Here are the collections of photos submitted to the DPS or taken at DPS meetings over the years.
Henry Throop’s DPS meeting photos
Category: Uncategorized
AAS POLICY TEAM ACTION ALERT March 2025
On March 5, the AAS Policy Team issued a new Action Alert for our members to submit FY 2026 appropriations request forms for their senators and representatives. These forms are an important way for representatives to gauge what their constituents care about most.Our topline asks are for NASA SMD ($9B), NSF ($9.9B), and the DOE Office of Science ($9.5B). Please note that every representative’s request form will close at different times, but most deadlines are in March. There is a spreadsheet here where you can check on the status of your representative’s request form.
Please note that in February the AAS also issued an original Action Alert for general support of the space sciences using our grassroots-level advocacy platform. The platform allows people to quickly craft a message and/or talking points that can easily be sent to their senators and representatives via call or email. (It would be best to use the suggested text as a start, and customize it as an email to your congressional representative, whose email address you can find here.)
Newsletter 25-06
Issue 25-06, Mar 19, 2025
+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+
- DIVISION FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES COMMITTEE 2025 ADVOCACY
- AAS POLICY TEAM ACTION ALERT
- RENEW YOUR AAS AND DPS MEMBERSHIP
- SPECIAL AAS WEBINAR: ADVOCACY FOR THE ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES
- CHOIR MUTUAL AID FOR ASTROPHYSICS & SPACE SCIENCES
- DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
- CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY CONFERENCE
- 6TH ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CHEOPS GUEST OBSERVERS PROGRAM
- PLANETARY PROTECTION SESSION AT COSPAR 2025 SYMPOSIUM IN CYPRUS
- STEM FACULTY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR SURVEY
- 2025 PI LAUNCHPAD: FROM SCIENCE IDEA TO NASA MISSION IN PERSON WORKSHOP
- IN MEMORIAM OF JOSEPH BURNS SUBMITTED BY ICARUS
- NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR
- SMASHING IT: HOW IMPACTS FORGE FORMATION, DYNAMICS, AND CLIMATES OF (EXO)PLANETS, JUNE 3-5, 2025, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
- 2025B NASA IRTF CALL FOR PROPOSALS
- INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INSTRUMENTATION FOR PLANETARY MISSIONS
- POST-BACCALAURATEATE POSITIONS IN ASTROPHYSICS SCIENCE AND SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION DIVISIONS AT NASA/GSFC DUE MARCH 31, 2025
- PLANETARY RESEARCH: OPEN CALL FOR EDITORS
- CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL AND ICARUS
- JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
+——————————————————————————————–+
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DIVISION FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES COMMITTEE 2025 ADVOCACY
In early March 2025, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) Committee completed a series of annual visits to Capitol Hill to discuss planetary science community priorities and funding. This year’s advocacy documents (one-pager and letter) are publicly available here: https://dps.aas.org/public_policy/communicating-congress/.
During the numerous meetings with Congressional offices, we discussed the impact of recent Executive Orders and other Presidential Administration directives on the planetary science community, and in particular for NASA and NSF. We emphasized the need to maintain U.S. leadership in space exploration and continued education about the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, among other topics. Our messaging was well received this year by the Congress, and will be followed by continued advocacy of the AAS DPS Federal Relations Subcommittee (FRS) in early May 2025.
Athena Coustenis, DPS committee Chair ([email protected])
Angela M. Dapremont, AAS DPS FRS Chair ([email protected])
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AAS POLICY TEAM ACTION ALERT
On March 5, the AAS Policy Team issued a new Action Alert for our members to submit FY 2026 appropriations request forms for their senators and representatives. These forms are an important way for representatives to gauge what their constituents care about most.Our topline asks are for NASA SMD ($9B), NSF ($9.9B), and the DOE Office of Science ($9.5B). Please note that every representative’s request form will close at different times, but most deadlines are in March. There is a spreadsheet here where you can check on the status of your representative’s request form.
Please note that in February the AAS also issued an original Action Alert for general support of the space sciences using our grassroots-level advocacy platform. The platform allows people to quickly craft a message and/or talking points that can easily be sent to their senators and representatives via call or email. (It would be best to use the suggested text as a start, and customize it as an email to your congressional representative, whose email address you can find here.)
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RENEW YOUR AAS AND DPS MEMBERSHIP
The DPS Committee and the AAS staff and community thank you for being an AAS/DPS member last year. For those who have not yet renewed for 2025, it’s not too late!
If you are unsure of your membership status, it’s easy to check. Go to my.aas.org and log in with your AAS username and password. Look for the framed Profile-at-a-Glance section on the right and confirm the Paid through date. If it’s 31 December 2024 or earlier, it’s time to renew.
If you have questions about your benefits or need assistance with your login or renewal, please email the membership team or call (202) 328-2010 x109. You can also send an e-mail to dpssec.org
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SPECIAL AAS WEBINAR: ADVOCACY FOR THE ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES
Wednesday, 19 March 2025, 1:00-2:00 pm ET
Learn from the AAS public policy team about how you can take action to support the astronomical sciences! In this one-hour webinar, we will provide an overview of how Congress works, discuss how you can schedule Zoom or in-district meetings with your congressional offices to advocate on issues that are important to astronomy, and provide tips and best practices for these meetings.
Register here : https://aas-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2XmO3DfgRjm370ZUHgg06w#/registration
Even if you can’t attend the webinar, take a few minutes today to engage in advocacy through the AAS action alerts, and reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions!
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CHOIR MUTUAL AID FOR ASTROPHYSICS & SPACE SCIENCES
In direct response to the federal funding freeze outlined by OMB Memorandum M-25-13 and any ensuing directives imposed by the current administration which may prove harmful to our space sciences community, the choir collaboration is establishing a mutual aid program to offer financial assistance to those who are negatively impacted. Many of our colleagues in physics, astronomy, and planetary sciences may find themselves without a paycheck due to these orders.
To stand with our community in physics, astronomy, and planetary science currently affected by federal grant funding freezes and cancellations (e.g., the NSF funding freeze), we with support from Black In Astro, the Astro Poverty Survey, and Movement Consulting have organized a mutual aid initiative for our colleagues. Please join us in supporting our community by giving aid, or requesting aid.
https://www.choircollaboration.com/mutual-aid
Thank you for joining us in solidarity, hope, and building a community of care.
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DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
The Press Officer will serve a three-year term starting at the EPSC-DPS meeting in September 2025 but will start shadowing the current Press Officer imminently. The Press Officer will coordinate the DPS press conferences at the annual meetings as well as prize press releases. Candidates should be a full DPS member as of September 2025. Any questions about the position can be sent to [email protected]
If you’re interested, please send a CV and a brief statement of interest to [email protected]
Officer responsibilities are listed here: https://dps.aas.org/leadership/officer-responsibilities
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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY CONFERENCE
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 (see https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/plutosystem2025/) 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 through 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.
The conference will be held July 14–18, 2025 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Abstracts for both oral and poster presentations are being accepted through April 18th at 5 pm CDT. 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.
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6TH ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CHEOPS GUEST OBSERVERS PROGRAM
We are pleased to announce that the 6th CHEOPS Guest Observers Announcement of Opportunity is now open. Please find attached the letter from the ESA Director of Science.
Key Dates: The AO-6 Call is now open and is foreseen to close on the 8 May 2025 (12:00 CEST).
Observing Cycle: 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 any time-domain phenomena including, but not limited to, variable stars, super-nova remnants or any other astronomical transient phenomena.
Collaborative Synergies: The timely overlap of several space- and ground-based missions may provide exciting opportunities for synergies with NASA/ESA/CSA JWST, NASA/ESA HST, NASA TESS, ESO ground-based facilities, and more.
Scope: The AO-6 and the DP calls are open to the worldwide scientific community, regardless of nationality or institutional affiliation. Undergraduate and PhD students are eligible if it is guaranteed that their supervisor can provide sufficient guidance throughout the proposal. Proposers may request as much time as scientifically needed in a single proposal. Large observing programmes which will produce high-value datasets are encouraged.
Modern and user friendly:
- 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 peer-review of proposals
- Zero-installation tools: cloud-based visibility and ETC web tools
- Community contributions of many useful tools
Live hands-on tutorials: We foresee to run hands-on tutorials on March and April 2025 at various time-zones to guide you through the proposal preparation and submission process and answer all your questions. Please register at the link below if you would like to attend or watch the recordings:
Find out more about the CHEOPS mission via https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/cheops, read the Letter from the ESA Director of Science, and stay up-to-date about this opportunity via https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/cheops-guest-observers-programme
Feel free to email us with any questions. We look forward to receiving your observing proposals and advancing our understanding of exoplanetary and stellar systems.
Happy proposing!
Contact: [email protected]
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PLANETARY PROTECTION SESSION AT COSPAR 2025 SYMPOSIUM IN CYPRUS
3-7 November 2025: call for abstracts (deadline: 4 April)
Dear colleague,
Please consider submitting an abstract and attending the COSPAR Symposium in Cyprus (Nikosia, Νικοσία) : 3-7 November 2025. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 4 April 2025.
See information hereafter, but note that we will have a Special Session (PPP.1) for Planetary Protection. When you submit an abstract, please login and choose Scientific Event PPP.1.
This session will include reports on recent COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection (PPP) activities, planetary protection studies by scientists and agencies, and colloquia/workshops with relevance to planetary protection and in general and the COSPAR Policy and implementation guidelines. The overall Policy perspective will be presented, as well as recent adaptations and updates of the Policy proposed by the PPP and validated by the COSPAR Bureau, as based on documented research and recent findings. Further, this session will cover reports on the planetary protection implementation and status of launched, ongoing and planned missions. Focus will be placed on techniques, measurements and procedures applied to spacecraft, payloads, and ground facilities to implement forward and backward planetary protection. The session will also include discussions on lessons learnt from implementing planetary protection guidelines throughout mission and industrial organisations. Finally, this session will include reports on planetary protection research and development activities of all kinds, particularly those involving challenging scientific endeavors, such as life detection and contamination testing. We will encourage presentations of research on new approaches in planetary protection as they apply to both robotic and human missions.
If you wish to submit an abstract and have not already done so, please attend to this matter at your earliest convenience and no later than 4 April, 23:59. Information concerning the scientific program and abstract submission is at:
https://www.cospar-assembly.org
Registration, accommodation, and logistical information is at:
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at this important international meeting.
Best regards,
Athena Coustenis and Niklas Hedman.
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STEM FACULTY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR SURVEY
My name is Dr. Katie Muenks and I am a researcher in the Educational Psychology department at UT-Austin looking for college-level instructors who are teaching at least one undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) course in Spring 2025 to participate in a 15-minute survey on their beliefs about learning and teaching and their teaching practices (see attached flier for more details).
Participants will receive a $15 Amazon gift card.
If the hyperlink above did not work, you may copy/paste the following web address into a browser: https://tinyurl.com/UTStemFacSurvey25
I very much appreciate your time and consideration, as this research will help to develop future programs aimed at improving STEM education for all students. Please feel free to reach out to me directly at [email protected] with any questions. Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Katie Muenks
Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, UT-Austin
Website: https://sites.edb.utexas.edu/lamb/
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2025 PI LAUNCHPAD: FROM SCIENCE IDEA TO NASA MISSION IN PERSON WORKSHOP
Important Dates:
Applications due: April 7, 2025 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application Instructions and Submission URL: https://go.nasa.gov/ApplyPILP25
Application Number: NNH25ZDA009L
Pre-application Virtual Information Session: February 20, 2025 2 PM Eastern Time
Workshop Dates: August 11-14, 2025
Workshop Location: Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
Are you thinking about developing your first flight mission proposal in the next few years but have no idea where to start? Are you working or studying in any NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) discipline? If you are a scientist who would like to submit a NASA space mission proposal in the next few years but don’t know where to start, this August workshop is for you! We are interested in expanding the pool of potential NASA space mission Principal Investigators (PIs). There is no fee to attend the in-person workshop.
PI Launchpad applications and instructions on eligibility and how to apply are available on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) https://nspires.nasaprs.com. All applications must be submitted via NSPIRES. To submit an application, an NSPIRES account is required. To create an NSPIRES account, visit https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/registration/createuser!init.do.
Please email questions to the 2025 NASA PI Launch Pad Organizers at this shared address [email protected]. Do NOT submit ANY applications or other attachments to this email address. Emails with attachments will be deleted.
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IN MEMORIAM OF JOSEPH BURNS SUBMITTED BY ICARUS
Joseph A. Burns, Ph.D. ’66, emeritus professor of engineering and astronomy, former vice provost and dean of the Cornell faculty, and Editor of Icarus from 1978 to 1998, died Feb. 26 in Ithaca, New York, United States of America. He was 83.
Joseph Arthur Burns was born on March 22, 1941, in Queens, New York, and grew up in the village of Cold Spring on the Hudson River north of New York City. In 1962, he earned a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering at the Webb Institute on Long Island. Coming of age at the height of the space race, Burns decided to redirect his physics, engineering and applied math skills from shipbuilding to the burgeoning field of celestial mechanics.
Upon earning his PhD at Cornell University, Burns conducted postdoctoral research at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and then joined the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell. He eventually held joint appointments as the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering and professor of astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, teaching and training students interested in the dynamics of both spacecraft and natural bodies in the solar system.
Burns’ approach and scholarship earned him invitations to serve on NASA and National Research Council advisory panels, and on the imaging teams for multiple planetary exploration missions – notably on NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter, the NASA/ESA Cassini mission studying Saturn and its rings and satellites, and the European Space Agency-led Rosetta comet mission. In 1998 he also participated in the discovery of the first two known irregular moons of Uranus.
