Urey Prize recognizes outstanding achievement in planetary research by an early-career scientist. - The Harold Masursky Award acknowledges outstanding service to planetary science and exploration. - The Carl Sagan Medal recognizes and honors outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. - The Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award recognizes and stimulates distinguished popular writing on planetary sciences. Eligibility and nomination details here: https://dps.aas.org/prizes 15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15 PLANETARY WORKFORCE INTEGRATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPOWERMENT (PWIDE) COMMUNITY ALLIANCE The Cross-AG EDIA Working Group has rebranded as the Planetary Workforce Integration, Development, and Empowerment (PWIDE) Community Alliance! Our purpose remains the same: make the field of planetary science for all of us. We meet once a month on Tuesday at 1 PM EST; email summaries are sent out to the list serv. Our new website (under construction) is: https://workforce.psi.edu/ If you want the planetary sciences to be a place for everyone, regardless of race, gender, physical ability, send an email to planetaryedi+subscribe@psi.edu to join us! 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 May 20-22, 2025 Small Sample Handling Workshop https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/smallsamplemay2025/ West Lafayette, IN October 14-17, 2025 Mars Through Time International Conference https://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mtt2025/ 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@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 Hot Spot Detections and Volcanic Changes on Io during the Juno Epoch: Orbits PJ5 to PJ55 Jason E. Perry et al. 2025 PSJ 6:84 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adbae3 Gauss-Radau Small-body Simulator (GRSS): An Open-source Library for Planetary Defense Rahil Makadia et al. 2025 PSJ 6:85 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adbc88 The Viability of Glycine Fermentation in Titan's Subsurface Ocean Antonin Affholder et al. 2025 PSJ 6:86 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adbc66 18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18-18 JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: PLANETS - NEW PAPERS Direct Links to Open Access (OA) Papers Editor-in-Chief, Amanda Hendrix https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21699100 The Hermean Helium Exosphere-Continuous and Sporadic Helium Release Processes J. Hener et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008696 Impacts Into Titan's Methane-Clathrate Crust as a Source of Atmospheric Methane S. Wakita et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008624 Gravity and Magnetic Field Signatures in Hydrothermally Affected Regions on Mars Anna Mittelholz et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008832 Helium in Mercury's Extended Exosphere Determined by Pick-Up Generated Ion Cyclotron Waves F. Weichbold et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008679 Identifying Landslides in Atla Regio on Venus E. L. Jesina et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008453 Modeling Lake Bonneville Paleoshoreline Erosion at Mars-Like Rates and Durations: Implications for the Preservation of Erosional Martian Shorelines and Viability as Evidence for a Martian Ocean Zachary J. Baran & Benjamin T. Cardenas https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008851 *********************************************************************** COMMERCIAL/FUNDRAISING 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 EXPLORE LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK WITH PLANETARY SCIENTISTS Join planetary scientist Dr. Kirby Runyon, space science educator Dr. Mark Wagner, and astronomer Dr. Pamela Gay for a 3-day adventure in Northern California's stunning Lassen Volcanic National Park. By day, explore steaming fumaroles, boiling springs, lava domes, and shattered volcanoes-geologic features that mirror landscapes on Mars, Venus, and beyond. By night, enjoy awe-inspiring stargazing with expert sky interpretation under Lassen's famously dark skies. This immersive trip blends planetary geology with astronomy, and is ideal for educators, space enthusiasts, and lifelong learners. Lassen Volcanic Adventure September 12-14, 2025 https://galacticmedallion.com/lassen-volcanic-adventure/ *********************************************************************** * 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. Or * 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. All PEN * submissions will be tweeted @pen2tweets. Please submit a 234 (or * fewer) character tweet. Alternatively, the editorial staff will * create one for you. 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