Subject: [DPS Members] DPS Mailing #08-04: AAS Issue 08-04, March 13th 2008 +-----------------------------CONTENTS--------------------------------+ 1) NASA planetary science summer school applications 2) NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Observing Proposal Deadline 3) NRC Committee: Science Opportunities Enabled by Constellation 4) Reminder: DPS Prize Nominations Due April 1st 5) Job Announcements 6) Upcoming Meetings +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1 NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS NASA is accepting applications from science and engineering post-docs, recent PhDs, and doctoral students for its 20th Annual Planetary Science Summer School, which will hold two separate sessions this summer (21-25 July and 4-8 August) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. During the program, student teams will carry out the equivalent of an early mission concept study, prepare a proposal authorization review presentation, present it to a review board, and receive feedback. At the end of the week, students will have a clearer understanding of the life cycle of a space mission; relationships between mission design, cost, and schedule; and the tradeoffs necessary to stay within cost and schedule while preserving the quality of science. Applications are due 1 May 2008. Partial financial support is available for a limited number of individuals. Further information and the application are available at http://pscischool.jpl.nasa.gov . 2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2 NASA INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY OBSERVING PROPOSAL DEADLINE Due date for the August 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009 semester is Tuesday, April 1, 2008. See http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/observing/applicationForms.php. Available instruments include: (1) SpeX, a 1-5 micron cross-dispersed medium-resolution spectrograph (up to R=3D2,500); (2) CSHELL, a 1-5 micron high-resolution spectrograph (up to R=3D30,000); (3) MIRSI, a 5 to 25 micron camera and low-resolution spectrometer (R=3D100 to 200), (4) NSFCAM2, a 2048=D72048 pixel, 1-5 micron camera with a 0.04 arcsec/pixel scale and a circular variable filter; and (5) PI-instruments including a low-resolution 3-14 micron spectrograph and high-resolution spectrographs for 8-25 microns. Information on available instruments can be found at: http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/Facility/ 3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3 NRC COMMITTEE: SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES ENABLED BY CONSTELLATION The National Research Council's Committee on Science Opportunities Enabled by NASA's Constellation System has issued a request for information from the scientific community. The due date for proposals for space science missions that may be possible using Constellation is May 5. The committee intends to review the proposals and ask some of them to formally present at the committee's third meeting in Boulder in early June. See http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/constellation2008.html for details. 4---------4---------4---------4---------4---------4---------4---------4 REMINDER: DPS PRIZE NOMINATIONS DUE APRIL 1st You have two more weeks to nominate your favorite members of our community for the honor of a DPS prize. See http://dps.aas.org/prizes/ 5---------5---------5---------5---------5---------5---------5---------5 JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS 1) The planetary research group of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Lindau seeks a planetary (cometary) physicist to participate in the science planning of the OSIRIS cameras. See http://www.mps.mpg.de/en/aktuelles/jobs/ 2) Space Scientist Positions In Cosmochemistry/Astromaterials At The NASA Johnson Space Center The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate (ARES) at Johnson Space Center invites applicants for two or more Civil Service positions in Planetary Science. We are interested in candidates in one or more of the following areas: 1) management of a planetary science research organization, 2) active involvement in lunar sample science or lunar missions, 3) ongoing research on planetary materials or related data sets. Contact: Dr. Eileen Stansbery ([email protected]). Openings in USAjobs will begin March 10, 2008, and the positions will remain open for at least two weeks (extending the period is at the direction of the selecting official). Additional information about ARES is available at http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov. 6---------6---------6---------6---------6---------6---------6---------6 UPCOMING MEETINGS 1) Europa - Jupiter International Workshop, Rome, Italy, April 21-22, 2008 See http://www.ifsi.rm.cnr.it/index.php?categoryid=3D68 Registration deadine, April 3rd This is to announce a Workshop in association with studies for an international Europa/Jupiter System Mission in collaboration between NASA, ESA, JAXA and possibly other international partners. This mission would carry out an in-depth study of Europa and the Jupiter system, with special emphasis on studying Europa's habitability in the global context of the Jupiter system. The purpose of this Workshop is to provide a venue for the international science community interested in the exploration of Europa and the Jupiter system to discuss the scientific and measurement objectives in the current plans by the space agencies that are now engaged in studying this very exciting and challenging mission to Europa and the Jupiter system. All contributions from the community are welcome, to address in particular the following three aspects of the mission design: - Science objectives and support to science planning, - Mission profile definition to meet these objectives within a three-spacecraft mission architecture, - Design of the necessary payload elements, including advanced payload concepts to meet the stringent resource and environment constraints of the mission. The Workshop is organised by INAF-IFSI and CESR with the support of ESA and NASA. Proposals for contributions can be sent to the members of the Organizing Committee. Federico Tosi <[email protected]> Michel Blanc <[email protected]> Ron Greeley <[email protected]> 2) Titan Book Symposium, Corpus Christi, TX, July 7-11 2008. See http://titanaftercassini.com/ The meeting will be held at the Omni Hotel Bayfront Tower in Corpus Christi, and, will scientifically examine the Cassini-Huygens mission to Titan along with ground based observational and theoretical supporting studies for the purpose of writing a book on Titan. The book, to be published by Springer-Verlag, is targeted for publication in late 2009. A secondary purpose of the meeting is to hold a one-day symposium of future Titan missions with emphasis on the Titan Explorer flagship proposal and participation by interested industrial parties. Early registration of $450.00 is now open through May 11th and the late registration fee of $550.00 will follow through the date of the conference. Contact: Hunter Waite (Organizer) at [email protected] or Melody Cherry (Administrator) [email protected], 210-522-3745 3) 2008 Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors (ACM) meeting, Baltimore, MD, July 14-18 2008. See http://acm2008.jhuapl.edu We are now accepting abstracts and registrations. Abstracts are due before 5 pm (CST) on 2 April 2008 and are limited to one page. Early registration ends on 12 May 2008, with an increase in rates after that date. -Andy Rivkin, SOC Chair 4) Outer Planets session at the AGU Western Pacific Geophysics meeting, Cairns, Australia, 29 July-1 August 2008. See:http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp08/?content=3Dhome P02: Jupiter, Saturn and Their Satellites: New Perspectives Revealed by the Cassini-Huygens and New Horizons Spacecraft Missions The continued exploration of Saturn and Titan by the Cassini-Huygens mission and the flyby of Jupiter by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2007 have revealed unprecedented views of the Jovian and Saturnian satellite systems. Analysis of these data, as well as data from previous spacecraft and Earth-based telescopic observations, continue to challenge our understanding of these systems. These data span significantly diverse worlds where phenomena range from geysers on Enceladus, rampant volcanism on Io, Ganymede's magnetic field and the Earth-like surface of Titan. Both NASA and ESA are currently studying future spacecraft missions to Jupiter and Saturn. This session will include invited and contributed presentations that discuss observations, data analysis and theoretical modeling of Jupiter, Saturn and their satellites, with emphasis on recent results from the Cassini-Huygens and New Horizons missions. Contributions on studies for future missions, as well as on the Uranus and Neptune systems, are also welcome. Abstract deadline is 16 April. 5) The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Asteroids to Cosmology, Chicago IL, August 15-18 2008 See: sdss2008.uchicago.edu Contact: David Weinberg ([email protected]) 6) Future Ground based Solar System Research: Synergies with Space Probes and Space Telescopes, Elba, Italy, September 8-12, 2008 see http://www.arcetri.astro.it/elba2008/ organized by I.N.A.F. - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri and E.S.O. +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Send submissions to: John Spencer, DPS Secretary ([email protected])