A former vice president of the American Astronomical Society and chair of its Division for Planetary Sciences, Burns received several NASA achievement awards for his research and was named an honorary fellow of Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society, among many honors. In 1978 he became editor of the planetary science journal Icarus – a role he took over from Carl Sagan and held until 1998. At this time, he was the sole editor, managing the communication with authors and reviewers for all manuscripts with the help of long-time editorial assistant, Cheryl Hall. For most of this double-decadal period, manuscripts were submitted on paper and all communications were by letters, sent by regular mail. This was huge amount of work. Burns helped shape the focus and publishing standards of the journal, making Icarus the reference journal in the field.
Icarus will soon publish a review of the scientific and editorial accomplishments of its beloved historical Editor.
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NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR (Time-zone Correction)
Join us on 27 March 2025, 2:30-3pm EDT (11:30-12 PDT,12:30-1pm MDT, 1:30-2pm CDT)
New Horizons continues its operation, now at 61au from the Sun. Since 2015 it has made ground-breaking discoveries of the Pluto-Charon system, flown past the small contact KBO binary Arrokoth and collected phase and light curve data for some three-dozen additional KBOs and the ice giants. It has also been sampling dust density throughout the Solar
System and studying the cosmic optical background. To raise awareness of New Horizon’s scientific impact we are beginning a new spotlight seminar series (30 min, fourth week each month) which we invite you to attend online, or watch recorded at your convenience.
Our speaker will be Simon Porter of Southwest Research Institute and he will be speaking on: “Measuring the Shapes of Kuiper Belt Objects With New Horizons Photometry”
Connection Link:
https://zoom.us/j/97317697636?pwd=MTAzMjJmNThTeFppR3JoYzlkUXVCQT09
Meeting ID: 973 1769 7636
Passcode: 802327
Calendar for future seminars:
Recordings are archived and posted at:
https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/index.php#Spotlight-Presentations
For questions, contact New Horizons CoI Susan Benecchi, [email protected]
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SMASHING IT: HOW IMPACTS FORGE FORMATION, DYNAMICS, AND CLIMATES OF
(EXO)PLANETS, JUNE 3-5, 2025, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
We invite you to join us at the international conference “Smashing It: How Impacts Forge Formation, Dynamics, and Climates of (Exo)Planets” at the University of Leeds, UK. The meeting will be held from Tuesday, June 3 to Thursday, June 5, 2025.
This workshop will bring together about 50 researchers exploring how impacts influence the formation, dynamics, and habitability of rocky (exo)planets. The program will feature a balanced schedule of contributed talks from experts in astronomy, planetary science, geoscience, meteoritics, and laboratory experiments.
To apply to attend this meeting and find more details regarding the scope, program, venue, and other practicalities, please visit our website:
https://sites.google.com/view/wg4workshop/home
The final deadline for all applications will be March 30, 2025. We expect more than 50 applications due to the broad scope of this meeting and the SOC will apply a selection procedure. This is why it is an “application” to the meeting rather than a “registration.”
Do not book nor organise any travel/accommodation until you have confirmation of acceptance of your application to attend the meeting.
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2025B NASA IRTF CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The due date for the 2025B semester IRTF proposals (August 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026) is Tuesday, April 1, 2025. See our online submission form Submitting the Observing Time Application Form to the IRTF, which is available for proposal submission from 12:00 AM on March 01, 2025 until 5:00 PM on April 01, 2025 HST. Available instruments include: (1) SpeX, a 0.7 – 5.3 micron cross-dispersed medium-resolution spectrograph (up to R=2,500) and imager; (2) MORIS, a 512×512 pixel Andor CCD camera (60″x60″ field-of-view) mounted at the side-facing window of the SpeX cryostat that can be used simultaneously with SpeX; (3) iSHELL, a 1.06 – 5.3 micron cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph (up to R=80,000) and imager; (4) MIRSI/MOC, a 5-20 micron camera and grism spectrograph, and optical imager; (5) ‘Opihi, a wide-angle finder mounted to and aligned with IRTF. Information on available facility and visitor instruments and performance can be found at: https://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/instruments. Exposure time calculators for SpeX and iSHELL are available on the respective instrument webpages.
Please see https://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/observing/callforproposals/index.php for the full text.
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INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INSTRUMENTATION FOR PLANETARY MISSIONS
4-6 August, 2025
Please save the date for the 2025 International Workshop for Planetary Instrumentation (IPM-2025), which will be hosted by LASP in Boulder, Colorado, on August 4-6. This workshop will convene scientists, engineers and students to discuss instrumentation and enabling
technologies that are necessary to address key questions in planetary science.
The IPM-2025 will have dedicated sessions on the Uranus Orbiter and Probe, Asteroid Exploration, and Lunar Exploration Opportunities, in addition to general sessions on planetary instrumentation and enabling technologies. Abstract submission will open in mid-March.
Contact: [email protected]
Previous workshops:
https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/IPM
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POST-BACCALAUREATE POSITIONS IN ASTROPHYSICS SCIENCE AND SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION DIVISIONS AT NASA/GSFC DUE MARCH 31, 2025
Applications are now being accepted for short-term postbaccalaureate research positions to support the Astrophysics Science and Solar System Exploration Divisions at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD.
The position is funded by the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) through the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology II (CRESST II). The Astrophysics Science Division conducts a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, and fundamental physics. Individual investigations address issues such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which planets outside our solar system may harbor life, and the nature of space, time, and matter at the edges of black holes. The Solar System Exploration Division conducts theoretical and experimental research to explore the solar system and understand the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Laboratories within the division investigate areas as diverse as astrochemistry, planetary atmospheres, geochemistry, geophysics, geodynamics, space geodesy, extrasolar planetary systems, and comparative planetary studies. Positions available within the Astrophysics Science and Solar System Exploration Divisions span a variety of research areas. Successful candidates will be chosen to work on one of the research projects listed here:
To apply, each applicant should submit a cover letter describing personal background and interest in the applicants’ chosen project, Curriculum Vitae, unofficial transcript, and contact information for two references to each project of interest through the CRESST II Breezy application platform. After sponsors review applications, additional support materials may be requested which may include a work sample in the form of a report, poster, journal article, writing sample, or coding examples.
The deadline to apply is Monday, March 31st, 2025, at 11:59pm EDT.
More information on the CRESST-II Post-bac Program can be found here: https://cresst2.umd.edu/opportunities/Postbac_program_Opp.html
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PLANETARY RESEARCH: OPEN CALL FOR EDITORS
Planetary Research is a diamond open access journal that is being developed by the planetary science community. The journal will have no article processing fees for authors and all articles will be free to access without a subscription. The journal, run as part of a non-profit organization, will operate with a transparent governance and will promote the work it publishes to the scientific community and the general public alike. Manuscript submissions are expected to open in January 2026.
The journal seeks candidates for the editorial board, including the editor-in-chief, editors, and associate editors. Interested candidates should provide a CV, a publication list, and a short letter motivating their interest in the position to the chair of the search committee ([email protected]) before July 1, 2025. Additional information about the journal and the open positions can be found on our website : https://planetary-research.org/.
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CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL AND ICARUS
The current issues for both DPS-affiliated journals are here:
The Planetary Science Journal:
Issue 3 – Volume 6 – The Planetary Science Journal – IOPscience
Icarus:
Icarus | Vol 429, In progress (15 March 2025) | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
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JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to browse DPS’s job listings and advertise open positions **for free** on the DPS job board.
Full details for several new positions can be found on the DPS job board.
A summary of recent job announcements and postdoc opportunities are listed below.
- Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor Lead Scientist – Due Apr 11, 2025
IPAC at Caltech invites applications for the Lead Scientist of the team that is developing the Survey Data System for NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission. As Lead Scientist you will work closely with the IPAC/NEOS Task Lead and System Architect to guide the overall development, test, and operation of the NEO Surveyor Survey Data Systems (NSDS) at IPAC.
- ESA Archival Research Visitor Programme – Due Apr 30, 2025
To increase the scientific return from its space science missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) welcomes applications from scientists interested in pursuing research projects based on data publicly available in the ESA Space Science Archives (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/esdc).
The ESA Archival Research Visitor Programme is open to scientists, at all career levels, affiliated with institutes in ESA Member States and Collaborating States, although we will also consider strong applications from outside those states. Early-career scientists (within 10 years of the PhD) and PhD students are particularly encouraged to apply. We encourage applications from women and minorities. The peer-review evaluation process is anonymised to ensure equal opportunities for all applicants.
Applications received before 1 May 2025 will be considered for visits in autumn and winter 2025/2026.
For further details, including areas of research and contact information, please refer to:
https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/esdc/visitor-programme or write to the programme coordinators at [email protected]
- Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor Survey Scientist – Due Mar 29, 2025
NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is a planned mission (launch: September 2027) with a goal of finding, identifying, and characterizing potentially hazardous asteroids in our Solar System. The Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences is an academic unit within the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences.
The NEO Surveyor survey scientist’s high-level responsibilities include:
- Assist the Principal Investigator and Science Team in developing the NEO Surveyor survey plan, which determines where the Observatory points as a function of time.
- Interface with the NEO Surveyor Science Data System (NSDS) archive to access NEO Surveyor image and catalog data, and work with the NSDS team to maximize the ability to link individual NEO Surveyor detections of small body candidates.
- Interface with the NEO Surveyor mission system team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Physics (LASP), and ensure that the teams at JPL and LASP produce uplink sequences that match the desired survey plan.
- Interface with the Minor Planet Center to ensure that the survey plan produces the best possible orbits for small body candidates detected by NEO Surveyor.
More information on the position, including qualifications, compensation range, benefits and how to apply are provided in the full position description: https://jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/6856
- Postdoctoral Research Associate: (Exo)planetary Atmosphere – University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Laboratory – Due Mar 24, 2025
The Lunar & Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona has an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate I in the field of modeling of planetary atmospheres. Research areas of interest include atmospheric escape from rocky planets, chemical kinetics of early Earth, Venus, Mars, and analogous exoplanets, and interior-atmosphere interactions on rocky worlds; candidates are encouraged to reach out to Prof. Ranjan in advance of their application to cooperatively identify specific research topics of mutual interest. Applicants should have previous experience modeling the atmospheres of planets or exoplanets, although a variety of backgrounds may be relevant. Candidates with expertise in 1D hydrodynamic escape of rocky planet atmospheres are especially encouraged to apply. The position is for a period of up to three years, renewable annually contingent on satisfactory performance reviews.
Position is opened until filled, and first review of applications will begin 03/24/2025. UA LPL is a world-class department and a very stimulating environment. We have strong connections to missions and the next generation of telescopes, as well as to our colleagues in Astronomy and Geoscience. Tucson is a great place to live, with excellent hiking, great food, and a low cost of living. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Prof. Ranjan with any questions!
Link to position description and application: https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/21927
- Supervisors, Astrobiology Section and Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section, JHUAPL
The Small Bodies and Ocean Worlds group in the Space Exploration Sector of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) seeks supervisors for its Astrobiology Section and its Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section. The Astrobiology Section focuses on potentially habitable environments beyond Earth, laboratory studies of Earth analogs, development of instrumentation for detection of extraterrestrial biosignatures, and missions including Europa Clipper and Dragonfly that investigate environments of astrobiological interest. The Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section focuses on the chemistry, physics, and geology of rocky small bodies, physical processes that affect their surfaces, development of spaceflight instrumentation to study them, and the study of meteorites that sample them.
The desired candidates will have: a doctorate in a physical or biological science relevant to the work in their section; an accomplished research program; excellent people skills; and excellent written and oral communications skills. They will be expected to provide leadership and mentorship to the half-dozen members of the section, and participate in a variety of strategic efforts.
Applications for the Astrobiology Section may be submitted at https://careers.jhuapl.edu/jobs/56619?lang=en-us and for the Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section at https://careers.jhuapl.edu/jobs/56655?lang=en-us
Applications will close Monday, March 31, 2025.
- Senior Application Developer Caltech/IPAC – Application Deadline Mar 31, 2025
PAC at Caltech has an opening for a Senior Applications Developer with a strong background in Unix software development to lead the Data Systems development team at the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). As lead of IRSA’s Data Systems Team, you will manage the activities of a group of IRSA scientists and developers who share the overarching goal of supporting community science with archival IRSA and other NASA data sets. Your development work may involve processing astrophysics space mission data, containerization & cloud technologies, large scale databases, and petabyte-scale storage. You will also work with scientists and other developers to help interpret and implement project requirements and document the work that you’ve accomplished.
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/senior-application-developer/
- Full-time staff scientist to work with Roman team at IPAC
IPAC, part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech, provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to enhance discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. IPAC invites applications from highly qualified individuals for a full-time position at the junior scientist level to work with the Roman team at IPAC.
The Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to address key questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. It is slated for launch in late 2026. The Roman Science Support Center (SSC) at IPAC is part of the Roman Ground Data System, providing algorithm and software development and data processing for the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey and all Roman spectroscopic data. In addition, the SSC will support the operations of the Coronagraph Instrument, manage the Roman General Investigator Program proposal solicitations and related data analysis funding, and provide community support for exoplanet and wide-field spectroscopy science with Roman.
For more details, see: https://roman.ipac.caltech.edu
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/7526/
- Postdoctoral Scholar: Asteroid Radar – University of Central Florida
The incumbent will be expected to participate in data analysis, physical and dynamical characterization of near-Earth asteroids using radar and optical data, and support archiving asteroid shape models in the Planetary Data System (PDS). This position is open until filled.
