Issue 16-06, February 28, 2016
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1) IN MEMORIAM: MILDRED SHAPLEY MATTHEWS (1915-2016)
2) MESSAGE FROM THE FRS CHAIR
3) NASA CALL FOR LETTERS OF APPLICATION TO SDT
4) SBAG ANNOUNCEMENT
5) 2016 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS OPEN
6) A NEW VOLUME IN THE “HELIOPHYSICS” SERIES
7) UPCOMING MEETINGS
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IN MEMORIAM: MILDRED SHAPLEY MATTHEWS (1915-2016)
On February 11, just four days short of her 101st birthday, Mildred Shapley
Matthews passed away peacefully at her home in California with her family
present. Mildred was the daughter of Harvard College Observatory Director
Harlow Shapley and she held the interesting distinction of being “lost in the
solar system” for 75 years. As a commemoration of his newborn daughter,
Shapley bestowed the name Mildred to asteroid 878 discovered in 1916.
Unfortunately the initial observations of the asteroid were limited, and the
object was “lost” with highly uncertain orbital elements until recovered in 1991.
Friends and colleagues seeing Mildred over the years would always ask,
“are you found yet?” Matthews’ foundational contributions to planetary science
began around the time of her nominal retirement age, when in the 1970s she
began working as the production editor in the inaugural years of the Space
Science Series created by Tom Gehrels. Her role became most prominently
recognized as co-editor on more than a dozen volumes extending in to the 1990s.
Overall for more than 20 Space Science Series volumes she edited, operating
through friendly (then increasingly stern, but always polite) post cards and
phone calls to delinquent authors, it was Matthews who brought the books
into their final published form. Matthews leaves behind a legacy of books
that have served as the gateway for countless planetary science careers and
insights toward future advancements in our field. In 1993, Matthews received
the DPS’ Harold Masursky Award for Meritorious Service to Planetary Science.
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MESSAGE FROM THE FRS CHAIR:
The Federal Relations Subcommittee will be visiting Congress to advocate for
planetary science on March 18 and April 21. In Fiscal Year 2016, Congress
appropriated $1.63B for planetary science, and we will be thanking them for that
and encouraging them to continue their strong support for our science. We are
in the process of updating our messaging and the materials that we provide to
Congressional offices. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
Makenzie Lystrup at [email protected]
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CALL FOR LETTERS OF APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
ON NASA’S SCIENCE DEFINITION TEAM FOR EUROPA LANDER
PRE-PHASE A STUDY
The Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
plans to conduct a Pre-Phase A study of a Europa lander mission concept.
This study will build upon previous NASA studies with a goal to defining
the science objectives and feasibility of specific lander mission concept
focused on assessing the habitability of and searching for life on Europa.
NASA invites scientists and other qualified and interested individuals at U.S.
institutions to apply for membership on the Europa Lander Science Definition
Team (SDT).
Members of the SDT will provide the technical team and NASA with scientific
assistance and input during preliminary mission design. Near-term activities of
the SDT will include the establishment of prioritized science objectives and a
realistic scientific concept of operations, development and assessment of
alternative architectures, including model payload/instrument suites for proof
of concept, and suggestions for threshold science objectives/measurements for
a viable mission within resource constraints provided by NASA. NASA will
use the products of this study for planning purposes. The SDT will be formed
in March 2016 and will be disbanded after the work is complete.
The SDT will:
1. Identify and prioritize science objectives to be addressed by the lander
mission concept.
2. Participate in a Pre-Phase A mission concept study designed to
address those science objectives. Aspects of this participation will include:
• Science traceability, identification of measurements, and
specification of model payload
• Science concept of operations
• Participation in tradeoffs among scientific value, cost, and risk
3. Assist in the preparation of study reports.
Volunteers selected for membership will have demonstrated expertise
and knowledge in areas highly relevant to science relevant for the lander
mission concept. NASA anticipates the selection of approximately seven
to ten SDT members. Representative(s) from the NASA Planetary Science
Division will serve as ex officio members of the SDT.
DETAILS REQUESTED FOR SDT MEMBERSHIP SELECTION
Responses to this Call for Membership in the SDT shall be in the form of a
Letter of Application. The Letter of Application should provide clearly
defined evidence of the candidate’s relevant demonstrated experience and
background. The Letter of Application may also contain a brief list of
references to scientific or technical peer-reviewed papers the applicant has
published that formally establish their position of scientific leadership in
the community; this list is not included in the page count limitation below.
The letter should also contain a statement confirming the applicant’s time
availability during the next twelve months to participate on the SDT,
particularly if there are any major schedule constraints that may restrict
engagement at critical times. The expected time commitment would include
the following:
• Weekly to biweekly teleconferences beginning in April 2016
• Two face-to-face meetings in the first half of 2016
• Preparation and review of materials for the final report
• Additional teleconferences and face-to-face meetings as the SDT
deems appropriate
Note that a significant amount of the interaction among the SDT is
anticipated to be via E-mail and webex.