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Send submissions to: Denise Stephens, DPS Secretary, at this address [email protected]
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To unsubscribe from this list please go to https://lists.aas.org/confirm/?u=WumMgxrgIYvmfnfPIPRxfPgLc6qriC4R
Joe Burns (1941-2025)
We share the sad news that Joe Burns recently passed away at the age of 83. Joe was a longtime professor at Cornell University, editor-in-chief of the journal Icarus, and a pioneer in the study of non-gravitational forces in solar system orbital dynamics.
Joe was a longtime citizen of the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy (DDA) and served as the chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) from (1983-84). He was an excellent scientist and also an excellent mentor. He received the Brouwer Award in 2014. He served on the DDA Committee and as DDA Chair (2000–01) and on several other committees. Additionally, five of his students and mentees have served as DDA Chair, and another two have served as DDA Secretary. Further information is in the obituaries linked below.
Newsletter 25-05
Issue 25-05, Mar 12, 2025
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- IN MEMORIAM: JOE A. BURNS, FORMER DPS CHAIR AND DDA CHAIR
- AAS ISSUES PUBLIC POLICY GUIDANCE AND ACTION ALERTS FOR AAS MEMBERS
- PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRE DISASTER
- 2024 DPS PRIZE NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN
- ANNOUNCING THE 2025 DPS-NSBP SPEAKER AWARDEE: PATRICE SMITH, STUDYING THE MOON AT UTSA
- 2025 DPS TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATION FORM IS OPEN
- ADVISEMENT FOR DPS SMALL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GRANT DRAFT
- DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
- 2025 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 18, 2025
- POST-BACCALAUREATE POSITIONS IN ASTROPHYSICS SCIENCE AND SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION DIVISIONS AT NASA/GSFC DUE MARCH 31, 2025
- SAVE THE DATE FOR CHEOPS GUEST OBSERVERS 6TH ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY
- 2025 PLANETARY DEFENSE CONFERENCE (PDC) COMING UP MAY 5-9, 2025
- 2025B NASA IRTF CALL FOR PROPOSALS
- 2025 PI LAUNCHPAD: FROM SCIENCE IDEA TO NASA MISSION IN PERSON WORKSHOP
- PLANETARY RESEARCH: OPEN CALL FOR EDITORS
- SAVE THE DATE: JUICE SCHOOL AT LES HOUCHES, FRANCE
- FIRST SOCIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT: PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY
- CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR ICARUS AND THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL
- JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
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IN MEMORIAM: JOE A. BURNS, FORMER DPS CHAIR AND DDA CHAIR
We share the sad news that Joe Burns recently passed away at the age of 83. Joe was a longtime professor at Cornell University, editor-in-chief of the journal Icarus, and a pioneer in the study of non-gravitational forces in solar system orbital dynamics.
Joe was a longtime citizen of the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy (DDA) and served as the chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) from (1983-84). He was an excellent scientist and also an excellent mentor. He received the Brouwer Award in 2014. He served on the DDA Committee and as DDA Chair (2000–01) and on several other committees. Additionally, five of his students and mentees have served as DDA Chair, and another two have served as DDA Secretary. Further information is in the obituaries linked below.
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AAS ISSUES PUBLIC POLICY GUIDANCE AND ACTION ALERTS FOR AAS MEMBERS
AAS Public Policy staff are closely monitoring the political situation and providing guidance to AAS members on how they can support astronomical science and education. Here are various updates and action items released in the past week.
AAS has updated the community of its alarm regarding rumored deep cuts to NASA and National Science Foundation (7 March). Colin Hamill, AAS Bahcall Public Policy Fellow, writes in his 4 March Policy Update on the state of agency layoffs and related policy news. Register for a webinar on 19 March (1:00–2:00pm ET) to learn about how you can take action to support the astronomical sciences. If you have been impacted (or could be impacted) by federal changes, please share your story with AAS. Take action today to advocate for the astronomical community. Learn how to submit an appropriation request. If you’d like to meet with AAS Policy and Education staff, join our upcoming Office Hours (AAS member login required) on Thursday 13 March, 3-4pm ET.
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PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRE DISASTER
While the fires may be out, our community is still dealing with the devastating aftermath of the destruction caused by the California wildfires. Hundreds of people in the Caltech/JPL community have lost all their possessions and their homes. Many of our colleagues, most especially within the JPL/Caltech/Carnegie communities but also others, live and work in the affected areas and have suffered immensely from the wildfires and lost so much. This includes students, postdocs, researchers, staff members and professors, many with children.
The community response has been amazing so far, but the need is still great. In a spirit of solidarity, may you consider donating to one of the following relief funds to help those in our community who have been impacted by this disaster. Please consider that community support is very helpful to the mental health of those affected as they face the grim task of rebuilding their lives. It continues to be a long road.
Please consider donating if you can to one of these relief funds:
- The Caltech-JPL Community: NASA JPL is untouched by fire due to the brave dedication of our first responders. But that community has been very seriously impacted with over 150 employees having lost their homes and many more displaced. Please consider donating to the Caltech and JPL Disaster Relief Fund. The Caltech and JPL Disaster Relief Fund – Advancement and Alumni Relations
- The Eaton Fire Relief and Recover Fund provides resources to community-based nonprofit agencies in support of families and individuals in Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre directly impacted by the Eaton Fire. https://pasadenacf.org/eaton-fire-fund/
- JPL, ROMAN, and HabWorlds gofundme campaign.. Donate to Support NASA JPL HabWorlds teammates in the Pasadena fires, organized by Jason Tumlinson [gofund.me]
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2024 DPS PRIZE NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN
Every year the DPS recognizes exceptional achievement in our field. Please consider nominating a respected colleague for one of the annual DPS prizes. The 2024 Prize Nominations are due by April 15, 2025.
The DPS sponsors six prizes:
- The Gerard P. Kuiper Prize [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/kuiper] recognizes and honors outstanding contributors to the field of planetary science.
- The Claudia J. Alexander Prize [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/alexander] recognizes excellence and achievements by a mid-career scientist.
- The Harold C. Urey Prize [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/urey] recognizes and encourages outstanding achievements in planetary research by an early-career scientist.
- The Harold Masursky Award [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/masursky] recognizes and honors individuals who have rendered outstanding service to planetary science and exploration through – but not limited to – engineering, managerial, programmatic, editorial, or public service activities.
- The Carl Sagan Medal [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/sagan] recognizes and honors outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public.
- The Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/eberhart] recognizes and stimulates distinguished popular writing on planetary sciences.
DPS members and the planetary science community-at-large are encouraged to submit nominations for DPS prizes.
A complete nomination submitted by the deadline will be considered by the DPS Prize subcommittee for 3 years (i.e. for this year’s award, next year’s award, and the year after that), or for the duration of a candidate’s eligibility, whichever is less. Please fill out the nomination form [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/nomination-form], and it will be submitted to the prize subcommittee. The Eberhart Award has different rules and procedures than the other DPS
Prizes, please see its page [https://dps.aas.org/prizes/eberhart-nomination-form] for more information.
Scroll to the bottom of https://dps.aas.org/prizes for rules and procedures.
Questions: Email [email protected]
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ANNOUNCING THE 2025 DPS-NSBP SPEAKER AWARDEE: PATRICE SMITH, STUDYING THE MOON AT UTSA
We congratulate Patrice Smith as the newest DPS-NSBP Speaker Awardee, which is a part of the DPS partnership with the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)/Earth and Planetary Systems Sciences (EPSS) section, and DPS looks forward to supporting her attendance and presentation at the 2025 DPS-EPSC meeting. Patrice is a PhD student in physics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, working with Dr. Kurt Retherford on compositional analyses of the Moon using far-ultraviolet (FUV) measurements acquired by the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Her work identifies the composition and abundances of atoms and molecules in the tenuous lunar atmosphere, which is needed to characterize the present lunar environment and also to generate key constraints for potential in situ resource utilization. For full details, please see the press release https://dps.aas.org/2025-dps-nsbp-speaker-awardee-patrice-smith/
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2025 DPS TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATION FORM IS OPEN
The DPS Travel Grant application form is open to support participation in the joint meeting of the Europlanet Science Congress and DPS (EPSC-DPS 2025) in Helsinki, Finland 7-12 September 2025, or the National Society of Black Physicists- National Society of Hispanics Physicists annual meeting, via Hartmann and the Under-Represented Minority (URM) Travel grants.
The Hartmann Student Travel Grant supports student presentations at the annual DPS-EPSC meeting. (Postdoctoral scholars may also be eligible, but students are prioritized.)
The Underrepresented Minority (URM) Communities in Planetary Science Travel Grant supports attendance by students and professionals who are members of historically underrepresented groups—such as racial minorities, veterans, and scientists at small colleges—to support in-person or virtual attendance at the joint DPS-EPSC or NSBP-NSHP meeting.
Apply here to both/either type of DPS grant: https://dps.aas.org/news/dps-travel-grants-application/ The deadline is July 3.
Note: Members of Europlanet should apply for Europlanet awards through the abstract submission form.
Community donations are critical for the health of these awards. Instructions to donate are linked at https://dps.aas.org/news/dps-travel-grants-application/
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ADVISEMENT FOR DPS SMALL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GRANT DRAFT
The DPS Committee invites DPS members to apply for DPS Education and Outreach Grants – with a first review on July 1st and a final review on August 1st.
The DPS Committee is offering small grants (average amounts of $200 to $500) to support DPS members to engage in local and virtual education and public engagement activities. These grants are intended to support DPS member efforts to engage other members, students, teachers, and the public and can be used for materials, consumables, equipment but not for salary or travel to DPS meetings. Proposals are being accepted for programs that will occur by June 1, 2026. We encourage creative solutions for engagement efforts that also conform to social-distancing requirements. If you have a question about what is an acceptable cost, please contact the DPS Education Deputy Chair, Sanlyn Buxner, [email protected].
Applications will be accepted in two review cycles – the first deadline is July 1st (11:59pm in proposers’ local time), and awardees will be contacted by July 15th. The second deadline will be August 1st, and awardees will be contacted by August 15th. All proposals will be reviewed by members of the DPS education committee and the executive committee (see rubric below). Awards will be issued as a check mailed to the lead proposer.
Each grant awardee is expected to
- Allow their name, institution, and program description to be posted on the DPS website.
- Share a one-page summary of the event(s) with the DPS that includes at least one visual (you must have permission to have identifiable pictures of others), preferably a picture of you, and a summary of the event and participants. This will be shared on the DPS website.
- Present their program as a talk or poster at the next DPS meeting they attend – please note that there is an additional abstract slot reserved for education and outreach in addition to science talks/posters at the DPS meeting.
Applications should be no more than two pages and include the following:
- Name, title, institution (if applicable), and contact information of the DPS member(s) applying. Emails for all are required, a phone number, and mailing address should be provided for the lead of the mini grant.
- Short – 1 paragraph bios of the individual or team members proposing.
- An overview of the program, including a timeline (subject to change due to ongoing worldwide events), and at least one outcome measure, articulating what the program is intended to achieve (this will be shared on the DPS website).
- A list of any partners (e.g. museum, school), if applicable.
- A budget of what the funding will be used for.
- Identified audience and any arrangements that have been made with that audience or to reach that audience.
- An acknowledgment of the DPS expectations listed above.
- Optional, you may include pictures or other images.
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DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
The Press Officer will serve a three-year term starting at the EPSC-DPS meeting in September 2025 but will start shadowing the current Press Officer imminently. The Press Officer will coordinate the DPS press conferences at the annual meetings as well as prize press releases. Candidates should be a full DPS member as of September 2025. Any questions about the position can be sent to [email protected]
If you’re interested, please send a CV and a brief statement of interest to [email protected]
Officer responsibilities are listed here: https://dps.aas.org/leadership/officer-responsibilities
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2025 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 18, 2025
Now through March 18, 2025, NASA is encouraging applications for its 37th Annual Planetary Science Summer School. Offered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, PSSS is a 3-month long early career development experience to help prepare the next generation of planetary science and engineering mission leaders. Participants learn the process of developing a science hypothesis-driven robotic space mission in a concurrent engineering environment while getting an in-depth, first-hand look at mission design, mission life cycle, costs, schedule and the trade-offs inherent in each.
Applicants with the following education and career experience are eligible: Science and engineering Doctoral candidates (advancement to candidacy required), recent Ph.D.’s (up to three years beyond their Ph.D.), Postdocs, Junior Faculty with a Ph.D., and non-research Engineering Master-level students within six to nine months of graduation will be considered on a space-available basis.
There is no charge to attend. Open to U.S. Citizens and legal permanent residents and a limited number of Foreign Nationals from non-designated countries living within the U.S at the time of application and during the full session. We strive to create a welcoming environment where participants’ contributions and unique perspectives are valued.
Session 1: Preparatory Sessions May 8 – July 24.
Culminating Week with JPL’s Team X July 28 – August 1.
Session 2: Preparatory Sessions May 22 – August 7.
Culminating Week with JPL’s Team X August 11 – 15.
PSSS is roughly equivalent in workload to a rigorous 3-credit graduate-level course, requiring an average effort of 10-12 hours per week. Participants spend the majority of the first 10 weeks in preparatory webinars acting as a science mission team, prior to spending the final culminating week being mentored by JPL’s Advance Project Design Team, or “Team X” to refine their mission concept design, then present it to a mock review board of NASA Center experts.
To apply and learn more about the NASA Science Mission Design Schools:
http://go.nasa.gov/missiondesignschools
Joyce Armijo
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POST-BACCALAUREATE POSITIONS IN ASTROPHYSICS SCIENCE AND SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION DIVISIONS AT NASA/GSFC DUE MARCH 31, 2025
Applications are now being accepted for short-term postbaccalaureate research positions to support the Astrophysics Science and Solar System Exploration Divisions at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD.
The position is funded by the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) through the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology II (CRESST II). The Astrophysics Science Division conducts a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, and fundamental physics. Individual investigations address issues such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which planets outside our solar system may harbor life, and the nature of space, time, and matter at the edges of black holes. The Solar System Exploration Division conducts theoretical and experimental research to explore the solar system and understand the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Laboratories within the division investigate areas as diverse as astrochemistry, planetary atmospheres, geochemistry, geophysics, geodynamics, space geodesy, extrasolar planetary systems, and comparative planetary studies. Positions available within the Astrophysics Science and Solar System Exploration Divisions span a variety of research areas. Successful candidates will be chosen to work on one of the research projects listed here:
To apply, each applicant should submit a cover letter describing personal background and interest in the applicants’ chosen project, Curriculum Vitae, unofficial transcript, and contact information for two references to each project of interest through the CRESST II Breezy application platform. After sponsors review applications, additional support materials may be requested which may include a work sample in the form of a report, poster, journal article, writing sample, or coding examples.
The deadline to apply is Monday, March 31st, 2025, at 11:59pm EDT.
More information on the CRESST-II Post-bac Program can be found here: https://cresst2.umd.edu/opportunities/Postbac_program_Opp.html
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SAVE THE DATE FOR CHEOPS GUEST OBSERVERS 6TH ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY
The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS) mission foresees its 6th Announcement of Opportunity (AO-6). This Call will invite the submission of research proposals to the Guest Observers (GO) Programme.
Key Dates: The AO-6 Call is foreseen to open on the 18th of March 2025 (12:00 CET) and close on the 8 May 2025 (12:00 CEST).
Observing Cycle: 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.
Collaborative Synergies: The timely overlap of several space- and ground-based missions may provide exciting opportunities for synergies with NASA/ESA/CSA JWST, NASA/ESA HST, NASA TESS, ESO ground-based facilities, and 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 peer-review of proposals
- Zero-installation tools: cloud-based visibility and ETC web tools
Live hands-on tutorials: We foresee to run hands-on tutorials in March and April 2025 at various time-zones to guide you through the proposal preparation and submission process and answer all your questions. Please register at the link below if you would like to attend or watch the recordings:
Find out more about the CHEOPS mission via https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/cheops, stay up-to-date about this opportunity via https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/cheops-guest-observers-programme, and feel free to email us with any questions. We look forward to receiving your observing proposals and advancing our understanding of exoplanetary and stellar systems.
Happy proposing!
Contact: [email protected]
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2025 PLANETARY DEFENSE CONFERENCE (PDC) COMING UP MAY 5-9, 2025
The International Academy of Astronautics will hold its 9th Planetary Defense Conference (PDC) May 5–9, 2025 in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. The bi-annual conference brings together world experts to discuss the threats to Earth posed by asteroids and comets, and actions that might be taken to become better prepared to respond to and mitigate those threats. For more information and to register, please visit: https://iaaspace.org/event/9th-iaa-planetary-defense-conference-2025/
Conference topics will include:
- Ongoing and Upcoming Mission Highlights
- Hypothetical Asteroid Threat Exercise
- Key International and Policy Developments
- Near-Earth Object (NEO) Discovery
- Near-Earth Object (NEO) Characterization
- Deflection / Disruption Modeling & Testing
- Space Mission & Campaign Design
- Impact Effects & Consequences
- Disaster Management & Impact Response
- Public Education and Communication
- The Decision to Act: Political, Legal, Social and Economic Aspects
A hypothetical asteroid impact threat scenario will also be exercised at the conference:
https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/pd/cs/pdc25
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2025B NASA IRTF CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The due date for the 2025B semester IRTF proposals (August 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026) is Tuesday, April 1, 2025. See our online submission form Submitting the Observing Time Application Form to the IRTF, which is available for proposal submission from 12:00 AM on March 01, 2025 until 5:00 PM on April 01, 2025 HST. Available instruments include: (1) SpeX, a 0.7 – 5.3 micron cross-dispersed medium-resolution spectrograph (up to R=2,500) and imager; (2) MORIS, a 512×512 pixel Andor CCD camera (60″x60″ field-of-view) mounted at the side-facing window of the SpeX cryostat that can be used simultaneously with SpeX; (3) iSHELL, a 1.06 – 5.3 micron cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph (up to R=80,000) and imager; (4) MIRSI/MOC, a 5-20 micron camera and grism spectrograph, and optical imager; (5) ‘Opihi, a wide-angle finder mounted to and aligned with IRTF. Information on available facility and visitor instruments and performance can be found at: https://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/instruments. Exposure time calculators for SpeX and iSHELL are available on the respective instrument webpages.
Please see https://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/observing/callforproposals/index.php for the full text.
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2025 PI LAUNCHPAD: FROM SCIENCE IDEA TO NASA MISSION IN PERSON WORKSHOP
Important Dates:
Applications due: April 7, 2025 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application Instructions and Submission URL: https://go.nasa.gov/ApplyPILP25
Application Number: NNH25ZDA009L
Pre-application Virtual Information Session: February 20, 2025 2 PM Eastern Time
Workshop Dates: August 11-14, 2025
Workshop Location: Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
Are you thinking about developing your first flight mission proposal in the next few years but have no idea where to start? Are you working or studying in any NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) discipline? If you are a scientist who would like to submit a NASA space mission proposal in the next few years but don’t know where to start, this August workshop is for you! We are interested in expanding the pool of potential NASA space mission Principal Investigators (PIs). There is no fee to attend the in-person workshop.
PI Launchpad applications and instructions on eligibility and how to apply are available on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) https://nspires.nasaprs.com. All applications must be submitted via NSPIRES. To submit an application, an NSPIRES account is required. To create an NSPIRES account, visit https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/registration/createuser!init.do.
Please email questions to the 2025 NASA PI Launch Pad Organizers at this shared address [email protected]. Do NOT submit ANY applications or other attachments to this email address. Emails with attachments will be deleted.
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PLANETARY RESEARCH: OPEN CALL FOR EDITORS
Planetary Research is a diamond open access journal that is being developed by the planetary science community. The journal will have no article processing fees for authors and all articles will be free to access without a subscription. The journal, run as part of a non-profit organization, will operate with a transparent governance and will promote the work it publishes to the scientific community and the general public alike. Manuscript submissions are expected to open in January 2026.
The journal seeks candidates for the editorial board, including the editor-in-chief, editors, and associate editors. Interested candidates should provide a CV, a publication list, and a short letter motivating their interest in the position to the chair of the search committee ([email protected]) before July 1, 2025. Additional information about the journal and the open positions can be found on our website : https://planetary-research.org/.
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SAVE THE DATE: JUICE SCHOOL AT LES HOUCHES, FRANCE
This school is targeted (but not limited) to early career scientists. It will cover the main science topics of the JUICE mission with the goal to best prepare the future exploitation and interpretation of its data. Key topics include Jupiter, its atmosphere and magnetosphere, the icy Galilean moons (with an emphasis on Ganymede), minor moons and the dust and ring system. Ground- and space- based observations recently obtained on the Jupiter system, as well as links with exoplanet science, will also be presented. The format of the school includes tutorials, seminar-like presentations, inspirational evening talks, a poster session, a workshop on science planning and archive, and a roundtable on future missions to outer planets. Deadline for
registration and request for grants: August 15, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
https://www.houches-school-physics.com/the-school
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
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FIRST SOCIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT: PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY
The “Progress in Understanding the Pluto System: 10 Years after Flyby” meeting will be held July 14–18, 2025 at the Kossiakoff Conference Center of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
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 made since then using New Horizons and all other data (ground-based, JWST, HST, etc.), as well as theory and modeling regarding all aspects of the Pluto system and the dwarf planets of the Kuiper Belt. Session topics will 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.
To be added to the mailing list to receive information about this meeting, submit an indication of interest at https://www.hou.usra.edu/meeting_portal/) by Wednesday February 19th. Registration and abstract submission will open on Thursday February 20th. The deadline for abstract submission is Friday April 18th.
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CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR ICARUS AND THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL
The current issues for both DPS-affiliated journals are here:
Icarus:
Icarus | Vol 429, In progress (15 March 2025) | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
The Planetary Science Journal:
Issue 3 – Volume 6 – The Planetary Science Journal – IOPscience
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JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to browse DPS’s job listings and advertise open positions **for free** on the DPS job board.
Full details for several new positions can be found on the DPS job board.
A summary of recent job announcements and postdoc opportunities are listed below.
- ESA Archival Research Visitor Programme – Due Apr 30, 2025
To increase the scientific return from its space science missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) welcomes applications from scientists interested in pursuing research projects based on data publicly available in the ESA Space Science Archives (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/esdc).
The ESA Archival Research Visitor Programme is open to scientists, at all career levels, affiliated with institutes in ESA Member States and Collaborating States, although we will also consider strong applications from outside those states. Early-career scientists (within 10 years of the PhD) and PhD students are particularly encouraged to apply. We encourage applications from women and minorities. The peer-review evaluation process is anonymised to ensure equal opportunities for all applicants.
Applications received before 1 May 2025 will be considered for visits in autumn and winter 2025/2026.
For further details, including areas of research and contact information, please refer to:
https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/esdc/visitor-programme or write to the programme coordinators at [email protected]
- Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor Survey Scientist – Due Mar 29, 2025
NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is a planned mission (launch: September 2027) with a goal of finding, identifying, and characterizing potentially hazardous asteroids in our Solar System. The Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences is an academic unit within the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences.
The NEO Surveyor survey scientist’s high-level responsibilities include:
- Assist the Principal Investigator and Science Team in developing the NEO Surveyor survey plan, which determines where the Observatory points as a function of time.
- Interface with the NEO Surveyor Science Data System (NSDS) archive to access NEO Surveyor image and catalog data, and work with the NSDS team to maximize the ability to link individual NEO Surveyor detections of small body candidates.
- Interface with the NEO Surveyor mission system team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Physics (LASP), and ensure that the teams at JPL and LASP produce uplink sequences that match the desired survey plan.
- Interface with the Minor Planet Center to ensure that the survey plan produces the best possible orbits for small body candidates detected by NEO Surveyor.
More information on the position, including qualifications, compensation range, benefits and how to apply are provided in the full position description: https://jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/6856
- Postdoctoral Research Associate: (Exo)planetary Atmospheres – University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Laboratory – Due Mar 24, 2025
The Lunar & Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona has an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate I in the field of modeling of planetary atmospheres. Research areas of interest include atmospheric escape from rocky planets, chemical kinetics of early Earth, Venus, Mars, and analogous exoplanets, and interior-atmosphere interactions on rocky worlds; candidates are encouraged to reach out to Prof. Ranjan in advance of their application to cooperatively identify specific research topics of mutual interest. Applicants should have previous experience modeling the atmospheres of planets or exoplanets, although a variety of backgrounds may be relevant. Candidates with expertise in 1D hydrodynamic escape of rocky planet atmospheres are especially encouraged to apply. The position is for a period of up to three years, renewable annually contingent on satisfactory performance reviews.
Position is opened until filled, and first review of applications will begin 03/24/2025. UA LPL is a world-class department and a very stimulating environment. We have strong connections to missions and the next generation of telescopes, as well as to our colleagues in Astronomy and Geoscience. Tucson is a great place to live, with excellent hiking, great food, and a low cost of living. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Prof. Ranjan with any questions!
Link to position description and application: https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/21927
- Supervisors, Astrobiology Section and Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section, JHUAPL
The Small Bodies and Ocean Worlds group in the Space Exploration Sector of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) seeks supervisors for its Astrobiology Section and its Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section. The Astrobiology Section focuses on potentially habitable environments beyond Earth, laboratory studies of Earth analogs, development of instrumentation for detection of extraterrestrial biosignatures, and missions including Europa Clipper and Dragonfly that investigate environments of astrobiological interest. The Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section focuses on the chemistry, physics, and geology of rocky small bodies, physical processes that affect their surfaces, development of spaceflight instrumentation to study them, and the study of meteorites that sample them.
The desired candidates will have: a doctorate in a physical or biological science relevant to the work in their section; an accomplished research program; excellent people skills; and excellent written and oral communications skills. They will be expected to provide leadership and mentorship to the half-dozen members of the section, and participate in a variety of strategic efforts. The positions will be open until filled, and first review of applications will be completed by March 24, 2025.
Applications for the Astrobiology Section may be submitted at https://careers.jhuapl.edu/jobs/56619?lang=en-us and for the Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section at https://careers.jhuapl.edu/jobs/56655?lang=en-us
- Senior Application Developer Caltech/IPAC – Application Deadline Mar 31, 2025
PAC at Caltech has an opening for a Senior Applications Developer with a strong background in Unix software development to lead the Data Systems development team at the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). As lead of IRSA’s Data Systems Team, you will manage the activities of a group of IRSA scientists and developers who share the overarching goal of supporting community science with archival IRSA and other NASA data sets. Your development work may involve processing astrophysics space mission data, containerization & cloud technologies, large scale databases, and petabyte-scale storage. You will also work with scientists and other developers to help interpret and implement project requirements and document the work that you’ve accomplished.
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/senior-application-developer/
- Full-time staff scientist to work with Roman team at IPAC
IPAC, part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech, provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to enhance discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. IPAC invites applications from highly qualified individuals for a full-time position at the junior scientist level to work with the Roman team at IPAC.
The Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to address key questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. It is slated for launch in late 2026. The Roman Science Support Center (SSC) at IPAC is part of the Roman Ground Data System, providing algorithm and software development and data processing for the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey and all Roman spectroscopic data. In addition, the SSC will support the operations of the Coronagraph Instrument, manage the Roman General Investigator Program proposal solicitations and related data analysis funding, and provide community support for exoplanet and wide-field spectroscopy science with Roman.