Letters of Application are invited only from individuals, and group
applications will not be considered. In addition, collaborations and
teams will not be considered.
Each Letter of Application, limited to one page, shall be submitted by
E-mail no later than March 18, 2016 (11:59 p.m. EST), to Dr. Curt Niebur
at the address below. The subject line of the E-mail should include
“Europa Lander SDT”.
The issuance of this Call for Letters of Application does not obligate
NASA to accept any of the applications. Any costs incurred by
prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this
Call are incurred completely at the submitter’s own risk.
Dr. Curt Niebur
Planetary Sciences Division
Science Mission Directorate
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 202-358-0390
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SBAG ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear SBAG community,
An initiative to develop a long term roadmap for the exploration of Ocean
Worlds has kicked off. The committee charged with developing this roadmap
is committed to an open and inclusive process. At this point, all bodies which
plausibly can have or are known to have an ocean will be considered as part of
this study and that includes bodies of interest to SBAG.
Please consider joining this roadmap effort if this topic is of interest to you by
emailing the co-chairs:
Amanda Hendrix ([email protected])
Terry Hurford ([email protected])
And please copy me on the email as well ([email protected]).
Best wishes,
Nancy Chabot
SBAG Chair
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2016 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL
APPLICATIONS OPEN
NASA is accepting applications from science and engineering post-docs,
recent PhDs, and doctoral students for its 28th Annual Planetary
Science Summer School, which will be held July 25-29, 2016 at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
During the program and pre-session webinars, student teams will carry
out the equivalent of an early mission concept study, prepare a
proposal authorization presentation, present it to a review board,
and receive feedback. By the end of the session, students will have a
clearer understanding of the life cycle of a space mission;
relationships between mission design, cost, and schedule; and the
tradeoffs necessary to stay within cost and schedule while preserving
the quality of science.
Applications are due April 6, 2016. Partial financial support is
available for a limited number of individuals. Further information is
available at:
http://pscischool.jpl.nasa.gov
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A NEW VOLUME IN THE “HELIOPHYSICS” SERIES
A fourth volume in the “Heliophysics” series will be released by Cambridge
University Press (CUP) on March 17, 2016, entitled “Heliophysics: Active
stars, their astrospheres, and impacts on planetary environments”. This volume,
edited by C. Schrijver, F. Bagenal, and J. Sojka, expands the topics related to
the Sun-Earth connections presented in the preceding three volumes to other
bodies in the solar system and to extrasolar planetary systems.
CUP (at cambridge.org) offers a 20% discount (on pre-orders, and throughout
2016 after the book becomes available) with discount code “heliophy”:
www.cambridge.org/9781107090477.
The same discount (with the same code) applies to the hardcover and
paperback editions of the preceding three “Heliophysics” volumes,
subtitled “Plasma physics of the local cosmos”, “Space storms and
radiation: causes and effects”, and “Evolving solar activity and the
climates of space and Earth”.
A provisional 5th volume on “Space Weather and Society” can be freely
downloaded from:
http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/Heliophysics/science-resources-textbooks.shtml
The Heliophysics books aim at the advanced undergraduate and at
graduate-level students, taking the perspective of heliophysics as a single
intellectual discipline. The books touch on most branches of heliophysics,
with particular emphasis on universal processes and on the multi-disciplinary
character of many of its diverse range of specialties. The list of topics
includes the formation of planetary systems, astrophysical dynamos,
heliospheric perturbations, particle acceleration, cosmic-ray modulation,
interactions of the solar wind with planetary magnetospheres, impulstive
and explosive events, irradiance and the tropospheric climate system,
ionospheric processes, and impacts of space weather on satellites and
for manned space flight, among many more.
The Heliophysics book series has its origins in the Summer School
series of the same name. Many of the recorded lectures, problem sets,
lab manuals, and other online supporting materials can be accessed at
the School’s site at http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/Heliophysics/.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
A) 2016 ANNUAL LABORATORY ASTROPHYSICS DIVISION
OF THE AAS MEETING
San Diego, CA
June 13-16, 2016
http://lad.aas.org/meetings/lad2016
Key dates:
Regular Registration: March 3, 2016
Abstracts: March 3, 2016
The 2016 LAD meeting will be devoted to the interplay between laboratory
astrophysics and other fields in astronomy, planetary science and related
sciences. The meeting will be held jointly with the 228th Meeting of the
AAS, and feature the inaugural 2015 Laboratory Astrophysics Prize talk
by Lou Allamandola, a talk by the 2016 Laboratory Astrophysics Prize
winner Peter Beiersdorfer, and a talk by the inaugural LAD Early Career
Prize Winner Francois Lique. The sessions will cover the full range of LAD
topics, with special focus on interplay with observatories such as ALMA,
Hitomi (nee’ Astro-H — now launched!), and NuSTAR.