For more details, see: https://roman.ipac.caltech.edu
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/7526/
- Postdoctoral Scholar: Asteroid Radar – University of Central Florida
The incumbent will be expected to participate in data analysis, physical and dynamical characterization of near-Earth asteroids using radar and optical data, and support archiving asteroid shape models in the Planetary Data System (PDS). This position is open until filled.
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Send submissions to: Denise Stephens, DPS Secretary, at this address [email protected]
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To unsubscribe from this list please go to https://lists.aas.org/confirm/?u=WumMgxrgIYvmfnfPIPRxfPgLc6qriC4R
PATRICE SMITH IS THE 2025 DPS-NSBP SPEAKER AWARDEE
Within the partnership between The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American
Astronomical Society (AAS) and the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), Earth and
Planetary Systems Sciences (EPSS) section, we recognize Patrice Smith as the newest DPS-NSBP
Speaker Awardee. Patrice is a PhD student in physics at the University of Texas at San Antonio,
specializing in space physics and instrumentation. She is currently working with Dr. Kurt Retherford
on compositional analyses of the Moon using far-ultraviolet (FUV) measurements acquired by the
Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
Patrice Smith’s award-winning talk at the NSBP Fall 2024 meeting, entitled “FUV Measurements of
the Lunar Exosphere Composition with LRO-LAMP,” described work to identify the composition
and abundances of atoms and molecules in the tenuous lunar atmosphere. Such work is needed to
characterize the present lunar environment, and also to generate key constraints for potential in situ
resource utilization that would enable future sustainable exploration of the Moon by landers and
humans.
The DPS partnership with NSBP was established to jointly represent the interests of planetary
scientists and students who identify as members of communities that are critically underrepresented
in this discipline. More information on the structure of this partnership can be found here:
https://dps.aas.org/leadership/nsbp_parnership and donations supporting associated travel grants can
be submitted here: https://dps.aas.org/Inclusivity/support-underrepresented-minority-communities-
planetary-science.
Within this DPS-NSBP partnership, the top early career EPSS speaker is selected by the NSBP EPSS
chairs, based on their presentation on planetary science research at the annual NSBP meeting, as the DPS-NSBP Speaker awardee. This Speaker is invited by DPS to speak at the following year’s DPS
meeting, with expenses covered by the DPS.
DPS is thrilled to invite Patrice Smith to speak at the 2025 DPS meeting, which will be hosted jointly
with the European Planetary Science Conference (EPSC) and held in Helsinki, Finland in September.
Patrice says that “attending the AAS-DPS 2025 meeting will provide a valuable opportunity to gather
productive feedback on my work as it develops. Given that it will be a joint EPSC year, I am
particularly excited about the potential for strong overlap and fostering collaboration with other
European labs whose research aligns closely with mine.”
Contacts:
Dr. Athena Coustenis, DPS Chair [email protected]
Dr. Theodore Kareta, DPS Press Officer [email protected]
More information about DPS: https://dps.aas.org/
More information about the DPS-EPSC 2025 meeting: https://dps.aas.org/meetings/future
More information about NSBP: https://nsbp.org/
The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS), founded in 1968, is the largest special-interest Division
of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Members of the DPS study the bodies of our own
solar system, from planets and moons to comets and asteroids, and all other solar-system objects and
processes. With the discovery that planets exist around other stars, the DPS has expanded its scope to
include the study of extrasolar planetary systems as well.
The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899, is the major organization of
professional astronomers in North America. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share
humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical
community, which it achieves through publishing, meeting organization, science advocacy, education
and outreach, and training and professional development.
AAS MESSAGE- TAKE ACTION NOW TO SUPPORT ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS
“Over the last several weeks, at AAS we have seen significant threats to funding and agency programs that are essential to the astronomical sciences. We need your voice to urge Congress to support robust, uninterrupted funding to enable world-leading science through NASA, NSF, and the DOE Office of Science. Every voice counts.”
“Supporting a talented workforce and a range of scientific endeavors is critical for achieving scientific excellence. Right now, the United States’ global leadership in the sciences is at stake. Our research, missions, and facilities operate on long-term, stable investments, and disruptions will lead to setbacks that will take years to recover from. We need to act now to protect our scientific agencies from severe budget cuts and the cessation of critical programs.”
https://aas.org/advocacy/get-involved/action-alerts/action-alert-2025-support-science
“We have provided an example phone and email script to help you craft your message. The most effective action would be to both email and call your representatives, but if you can only do one, a phone call is more likely to have an immediate impact. Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions before reaching out to your representatives. Please note that any messages with crude or inflammatory language will not be passed on.”
“Thank you for advocating for your research and for the US astronomical community.”
Travel Grant Form Test
Newsletter 25-04
Issue 25-04, Feb 24, 2025
+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+
- AAS MESSAGE- TAKE ACTION NOW TO SUPPORT ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS
- RENEW YOUR AAS AND DPS MEMBERSHIP
- STAND UP FOR SCIENCE 2025 ANNOUNCES NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
- CHOIR MUTUAL AID FOR ASTROPHYSICS & SPACE SCIENCES
- AAS POLICY AND EDUCATION OFFICE HOURS
- EPSC-DPS JOINT MEETING 2025 CALL-FOR-SESSIONS
- DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS WEBMASTER & PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
- AOGS SESSION PS18: PLANETARY DATA IN THE BIG DATA ERA – ARCHIVES, TOOLS, AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
- ICDSS2025 SPECIAL SESSION: APOPHIS 2029
- STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT FOR 8TH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY DUNES WORKSHOP
- APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR INAUGURAL CLASS OF B4PHD SCHOLARS
- 2025 PI LAUNCHPAD: FROM SCIENCE IDEA TO NASA MISSION IN PERSON WORKSHOP
- PLANETARY RINGS WORKSHOP SERIES KICKOFF FEBRUARY 28TH
- NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR
- TWO UPCOMING EUROPLANET WEBINARS
- SAVE THE DATE: JUICE SCHOOL AT LES HOUCHES, FRANCE
- 2025 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 18, 2025
- SCHWEICKART PRIZE: NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
- FIRST SOCIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT: PROCESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY
- SUPERCAM MARS DATA WORKSHOP TUESDAY, MARCH 11 AT LPSC 2025
- CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL AND ICARUS
- JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
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AAS MESSAGE- TAKE ACTION NOW TO SUPPORT ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS
Following up on the DPS statement posted in our previous newsletter, we would like to bring to your attention the following message from the AAS.
“Over the last several weeks, at AAS we have seen significant threats to funding and agency programs that are essential to the astronomical sciences. We need your voice to urge Congress to support robust, uninterrupted funding to enable world-leading science through NASA, NSF, and the DOE Office of Science. Every voice counts.”
“Supporting a talented workforce and a range of scientific endeavors is critical for achieving scientific excellence. Right now, the United States’ global leadership in the sciences is at stake. Our research, missions, and facilities operate on long-term, stable investments, and disruptions will lead to setbacks that will take years to recover from. We need to act now to protect our scientific agencies from severe budget cuts and the cessation of critical programs.”
https://aas.org/advocacy/get-involved/action-alerts/action-alert-2025-support-science
“We have provided an example phone and email script to help you craft your message. The most effective action would be to both email and call your representatives, but if you can only do one, a phone call is more likely to have an immediate impact. Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions before reaching out to your representatives. Please note that any messages with crude or inflammatory language will not be passed on.”
“Thank you for advocating for your research and for the US astronomical community.”
Message transmitted by the AAS
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RENEW YOUR AAS AND DPS MEMBERSHIP
The DPS committee and the AAS staff and community thank you for being an AAS/DPS member last year. For those who have not yet renewed for 2025, it’s not too late!
If you are unsure of your membership status, it’s easy to check. Go to my.aas.org and log in with your AAS username and password. Look for the framed Profile-at-a-Glance section on the right and confirm the Paid through date. If it’s 31 December 2024 or earlier, it’s time to renew.
If you have questions about your benefits or need assistance with your login or renewal, please email the membership team or call (202) 328-2010 x109. You can also send an e-mail to dpssec.org
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STAND UP FOR SCIENCE 2025 ANNOUNCES NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
WHAT: A rally to defend science as a public good and central pillar of social progress.
WHY: Science is for everyone–and benefits everyone. When the federal government supports
scientific research through taxpayer funding, it fuels innovation, creates jobs, and sustains the
world we live in. From purified water to the polio vaccine to the cell phone you might be reading
this on, science has significantly impacted our lives in countless ways.
We’re mobilizing to keep science free from interference and censorship by government officials.
We’re also mobilizing because attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are attacks on
science, and vice versa. Science is at its best when it includes everyone and when it stands to
improve people’s lives.
It’s time–as ever–to stand up for science, for everyone who does it, and for everyone who
benefits from it.
–
WHO: Everyone! If your life is better because of science, this rally is for you.
WHERE: Washington, DC & state capitals nationwide
WHEN: March 7, 2025
–
Forthcoming details about local rallies: www.standupforscience2025.org
Press contact: [email protected]
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CHOIR MUTUAL AID FOR ASTROPHYSICS & SPACE SCIENCES
In direct response to the federal funding freeze outlined by OMB Memorandum M-25-13 and any ensuing directives imposed by the current administration which may prove harmful to our space sciences community, the choir collaboration is establishing a mutual aid program to offer financial assistance to those who are negatively impacted. Many of our colleagues in physics, astronomy, and planetary sciences may find themselves without a paycheck due to these orders.
To stand with our community in physics, astronomy, and planetary science currently affected by federal grant funding freezes and cancellations (e.g., the NSF funding freeze), we with support from Black In Astro, the Astro Poverty Survey, and Movement Consulting have organized a mutual aid initiative for our colleagues. Please join us in supporting our community by giving aid, or requesting aid.
https://www.choircollaboration.com/mutual-aid
Thank you for joining us in solidarity, hope, and building a community of care.
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AAS POLICY AND EDUCATION OFFICE HOURS
As the landscape for our field continues to evolve, the AAS Public Policy and Education staff will be making themselves available for discussions and to provide information as they are able through regular “office hours.” This page will be updated regularly with information about office hours over the next few weeks.
Optional RSVP (which will allow us to send you a calendar invitation): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdC49eYPPlGsX3ibyv-0q1I8b6hRBS5hvS2fNvK4VKoIE2zMw/viewform?usp=header
Current Office Hours Schedule:
Friday, 21 February: 3-4 pm ET (zoom)
Tuesday, 25 February: 10:30-11:30 am ET (zoom)
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EPSC-DPS JOINT MEETING 2025 CALL-FOR-SESSIONS
Dear colleagues,
The EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025 will be held at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland on 7–12 September 2025.
The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet community, which invites contributions from planetary scientists from all over the world. First held in Berlin in 2006 and regularly attracting 1,200 participants, EPSC is the largest planetary science meeting held in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops, and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences. In 2011 EPSC joined forces for the first time with the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) and they held their first joint meeting in Nantes, France. The intent of the joint meetings is not only to connect the European and US planetary science communities, but also to consolidate two major meetings, which should motivate planetary scientists from all over the globe to attend. This year will mark the third iteration of a joint Europe-based meeting. Given the record number of participants at the last two EPSCs we expect to exceed 2000 participants this year.
The success of our meetings is founded on the excellence of the scientific sessions held by the session conveners. We therefore encourage you to submit session proposals through the conference website by 5 March 2025.
For more information please see:
https://www.epsc-dps2025.eu/information/call-for-sessions.html
To suggest a session go to:
https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2025/provisionalprogramme
Looking forward to a great joint meeting this year in Helsinki !
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DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS WEBMASTER & PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
The Press Officer will serve a three-year term starting at the EPSC-DPS meeting in September 2025 but will start shadowing the current Press Officer imminently. The Press Officer will coordinate the DPS press conferences at the annual meetings as well as prize press releases. Candidates should be a full DPS member as of September 2025. Any questions about the position can be sent to [email protected]
Likewise, the Webmaster will serve a three-year term starting at the EPSC-DPS meeting in September 2025. The new Webmaster will start shadowing the current Webmaster imminently as well. Candidates for Webmaster are not required to hold DPS membership, and the term is generally three years. Any questions about the position can be sent to [email protected].
If you’re interested in either position, please send a CV and a brief statement of interest to [email protected]
Officer responsibilities are listed here: https://dps.aas.org/leadership/officer-responsibilities
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AOGS SESSION PS18: PLANETARY DATA IN THE BIG DATA ERA – ARCHIVES, TOOLS, AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Abstract deadline extended to February 28, 2025
This session is about planetary data science, including archiving standards, organizations, data services and accessibilities, indexing and searching, data mining, and applications of big data technology and AI. Enormous volumes of data are being generated daily in planetary science. Data technologies are playing more and more important roles in planetary research, especially in the big data era. Long-term preservation and sharing of planetary data are essential for the research. Several data archiving organizations are providing archiving to a broad variety of data. Standards are being revised, archive organization and services are being improved, and international collaborations are becoming more essential. The goal of this session is to provide a forum to present and discuss the new developments in the related activities, technologies, and concepts related to planetary science data to facilitate effective and efficient planetary data archiving and sharing around the globe in the future. We welcome abstracts on any data-related topics.
Conveners: Jian-Yang Li (Sun Yat-sen University, China), Ludmilla Kolokolova (University of Maryland College Park, USA), Mark Bentley (ESA), Yukio Yamamoto (JAXA), Young-Jun Choi (KASI)
https://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2025/public.asp?page=submissions.asp
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ICDSS2025 SPECIAL SESSION: APOPHIS 2029
Abstract deadline: March 3, 2025
The 2025 International Conference of Deep Space Sciences (ICDSS2025) will be held in Hefei, China, from April 7 to 11. This conference brings scientists worldwide to discuss new developments in deep space sciences. Specifically, we are organizing a special session focused on the Apophis 2029 encounter. The session will feature a one-hour online dialogue with the Apophis T-4 Years Workshop to share insights, pose questions, and raise points for discussions from both meetings. We welcome abstracts in all aspects related to the Apophis 2029 encounter opportunity, including science mission concepts, engineering development, ground- and space-based observations, studies of the changes on the asteroid, possible interaction with near-Earth space such as magnetosphere, implications for planetary defense, related international collaborations, and the related public and educational activities, etc.
Conveners: Jian-Yang Li (Sun Yat-sen University, China), Gonzalo Tancredi (University of the Republic, Uruguay), Yang Yu (Behang University, China)
Conference website: https://planet.ustc.edu.cn/icdss2025
Abstract submission: https://planet.ustc.edu.cn/icdss2025/abstract_submission/
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STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT FOR 8TH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY DUNES WORKSHOP
The Mars Exploration Program Office is offering funds for student travel grants for the 8th International Planetary Dunes Workshop, which will be held May 19–22, 2025 in Alghero, Sardinia, Italy: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/dunes2025/.
Eligible candidates must be a student and U.S. citizen or legal resident (e.g. attending a US institution on valid visa). They also must submit a first-author abstract for presentation at the conference. Abstracts are due March 5, and the deadline for the travel grant application is March 7, 2025: https://forms.gle/Bv8dL3Jxm95xc2rKA. Interested students with questions are encouraged to contact Dr. Serina Diniega (Mars Exploration Program Office) at [email protected].
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APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR INAUGURAL CLASS OF B4PHD SCHOLARS
If you work with undergraduate students who are thinking about graduate school in the sciences (including planetary science, astronomy, and the Earth sciences), please consider passing along the link below about Purdue’s new B4PhD (“Bridge for Pursuing Higher Degrees”) Program!
Applications for our inaugural class of B4PhD Scholars are due February 28th.
The program will include exclusive mentoring with current Purdue graduate students, who will help demystify what graduate school is all about. B4PhD Scholars will also be able to participate in an optional “Mentor Meet-and-Match” activity for them to meet with Purdue faculty whose research interests overlap with theirs.
For more information and link to application: https://purduesci.com/b4phd
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2025 PI LAUNCHPAD: FROM SCIENCE IDEA TO NASA MISSION IN PERSON WORKSHOP
Important Dates:
Applications due: April 7, 2025 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application Instructions and Submission URL: https://go.nasa.gov/ApplyPILP25
Application Number: NNH25ZDA009L
Pre-application Virtual Information Session: February 20, 2025 2 PM Eastern Time
Workshop Dates: August 11-14, 2025
Workshop Location: Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
Are you thinking about developing your first flight mission proposal in the next few years but have no idea where to start? Are you working or studying in any NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) discipline? If you are a scientist who would like to submit a NASA space mission proposal in the next few years but don’t know where to start, this August workshop is for you! We are interested in expanding the pool of potential NASA space mission Principal Investigators (PIs). There is no fee to attend the in-person workshop.
PI Launchpad applications and instructions on eligibility and how to apply are available on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) https://nspires.nasaprs.com. All applications must be submitted via NSPIRES. To submit an application, an NSPIRES account is required. To create an NSPIRES account, visit https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/registration/createuser!init.do.
Please email questions to the 2025 NASA PI Launch Pad Organizers at this shared address [email protected]. Do NOT submit ANY applications or other attachments to this email address. Emails with attachments will be deleted.
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PLANETARY RINGS WORKSHOP SERIES KICKOFF FEBRUARY 28TH
Join us for an open Planetary Rings Workshop series, which will kickoff with a virtual meeting on Feb 28th at 1:30 pm ET, 12:30 pm CT, 11:30 am MT, 10:30 am PT.
The goals of the workshops series include: (1) Identifying, defining, and capturing in documents the key science questions about planetary ring-moon systems; (2) defining the types of observations that would be most beneficial to address key ring-moon science questions in missions, including Uranus Orbiter Probe; and (3) discussions on current and future research/opportunities to study planetary rings.
For questions, email Matt Hedman ([email protected]) and Tracy Becker ([email protected]).
Connection Information:
Topic: Rings/Moons Kickoff tag-up
Time: Feb 28, 2025 10:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uidaho.zoom.us/j/81378014546
Meeting ID: 813 7801 4546
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NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR
Join us on 27 February 2025, 2:30-3pm EST (11:30-12 PST,12:30-1pm MST,1:30-2pm CST)
New Horizons continues its operation, now at 61au from the Sun. Since 2015 it has made ground-breaking discoveries of the Pluto-Charon system, flown past the small contact KBO binary Arrokoth and collected phase and light curve data for some three dozen additional KBOs and the ice giants. It has also been sampling dust density throughout the solar system and studying the cosmic optical background. To raise awareness of New Horizon’s scientific impact we are beginning a new spotlight seminar series (30 min, fourth week each month) which we invite you to attend online, or watch recorded at your convenience.
Our speaker will be Tod Lauer of NOIRLab and he will be speaking on: “A Demonstration of Interstellar Navigation Using new Horizons”
Connection Link:
https://zoom.us/j/97317697636?pwd=MTAzMjJmNThTeFppR3JoYzlkUXVCQT09
Meeting ID: 973 1769 7636
Calendar for future seminars:
Recordings are archived and posted at:
https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/index.php#Spotlight-Presentations
For questions, contact New Horizons CoI Susan Benecchi, [email protected]
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TWO UPCOMING EUROPLANET WEBINARS
Join the two upcoming Europlanet webinars:
Studying Jupiter with JUICE-MAJIS and ground-based professional & amateur instrumentation.
Speakers Davide Grassi (INAF, Italy), Patrick Irwin (Univ. of Oxford, UK) and Steven Hill (independent researcher, USA). 28 February 2025 at 14:30 UTC
Detailed description and registration:
Open Planetary Science.
Speakers Alessandro Frigeri (INAF, Italy), Nicolas Manaud (SpaceFrog, France) and Mark Wieczorek (OCA, Nice, France) 4 March 2025 at 13:00 UTC
Detailed description and registration:
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SAVE THE DATE: JUICE SCHOOL AT LES HOUCHES, FRANCE
This school is targeted (but not limited) to early career scientists. It will cover the main science topics of the JUICE mission with the goal to best prepare the future exploitation and interpretation of its data. Key topics include Jupiter, its atmosphere and magnetosphere, the icy Galilean moons (with an emphasis on Ganymede), minor moons and the dust and ring system. Ground- and space- based observations recently obtained on the Jupiter system, as well as links with exoplanet science, will also be presented. The format of the school includes tutorials, seminar-like presentations, inspirational evening talks, a poster session, a workshop on science planning and archive, and a roundtable on future missions to outer planets. Deadline for
registration and request for grants: August 15, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
https://www.houches-school-physics.com/the-school
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
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2025 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 18, 2025
Now through March 18, 2025, NASA is encouraging applications for its 37th Annual Planetary Science Summer School. Offered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, PSSS is a 3-month long early career development experience to help prepare the next generation of planetary science and engineering mission leaders. Participants learn the process of developing a science hypothesis-driven robotic space mission in a concurrent engineering environment while getting an in-depth, first-hand look at mission design, mission life cycle, costs, schedule and the trade-offs inherent in each.
Applicants with the following education and career experience are eligible: Science and engineering Doctoral candidates (advancement to candidacy required), recent Ph.D.’s (up to three years beyond their Ph.D.), Postdocs, Junior Faculty with a Ph.D., and non-research Engineering Master-level students within six to nine months of graduation will be considered on a space-available basis.
There is no charge to attend. Open to U.S. Citizens and legal permanent residents and a limited number of Foreign Nationals from non-designated countries living within the U.S at the time of application and during the full session. We strive to create a welcoming environment where participants’ contributions and unique perspectives are valued.
Session 1: Preparatory Sessions May 8 – July 24.
Culminating Week with JPL’s Team X July 28 – August 1.
Session 2: Preparatory Sessions May 22 – August 7.
Culminating Week with JPL’s Team X August 11 – 15.
PSSS is roughly equivalent in workload to a rigorous 3-credit graduate-level course, requiring an average effort of 10-12 hours per week. Participants spend the majority of the first 10 weeks in preparatory webinars acting as a science mission team, prior to spending the final culminating week being mentored by JPL’s Advance Project Design Team, or “Team X” to refine their mission concept design, then present it to a mock review board of NASA Center experts.
To apply and learn more about the NASA Science Mission Design Schools:
http://go.nasa.gov/missiondesignschools
Joyce Armijo
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SCHWEICKART PRIZE: NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Are you a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow with bold ideas for planetary defense? The Schweickart Prize invites you to submit an innovative proposal for tackling challenges like asteroid detection, impact mitigation, space law, or public education.
The winner will be granted a cash prize of $10k USD, receive an award, be given public exposure through a press campaign, and receive mentorship by the Prize Selection Committee, including Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart.
The application submission deadline is Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 11:59 PM PST
Interested students are encouraged to watch our student Q&A webinars to get more information and first hand insights from the 2024 Prize Winner to the application process. Watch here: https://bit.ly/3CDi9zU
For further details, visit the official Schweickart Prize website: https://www.schweickartprize.org/for-students
Sign up for the newsletter: https://bit.ly/3PKJvqJ
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Best Regards,
Schweickart Prize Committee
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FIRST SOCIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT: PROCESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY
The “Progress in Understanding the Pluto System: 10 Years after Flyby” meeting will be held July 14–18, 2025 at the Kossiakoff Conference Center of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
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 made since then using New Horizons and all other data (ground-based, JWST, HST, etc.), as well as theory and modeling regarding all aspects of the Pluto system and the dwarf planets of the Kuiper Belt. Session topics will 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.
To be added to the mailing list to receive information about this meeting, submit an indication of interest at https://www.hou.usra.edu/meeting_portal/) by Wednesday February 19th. Registration and abstract submission will open on Thursday February 20th. The deadline for abstract submission is Friday April 18th.
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SUPERCAM MARS DATA WORKSHOP TUESDAY, MARCH 11 AT LPSC 2025
The Perseverance/SuperCam instrument team will host a data user workshop at the Lunar & Planetary Science Conference. It will be at 5:00-6:45 pm Tuesday, 3/11 in the Indian Springs room of the Woodlands Marriott Waterway Conference Center. The workshop is for people
outside of the team who are interested in using the publicly available data and/or collaborating with others on the data. Data sets include visible & near infrared (VISIR) passive spectroscopy, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and derived elemental chemistry, time-resolved remote Raman and luminescence spectroscopy, acoustic data from the microphone, and imaging. The day of the week and time of the workshop will be posted in early 2025. The SuperCam team has collected nearly four years of data from hundreds of targets in Jezero
crater on Mars, and it is available at:
https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/mars2020/supercam.htm
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CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL AND ICARUS
The current issues for both DPS-affiliated journals are here:
The Planetary Science Journal:
https://iopscience.iop.org/issue/2632-3338/6/2
Icarus:
Icarus | Vol 428, In progress (1 March 2025) | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
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JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to browse DPS’s job listings and advertise open positions **for free** on the DPS job board.
Full details for several new positions can be found on the DPS job board.
A summary of recent job announcements and postdoc opportunities are listed below.
- Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor Survey Scientist – Due Mar 29, 2025
NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is a planned mission (launch: September 2027) with a goal of finding, identifying, and characterizing potentially hazardous asteroids in our Solar System. The Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences is an academic unit within the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences.
The NEO Surveyor survey scientist’s high-level responsibilities include:
- Assist the Principal Investigator and Science Team in developing the NEO Surveyor survey plan, which determines where the Observatory points as a function of time.
- Interface with the NEO Surveyor Science Data System (NSDS) archive to access NEO Surveyor image and catalog data, and work with the NSDS team to maximize the ability to link individual NEO Surveyor detections of small body candidates.
- Interface with the NEO Surveyor mission system team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Physics (LASP), and ensure that the teams at JPL and LASP produce uplink sequences that match the desired survey plan.
- Interface with the Minor Planet Center to ensure that the survey plan produces the best possible orbits for small body candidates detected by NEO Surveyor.
More information on the position, including qualifications, compensation range, benefits and how to apply are provided in the full position description: https://jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/6856
- Postdoctoral Research Associate: (Exo)planetary Atmosphere – University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Laboratory – Due Mar 24, 2025
The Lunar & Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona has an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate I in the field of modeling of planetary atmospheres. Research areas of interest include atmospheric escape from rocky planets, chemical kinetics of early Earth, Venus, Mars, and analogous exoplanets, and interior-atmosphere interactions on rocky worlds; candidates are encouraged to reach out to Prof. Ranjan in advance of their application to cooperatively identify specific research topics of mutual interest. Applicants should have previous experience modeling the atmospheres of planets or exoplanets, although a variety of backgrounds may be relevant. Candidates with expertise in 1D hydrodynamic escape of rocky planet atmospheres are especially encouraged to apply. The position is for a period of up to three years, renewable annually contingent on satisfactory performance reviews.
Position is opened until filled, and first review of applications will begin 03/24/2025. UA LPL is a world-class department and a very stimulating environment. We have strong connections to missions and the next generation of telescopes, as well as to our colleagues in Astronomy and Geoscience. Tucson is a great place to live, with excellent hiking, great food, and a low cost of living. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Prof. Ranjan with any questions!