The session titles and invited speakers are listed below; each session has
room for contributed talks. A parallel 4-day long poster session, with all
posters up the entire time, is also planned. We encourage you to submit.
Sessions:
Bridging Laboratory & Astrophysics: Dust & Ices with ALMA & Hitomi
Monday, 13 June 2014: 10:00 am-11:30 am
Laboratory astrophysics is the Rosetta Stone that enables astronomers to
understand and interpret the cosmos. This session will focus on the interplay
between astrophysics with theoretical and experimental studies into the
underlying dust and ice processes, which drive our Universe, focusing on
connections to ALMA or Hitomi observations.
Confirmed Speakers:
• Lou Allamandola, NASA/Ames Research Center
[Inaugural Laboratory Astrophysics Prize Talk]
• Lia Corrales, MIT
Bridging Laboratory and Astrophysics: Molecules seen with ALMA I
Monday, 13 June 2014: 2:00 pm-3:30 pm
Laboratory astrophysics is the Rosetta Stone that enables astronomers to
understand and interpret the cosmos. This session will focus on the interplay
between astrophysics with theoretical and experimental studies into the
underlying molecular processes, which drive our Universe, with special
attention to connections with ALMA observations.
Confirmed Speakers:
• Viviana Guzman, Harvard
• Paola Caseli, MPE
Bridging Laboratory and Astrophysics: Molecules seen with ALMA II
Tuesday, 14 June 2014: 10:00 am-11:30 am
Laboratory astrophysics is the Rosetta Stone that enables astronomers to
understand and interpret the cosmos. This session will focus on the
interplay between astrophysics with theoretical and experimental studies
into the underlying molecular processes, which drive our Universe, with
special attention to connections with ALMA observations.
Confirmed Speakers:
• Francois Lique, University Le Havre [Inaugural LAD Early Career Prize Talk]
• Lucy Ziurys, University of Arizona
Bridging Laboratory and Astrophysics: Planetary Physics seen with
ALMA and Hitomi
Tuesday, 14 June 2014: 2:00pm-3:30 pm
Laboratory astrophysics is the Rosetta Stone that enables astronomers
to understand and interpret the cosmos. This session will focus on the
interplay between astrophysics with theoretical and experimental studies
into the underlying planetary science processes, which drive our Universe,
with special attention to observations done with ALMA and Hitomi.
Confirmed Speakers:
• Martin Cordiner, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
• Geoff Blake, CalTech
Bridging Laboratory and Astrophysics: Atomic Physics seen with Hitomi
Wednesday, 15 June 2014: 10:00 am-11:30 am
Laboratory astrophysics is the Rosetta Stone that enables astronomers to
understand and interpret the cosmos. This session will focus on the interplay
between astrophysics with theoretical and experimental studies into the
underlying atomic processes, which drive our Universe, with special attention
to observations done with Hitomi.
Confirmed Speakers:
• Peter Beiersdorfer, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
[2016 Laboratory Astrophysics Prize Talk]
• Renata Cumbee, University of Georgia
Bridging Laboratory and Astrophysics: Atomic, Nuclear, & Particles
Physics with Hitomi and NuSTAR
Wednesday, 15 June 2014: 2:00pm-3:30 pm
Laboratory astrophysics is the Rosetta Stone that enables astronomers to
understand and interpret the cosmos. This session will focus on the
interplay between astrophysics with theoretical and experimental studies
into the underlying nuclear processes, which drive our Universe, with
special attention to observations done with Hitomi and NuSTAR.
Confirmed Speakers:
• Javier Garcia, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Steven Boggs, UC-Berkeley
Science Organizing Committee: Farid Salama, Randall Smith, Steven
Federman, Paul Drake, Daniel Wolf Savin, John Black, Nancy Janet
Chanover, Gianfranco Vidali, Karin Oberg, Edward Brown, Jan Cami,
Oswald Siegmund
B) ASIA OCEANIA GEOSCIENCES CONFERENCE 2016
July 31 – Aug 5, Beijing, China
Session Title: Moon And Mercury – A Comparative View
Planetary Sciences – Session PS 16
Conference website:
http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2016/public.asp?page=home.htm
Abstract submission deadline: extended to March 4, 2016
Session Description: Recent years have provided us with many new
insights on both the Moon and Mercury. In the past the Moon was
often considered as a Mercury analog. Now we know that this view
is true only to a limited extent. However there are many similarities
between these two bodies, and the differences allow us to learn more
about airless bodies in the Solar System in general. Therefore we invite
contributions to this comparative session. In addition to comparative
presentations, contributions that focus on just one of these bodies are
welcome.
Main Convener: Dr. Jorn Helbert
(German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany), [email protected]
Co-convener(s): Dr. David Blewett
(Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, United States),
[email protected]
Prof. Sho Sasaki (Osaka University, Japan),
[email protected]
Prof. Masaki Fujimoto (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan),
[email protected]
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