Link to position description and application: https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/21927
- Supervisors, Astrobiology Section and Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section, JHUAPL
The Small Bodies and Ocean Worlds group in the Space Exploration Sector of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) seeks supervisors for its Astrobiology Section and its Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section. The Astrobiology Section focuses on potentially habitable environments beyond Earth, laboratory studies of Earth analogs, development of instrumentation for detection of extraterrestrial biosignatures, and missions including Europa Clipper and Dragonfly that investigate environments of astrobiological interest. The Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section focuses on the chemistry, physics, and geology of rocky small bodies, physical processes that affect their surfaces, development of spaceflight instrumentation to study them, and the study of meteorites that sample them.
The desired candidates will have: a doctorate in a physical or biological science relevant to the work in their section; an accomplished research program; excellent people skills; and excellent written and oral communications skills. They will be expected to provide leadership and mentorship to the half-dozen members of the section, and participate in a variety of strategic efforts.
Applications for the Astrobiology Section may be submitted at https://careers.jhuapl.edu/jobs/56619?lang=en-us and for the Asteroids and Rocky Small Bodies Section at https://careers.jhuapl.edu/jobs/56655?lang=en-us
- Senior Application Developer Caltech/IPAC – Application Deadline Mar 31, 2025
PAC at Caltech has an opening for a Senior Applications Developer with a strong background in Unix software development to lead the Data Systems development team at the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). As lead of IRSA’s Data Systems Team, you will manage the activities of a group of IRSA scientists and developers who share the overarching goal of supporting community science with archival IRSA and other NASA data sets. Your development work may involve processing astrophysics space mission data, containerization & cloud technologies, large scale databases, and petabyte-scale storage. You will also work with scientists and other developers to help interpret and implement project requirements and document the work that you’ve accomplished.
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/senior-application-developer/
- Full-time staff scientist to work with Roman team at IPAC
IPAC, part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech, provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to enhance discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. IPAC invites applications from highly qualified individuals for a full-time position at the junior scientist level to work with the Roman team at IPAC.
The Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to address key questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. It is slated for launch in late 2026. The Roman Science Support Center (SSC) at IPAC is part of the Roman Ground Data System, providing algorithm and software development and data processing for the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey and all Roman spectroscopic data. In addition, the SSC will support the operations of the Coronagraph Instrument, manage the Roman General Investigator Program proposal solicitations and related data analysis funding, and provide community support for exoplanet and wide-field spectroscopy science with Roman.
For more details, see: https://roman.ipac.caltech.edu
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/7526/
- Staff Scientist NED Caltech/IPAC – Application Deadline March 15, 2025
IPAC has an immediate opening for a scientist to work with the NED team. The primary responsibility of this position is to contribute to keeping the content of the database current and accurate by assimilating the diverse and rapidly growing data published in the astrophysics literature and associated catalogs. The successful candidate will also help identify new approaches that can be implemented by NED to accelerate data ingest, and help to design, implement, and test those approaches. The scientist will also conduct astronomical research related to NED’s mission.
Link to the full job description with application instructions: https://dps.aas.org/staff-scientist-ned/
- Postdoctoral Scholar: Asteroid Radar – University of Central Florida
The incumbent will be expected to participate in data analysis, physical and dynamical characterization of near-Earth asteroids using radar and optical data, and support archiving asteroid shape models in the Planetary Data System (PDS). This position is open until filled.
- NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship – Application Deadline March 1, 2025
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: NPP Research Opportunities.
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. 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: [email protected]
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Send submissions to: Denise Stephens, DPS Secretary, at this address [email protected]
You’re receiving this email because you are a DPS member. To unsubscribe or update your information, please send your request to [email protected]. The more general AAS privacy policy is available online at https://aas.org/about/policies/privacy-policy. Current and back issues of the DPS Newsletter can be found at https://dps.aas.org/newsletters
To unsubscribe from this list please go to https://lists.aas.org/confirm/?u=WumMgxrgIYvmfnfPIPRxfPgLc6qriC4R
Newsletter 25-03
Issue 25-03, Feb 12, 2025
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- DPS COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON EXECUTIVE ORDERS DISRUPTING PLANETARY SCIENCE
- SPACE SCIENCE IS FOR EVERYONE – COMMUNITY OPEN LETTER OPEN FOR SIGNATURES
- EPSC-DPS JOINT MEETING 2025 CALL-FOR-SESSIONS
- DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS WEBMASTER & PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN OCTOBER 2025
- 2025 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 18, 2025
- AOGS 2025 SESSION PS01: PLANETARY SURFACE PROCESSES, COMPARATIVE GEOLOGY, AND ASTROBIOLOGY ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- AOGS SESSION PS19: HYDRATION IN AIRLESS BODIES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR
- SCHWEICKART PRIZE: NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
- FIRST SOCIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT: PROCESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY
- DRAGONFLY ANALOG FIELD TRIP TO THE NAMIB SAND SEA
- SUPERCAM MARS DATA WORKSHOP TUESDAY, MARCH 11 AT LPSC 2025
- BACO-25 SESSION JMC11: EXPLORATION OF THE DIVERSITY OF PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES AND SURFACES
- SAVE THE DATE: JUICE SCHOOL AT LES HOUCHES, FRANCE
- OPAG MEETING (FEBRUARY 25-27) POSTPONED
- AOGS SESSION PS18: PLANETARY DATA IN THE BIG DATA ERA – ARCHIVES, TOOLS, AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
- URANUS ORBITER AND PROBE SCIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE: TOUR DRIVERS
- CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR ICARUS AND THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL
- JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
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DPS COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON EXECUTIVE ORDERS DISRUPTING PLANETARY SCIENCE
The DPS Committee has released a statement on the negative impact to AAS and DPS members due to recent presidential actions. A brief summary from part of the letter is below and the letter can be read in its entirety on the DPS webpage.
DPS expresses its dismay at these actions leading to possible disruption and halting of scientific research programs, including planetary science, as well as other activities with congressional mandates. We request that more communication and information be dispensed by NASA and NSF as it becomes available.
At DPS, we also plan to dedicate Capitol Hill visits in spring and summer of 2025 to advocacy for the value of broad involvement in space science, including our and our colleagues’ research, NASA projects, and NASA missions. We will join forces with other scientific institutions and organizations, including at the international level, and inform our membership as the situation evolves.
To help us in this advocacy, we urge all DPS members to urgently contact their congressional representatives and express your support for ending the disruptions to open scientific research and to activities of Planetary Science Analysis / Assessment Groups, which are an important tool for NASA to tap the corporate knowledge of the science community.
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SPACE SCIENCE IS FOR EVERYONE – COMMUNITY OPEN LETTER OPEN FOR SIGNATURES
Recognizing that many of us in the planetary science community have been negatively impacted by recent events, several of us have written an open letter addressed to NASA leadership and to our elected representatives. You can read the letter (and co-sign if you wish) at:
https://sites.google.com/view/space-science-for-everyone
You may choose to sign anonymously, and we do not ask for institutional affiliations. There is also an option to edit or remove your signature at any time. Please feel free to share this widely!
The letter opens as follows: “We write as members of the space science community who are dismayed by the impact of recent events on taxpayer-funded, NASA-supported science, missions, and communities. Many of us chose this profession motivated by a desire to push the
boundaries of what is possible and widen our understanding of the universe, and to do so in the public interest.” We go on to note the impact on programs aimed at broadening participation in space science, the AGs, and the work environment at and beyond federal agencies.
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EPSC-DPS JOINT MEETING 2025 CALL-FOR-SESSIONS
Dear colleagues,
The EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025 will be held at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland on 7–12 September 2025.
The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet community, which invites contributions from planetary scientists from all over the world. First held in Berlin in 2006 and regularly attracting 1,200 participants, EPSC is the largest planetary science meeting held in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops, and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences. In 2011 EPSC joined forces for the first time with the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) and they held their first joint meeting in Nantes, France. The intent of the joint meetings is not only to connect the European and US planetary science communities, but also to consolidate two major meetings, which should motivate planetary scientists from all over the globe to attend. This year will mark the third iteration of a joint Europe-based meeting. Given the record number of participants at the last two EPSCs we expect to exceed 2000 participants this year.
The success of our meetings is founded on the excellence of the scientific sessions held by the session conveners. We therefore encourage you to submit session proposals through the conference website by 5 March 2025.
For more information please see:
https://www.epsc-dps2025.eu/information/call-for-sessions.html
To suggest a session go to:
https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2025/provisionalprogramme
Looking forward to a great joint meeting this year in Helsinki !
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DPS COMMITTEE SEEKS WEBMASTER & PRESS OFFICER APPLICANTS TO BEGIN TERM IN SEPTEMBER 2025
The Press Officer will serve a three-year term starting at the EPSC-DPS meeting in September 2025 but will start shadowing the current Press Officer imminently. The Press Officer will coordinate the DPS press conferences at the annual meetings as well as prize press releases. Candidates should be a full DPS member as of September 2025. Any questions about the position can be sent to [email protected]
Likewise, the Webmaster will serve a three-year term starting at the EPSC-DPS meeting in September 2025. The new Webmaster will start shadowing the current Webmaster imminently as well. Candidates for Webmaster are not required to hold DPS membership, and the term is generally three years. Any questions about the position can be sent to [email protected].
If you’re interested in either position, please send a CV and a brief statement of interest to [email protected]
Officer responsibilities are listed here: https://dps.aas.org/leadership/officer-responsibilities
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2025 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 18, 2025
Now through March 18, 2025, NASA is encouraging applications for its 37th Annual Planetary Science Summer School. Offered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, PSSS is a 3-month long early career development experience to help prepare the next generation of planetary science and engineering mission leaders. Participants learn the process of developing a science hypothesis-driven robotic space mission in a concurrent engineering environment while getting an in-depth, first-hand look at mission design, mission life cycle, costs, schedule and the trade-offs inherent in each.
Applicants with the following education and career experience are eligible: Science and engineering Doctoral candidates (advancement to candidacy required), recent Ph.D.’s (up to three years beyond their Ph.D.), Postdocs, Junior Faculty with a Ph.D., and non-research Engineering Master-level students within six to nine months of graduation will be considered on a space-available basis.
There is no charge to attend. Open to U.S. Citizens and legal permanent residents and a limited number of Foreign Nationals from non-designated countries living within the U.S at the time of application and during the full session. We strive to create a welcoming environment where participants’ contributions and unique perspectives are valued.
Session 1: Preparatory Sessions May 8 – July 24.
Culminating Week with JPL’s Team X July 28 – August 1.
Session 2: Preparatory Sessions May 22 – August 7.
Culminating Week with JPL’s Team X August 11 – 15.
PSSS is roughly equivalent in workload to a rigorous 3-credit graduate-level course, requiring an average effort of 10-12 hours per week. Participants spend the majority of the first 10 weeks in preparatory webinars acting as a science mission team, prior to spending the final culminating week being mentored by JPL’s Advance Project Design Team, or “Team X” to refine their mission concept design, then present it to a mock review board of NASA Center experts.
To apply and learn more about the NASA Science Mission Design Schools:
http://go.nasa.gov/missiondesignschools
Joyce Armijo
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AOGS 2025 SESSION PS01: PLANETARY SURFACE PROCESSES, COMPARATIVE GEOLOGY, AND ASTROBIOLOGY ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Submit your abstracts and Apply for funding support by 18 February 2025 at 2359hrs (GMT +8, Singapore Standard Time)
PS01: Planetary Surface Processes, Comparative Geology, and Astrobiology Across the Solar System
The surfaces of terrestrial planets and their satellites have been significantly shaped by diverse geological processes. In the outer solar system, extreme conditions on the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, and the ice giants lead to the development of unique exogenic and endogenic features. We invite contributions spanning a wide range of topics, including the geomorphology and composition of volcanic deposits, edifices, and plumes, volcano-induced deformation, edifice growth and collapse, tectonic structures, faulting and fracturing processes, crustal stress and strain analysis, cryovolcanism, fluvial and aeolian features, and studies related to planetary endogenic and exogenic processes. Additionally, we welcome research exploring the interactions between planetary interiors, surfaces, atmospheres, and their implications for astrobiology and habitability. Comparative studies of Earth’s geological systems with a strong remote sensing focus, as well as investigations of terrestrial analogs, are strongly encouraged.
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Hope to see you there!
The Conveners:
Dr. Anezina Solomonidou (Hellenic Space Center, Athens, Greece)
Dr. Rosaly Lopes (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, United States)
Dr. Florian M. Schwandner (NASA Ames Research Center, United States)
https://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2025/public.asp?page=home.asp
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AOGS SESSION PS19: HYDRATION IN AIRLESS BODIES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Dear colleagues,
Please consider submitting an abstract to this Planetary Science section for the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) to be held in Singapore from July 27th to August 1st, 2025:
https://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2025/public.asp?page=home.asp
The recent decades have brought a revolution in our understanding of the distribution of water in airless bodies in the Solar System. Discoveries like water ice in the Permanently Shaded Regions of Mercury, water vapor around Ceres, hydration of the surface of the Moon and asteroids, and aqueous alterations inside samples from the Moon and asteroids revealed the surprising pervasiveness of water in Solar System’s airless bodies and pose the question of where this water came from.
We welcome submissions of abstracts covering laboratory investigations, remote and in situ measurements of water molecules, and modeling of the transport of water molecules in exospheres and its interaction with the surface in Solar System airless bodies.
The abstract submission deadline is February 18th, 2025.
Conveners:
Cesare Grava (SwRI, USA)
Amanda Hendrix (PSI, USA)
Shuai Li (University of Hawai’i, USA)
Yang “Steve” Liu (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Christian Wöhler (Technical University of Dortmund, Germany)
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NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT WEBINAR
Join us on 27 February 2025, 2:30-3pm EST (11:30-12 PST,12:30-1pm MST,1:30-2pm CST)
New Horizons continues its operation, now at 61au from the Sun. Since 2015 it has made ground-breaking discoveries of the Pluto-Charon system, flown past the small contact KBO binary Arrokoth and collected phase and light curve data for some three dozen additional KBOs and the ice giants. It has also been sampling dust density throughout the solar system and studying the cosmic optical background. To raise awareness of New Horizon’s scientific impact we are beginning a new spotlight seminar series (30 min, fourth week each month) which we invite you to attend online, or watch recorded at your convenience.
Our speaker will be Tod Lauer of NOIRLab and he will be speaking on: “A Demonstration of Interstellar Navigation Using new Horizons”
Connection Link:
https://zoom.us/j/97317697636?pwd=MTAzMjJmNThTeFppR3JoYzlkUXVCQT09
Meeting ID: 973 1769 7636
Calendar for future seminars:
Recordings are archived and posted at:
https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/index.php#Spotlight-Presentations
For questions, contact New Horizons CoI Susan Benecchi, [email protected]
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SCHWEICKART PRIZE: NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Are you a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow with bold ideas for planetary defense? The Schweickart Prize invites you to submit an innovative proposal for tackling challenges like asteroid detection, impact mitigation, space law, or public education.
The winner will be granted a cash prize of $10k USD, receive an award, be given public exposure through a press campaign, and receive mentorship by the Prize Selection Committee, including Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart.
The application submission deadline is Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 11:59 PM PST
Interested students are encouraged to watch our student Q&A webinars to get more information and first hand insights from the 2024 Prize Winner to the application process. Watch here: https://bit.ly/3CDi9zU
For further details, visit the official Schweickart Prize website: https://www.schweickartprize.org/for-students
Sign up for the newsletter: https://bit.ly/3PKJvqJ
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Best Regards,
Schweickart Prize Committee
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FIRST SOCIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT: PROCESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PLUTO SYSTEM: 10 YEARS AFTER FLYBY
The “Progress in Understanding the Pluto System: 10 Years after Flyby” meeting will be held July 14–18, 2025 at the Kossiakoff Conference Center of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
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 made since then using New Horizons and all other data (ground-based, JWST, HST, etc.), as well as theory and modeling regarding all aspects of the Pluto system and the dwarf planets of the Kuiper Belt. Session topics will 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.
To be added to the mailing list to receive information about this meeting, submit an indication of interest at https://www.hou.usra.edu/meeting_portal/) by Wednesday February 19th. Registration and abstract submission will open on Thursday February 20th. The deadline for abstract submission is Friday April 18th.
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DRAGONFLY ANALOG FIELD TRIP TO THE NAMIB SAND SEA
We are leading a NASA-funded field trip to Namibia to allow members of the planetary community to familiarize themselves with analog terrain for Dragonfly’s exploration in Titan’s Shangri-La sand sea. Members of the planetary science community are invited to apply to join the trip; those selected will have their travel and field expenses dominantly covered. The trip departs the USA on 2025 October 4 and finishes on 2025 October 15.
Although longitudinal dunes like those on Titan are the most abundant dune type on Earth in terms of their areal coverage, no longitudinal dunes exist in the western hemisphere. The dunes in the Namib sand sea in southwestern Africa are 100m high with 3-5 km spacing and extend for tens to hundreds of kilometers along their crestlines. The dunes are separated by kilometer-wide sand-free interdunes. These characteristics match those seen in Titan’s dunes, even through differing sand composition, temperature, composition, gravity, and atmospheric density. Placing scientists into a Dragonfly landing site analog environment will help to plan how to obtain and interpret datasets similar to those Dragonfly will obtain and to relate those data to ground truth, thereby improving preparation for and the scientific return from the Dragonfly mission. For more about Dragonfly, see https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/ .
While in Namibia, we will undertake three major activities. (1) Observe in the field typical large longitudinal dunes to witness scales, materials, and processes to gain insight into the dune mechanics and their exploration at human and lander scale. (2) Overfly the dune field in a light aircraft to provide perspective on flight considerations and aerial imagery quality and scales. (3) Participate in an analog exploration campaign in the dunes using commercial drones to communicate data to a “back room” from which representative decision-making will dictate analog mission decisions.
Applicants from US institutions are welcomed from all backgrounds, career stages, and positions: from Titan scientists; from scientists working on Mars or elsewhere who might benefit from the field experience; from students independently or through established community members; and from scientists, engineers, and operations specialties. Final selections (30-40 participants) will seek to maximize the utility of the field exercise by creating an open, collaborative, diverse, and inclusive experience for all involved.
To apply, send an email with your CV and a 1-page Letter of Application to us at the email addresses listed below. The Letter of Application should describe how you expect to contribute to the field exercise and how you expect that the experience might benefit you. Applications received on or before 2025 February 5 will receive full consideration. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Jani Radebaugh [email protected]
Jason Barnes [email protected]
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SUPERCAM MARS DATA WORKSHOP TUESDAY, MARCH 11 AT LPSC 2025
The Perseverance/SuperCam instrument team will host a data user workshop at the Lunar & Planetary Science Conference. It will be at 5:00-6:45 pm Tuesday, 3/11 in the Indian Springs room of the Woodlands Marriott Waterway Conference Center. The workshop is for people
outside of the team who are interested in using the publicly available data and/or collaborating with others on the data. Data sets include visible & near infrared (VISIR) passive spectroscopy, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and derived elemental chemistry, time-resolved remote Raman and luminescence spectroscopy, acoustic data from the microphone, and imaging. The day of the week and time of the workshop will be posted in early 2025. The SuperCam team has collected nearly four years of data from hundreds of targets in Jezero
crater on Mars, and it is available at:
https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/mars2020/supercam.htm
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BACO-25 SESSION JMC11: EXPLORATION OF THE DIVERSITY OF PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES AND SURFACES
We invite you to submit abstracts to the session, JMC11 Exploration of the Diversity of Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces, at a joint-assembly, IAMAS-IACS-IAPSO (BACO-25) on 20-25 July 2025:
https://baco-25.org/new/sub2/sub201.asp
Over the last decades, planetary science has revealed an incredible diversity of atmospheres on the various planetary bodies in our galaxy. Considerable efforts are being made at international level to better understand such diverse atmospheres and surfaces. These efforts
encompass a wide variety of research fields: development of remote sensing techniques, space missions for orbiters and in-situ measurements, analysis of remote sensing data, understanding
ices/ocean/surface-atmosphere-space interactions, numerical calculations of radiative and dynamical atmospheric processes, understanding of the evolution of these atmospheres and surfaces, comparative planetology studies, and laboratory measurements in support to different planetary conditions. In this session, papers covering these diverse topics will be solicited, providing the community with a comprehensive approach to characterizing these very
different atmospheres and surfaces. Submission of Earth studies abstracts on related subjects is encouraged to foster cross-fertilization.
Early Career support is available through ICPAE/IAMAS:
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SAVE THE DATE: JUICE SCHOOL AT LES HOUCHES, FRANCE
This school is targeted (but not limited) to early career scientists. It will cover the main science topics of the JUICE mission with the goal to best prepare the future exploitation and interpretation of its data. Key topics include Jupiter, its atmosphere and magnetosphere, the icy Galilean moons (with an emphasis on Ganymede), minor moons and the dust and ring system. Ground- and space- based observations recently obtained on the Jupiter system, as well as links with
exoplanet science, will also be presented. The format of the school includes tutorials, seminar-like presentations, inspirational evening talks, a poster session, a workshop on science planning and archive, and a roundtable on future missions to outer planets. Deadline for
registration and request for grants: August 15, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
https://www.houches-school-physics.com/the-school
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
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OPAG MEETING (FEBRUARY 25-27) POSTPONED
Dear OPAG Community,
We appreciate your patience as we have worked to determine a path forward for our upcoming OPAG meeting, originally scheduled for February 25-27 in Tucson, AZ. We regret that, at this time, it is necessary for us to postpone our community OPAG meeting to a later date. More details will be made public as soon as they are available.
We are deeply encouraged to be able to pass along that the leadership at NASA HQ in SMD and PSD has been working diligently to ensure that the valued interaction between the community and HQ enabled by the AGs can be resumed as soon as possible. They have prioritized this effort and are committed to working with OPAG and the other AGs to complete this work.
Thank you to everyone for your patience under these circumstances. We are grateful for the commitment of our leaders in SMD and PSD to NASA and the greater planetary science community and look forward to resuming the exciting work of exploration and discovery together.
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AOGS SESSION PS18: PLANETARY DATA IN THE BIG DATA ERA – ARCHIVES, TOOLS, AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Abstract deadline: February 18, 2025
This session is about planetary data science, including archiving standards, organizations, data services and accessibilities, indexing and searching, data mining, and applications of big data technology and AI. Enormous volumes of data are being generated daily in planetary
science. Data technologies are playing more and more important roles in planetary research, especially in the big data era. Long-term preservation and sharing of planetary data are essential for the research. Several data archiving organizations are providing archiving to a broad variety of data. Standards are being revised, archive organization and services are being improved, and international collaborations are becoming more essential. The goal of this session is to provide a forum to present and discuss the new developments in the related activities, technologies, and concepts related to planetary science data to facilitate effective and efficient planetary data archiving and sharing around the globe in the future. We welcome abstracts on any data-related topics.
Conveners: Jian-Yang Li (Sun Yat-sen University, China), Ludmilla
Kolokolova (University of Maryland College Park, USA), Mark Bentley
(ESA), Yukio Yamamoto (JAXA), Young-Jun Choi (KASI)
https://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2025/public.asp?page=submissions.asp
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URANUS ORBITER AND PROBE SCIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE: TOUR DRIVERS
All members of the planetary science community are invited to take part in a voluntary, non-binding, questionnaire about the Uranus Flagship mission’s orbital tour design. This community-led poll is designed to better understand the parameters needed for studying each aspect of the Uranus system, based on the Decadal Survey’s science objectives. The poll will close on March 30, and the aggregated results will be posted to public webpages (past workshops and/or OPAG, as appropriate) for broader community use.
https://forms.gle/x47s722XfW47YqZM8
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CURRENT TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR ICARUS AND THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL
The current issues for both DPS-affiliated journals are here:
Icarus:
Icarus | Vol 427, In progress (February 2025) | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
The Planetary Science Journal:
https://iopscience.iop.org/issue/2632-3338/6/2
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JOBS, POSITIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to browse DPS’s job listings and advertise open positions **for free** on the DPS job board.
Full details for several new positions can be found on the DPS job board.
A summary of recent job announcements and postdoc opportunities are listed below.
- Senior Application Developer Caltech/IPAC – Application Deadline Mar 31, 2025
PAC at Caltech has an opening for a Senior Applications Developer with a strong background in Unix software development to lead the Data Systems development team at the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). As lead of IRSA’s Data Systems Team, you will manage the activities of a group of IRSA scientists and developers who share the overarching goal of supporting community science with archival IRSA and other NASA data sets. Your development work may involve processing astrophysics space mission data, containerization & cloud technologies, large scale databases, and petabyte-scale storage. You will also work with scientists and other developers to help interpret and implement project requirements and document the work that you’ve accomplished.
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/senior-application-developer/
- Full-time staff scientist to work with Roman team at IPAC
IPAC, part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech, provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to enhance discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. IPAC invites applications from highly qualified individuals for a full-time position at the junior scientist level to work with the Roman team at IPAC.
The Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to address key questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. It is slated for launch in late 2026. The Roman Science Support Center (SSC) at IPAC is part of the Roman Ground Data System, providing algorithm and software development and data processing for the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey and all Roman spectroscopic data. In addition, the SSC will support the operations of the Coronagraph Instrument, manage the Roman General Investigator Program proposal solicitations and related data analysis funding, and provide community support for exoplanet and wide-field spectroscopy science with Roman.
For more details, see: https://roman.ipac.caltech.edu
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/7526/
- Staff Scientist NEO Surveyor Task Lead Caltech/IPAC
IPAC at Caltech invites applications for a Task Lead of the team that is developing the Survey Data System for NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission. As Task Lead you will work closely with the IPAC/NEOS Science Lead and Lead System Architect in the overall management of the development, test, and operation of the NEO Surveyor Survey Data Systems (NSDS) at IPAC. Application due Feb 21, 2025
Link to the full job description: https://dps.aas.org/staff-scientist-neo-surveyor-task-lead/
- Staff Scientist NED Caltech/IPAC – Application Deadline March 15, 2025
IPAC has an immediate opening for a scientist to work with the NED team. The primary responsibility of this position is to contribute to keeping the content of the database current and accurate by assimilating the diverse and rapidly growing data published in the astrophysics literature and associated catalogs. The successful candidate will also help identify new approaches that can be implemented by NED to accelerate data ingest, and help to design, implement, and test those approaches. The scientist will also conduct astronomical research related to NED’s mission.
Link to the full job description with application instructions: https://dps.aas.org/staff-scientist-ned/
- Postdoctoral Scholar: Asteroid Radar – University of Central Florida
The incumbent will be expected to participate in data analysis, physical and dynamical characterization of near-Earth asteroids using radar and optical data, and support archiving asteroid shape models in the Planetary Data System (PDS). This position is open until filled.
- NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship – Application Deadline March 1, 2025
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: NPP Research Opportunities.
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. 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: [email protected]
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Send submissions to: Denise Stephens, DPS Secretary, at this address [email protected]
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