Newsletter 20-38

Issue 20-38, August 14, 2020

 

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  1. AAS DIVISION FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES 2020 PRIZES
  2. DPS 2020 DEPENDENT CARE GRANTS
  3. DPS EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GRANTS – FINAL DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL AUGUST 15TH
  4. NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) MEETING AUGUST 17-18
  5. SOFIA CYCLE 9 CALLS FOR PROPOSALS AND WEBINAR
  6. CALL FOR PAPERS TO A FOCUS ISSUE IN THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL DEDICATED TO PAPERS HIGHLIGHTING LANDED LUNAR MISSION CONCEPTS AND HIGH-PRIORITY LANDING SITES
  7. ANNOUNCING THE EXOPLANET SOLAR SYSTEM (EXOSS) TUTORIAL TALK SERIES

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AAS DIVISION FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES 2020 PRIZES

 

The DPS is pleased to announce its 2020 prize winners.

 

Gerard P. Kuiper Prize – Wing-Huen Ip

 

The DPS awards the 2020 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize for outstanding contributions to the 

field of planetary science to Professor Wing-Huen Ip (Institute of Astronomy, National 

Central University, Taiwan) for his contributions to advancements in comet plasma physics, 

solar-system dynamics, and magnetospheric interactions with atmospheres and solid surfaces. 

One example of his seminal contributions includes his paper in Nature that presented a 

model for the formation of magnetism-free cavities at Comet Halley; three decades later, 

the same phenomenon was seen on 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko by Rosetta. Wing was 

the founding president for the Asia-Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) and is known 

as one of the three fathers of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. He has also 

participated as a co-investigator on numerous planetary missions and has exerted a strong 

influence on planetary science through international collaborations and training and inspiring 

young scientists.

 

Harold C. Urey Prize – Rebekah Dawson

 

The 2020 Harold C. Urey Prize for outstanding achievement in planetary research by an 

early career scientist goes to Dr. Rebekah Dawson (Pennsylvania State University) in 

recognition of her groundbreaking research on planetary dynamics, the formation of 

planetary systems, and the characterization of exoplanets on close-in orbits. In one of her 

early works on understanding radial-velocity data for multi-planet systems, she re-analyzed 

archival data for planet 55 Cancri e and discovered previous misinterpretations; in doing 

so, she paved a path for future observations to correctly characterize both this exoplanet 

and others. Rebekah exemplifies scientific leadership in her organization of prominent 

conferences and her involvement in planning future NASA missions such as the Large 

Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Telescope (LUVOIR).

 

Harold Masursky Award – Heidi B. Hammel

 

The 2020 Harold Masursky Award for meritorious service to planetary science goes to 

Dr. Heidi B. Hammel (Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy) for her 

extensive and impactful service, over nearly 30 years, on a diverse set of advisory boards, 

editorial boards, panels, committees, task forces, and councils for professional organizations. 

Heidi has a unique reputation as an advocate for the entire planetary science community, 

often ensuring that observatories — including the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope — 

and other facilities consider the full range of research opportunities pertinent to planetary 

science. As a tireless proponent for exploration of the distant ice giants, both via Earth-based 

astronomy and future interplanetary missions, Heidi provides a passionate voice for a broad 

swathe of observers and theorists studying the outer solar system. 

 

Carl Sagan Medal – Ray Jayawardhana

 

The DPS awards the 2020 Carl Sagan Medal to Dr. Ray Jayawardhana (Cornell University) 

for outstanding contributions to the dissemination of planetary science research to the 

general public. Ray (aka RayJay) has published four popular books to widespread acclaim, 

one of which was the basis for an hourlong CBC TV documentary. His most recent book, 

Child of the Universe, is aimed at kids and builds on the legacy of Carl Sagan by revealing 

our deep and enduring links with the cosmos. Over three decades, Ray has written frequently 

for many prestigious and widely read publications such as the New York Times, the Wall 

Street Journal, The Economist, and Science. While reaching out to the general public, 

Ray has remained a highly published and cited scientist and has been honored repeatedly 

for his research accomplishments.

 

Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Science Journalism Award – Christopher Crockett

 

The 2020 Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Science Journalism Award for distinguished 

popular writing goes to freelance writer Dr. Christopher Crockett. His winning article, 

“How the Moon Landings Changed Our View of the Solar System,” was published 

in Knowable magazine on July 16, 2019, during the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 

mission. Chris describes how the lunar samples returned by the Apollo astronauts 

continue to transform our understanding of the evolution of the solar system. He 

describes how the samples led to theories that include a period of planetary migration 

and heavy bombardment on the Moon, and how recent studies cast doubt on these 

theories. The article emphasizes the need for future lunar exploration and sample 

return to answer outstanding questions about the solar system.

 

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DPS 2020 DEPENDENT CARE GRANTS

 

The DPS Susan Niebur Professional Development Fund provides financial assistance to
qualifying members of the DPS in order to facilitate their meeting participation by offsetting
dependent care costs (such as child care, elder care, spousal care, etc) at the meeting location,
or at home, during the DPS conference week. This includes dependent care expenses needed
to allow attendance and participation in the 2020 virtual DPS meeting. The DPS Professional
Development Subcommittee will accept applications for dependent care subsidies to assist an
eligible DPS member to participate in the 2020 DPS Meeting. The initial submission deadline
is Monday, September 14, 2020.  The review of submissions will begin Tuesday September 15;
however, further requests will be accepted and reviewed, funding and eligibility permitting.

 

Please access the grant application form at development#grants .

 

Mark Gurwell, DPS Professional Development Subcommittee member

 

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DPS EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GRANTS – FINAL DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL AUGUST 15TH

 

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, 2021. 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 and Outreach
Officer, Sanlyn Buxner, [email protected].  Proposals should be emailed to [email protected]

and you will receive an email confirmation.

 

Applications will be accepted until August 15, 2020. All proposals will be reviewed by

members of the DPS education committee and the executive committee. Complete

directions, including a scoring rubric, can be found at

education/education-outreach-grants/application

 

Please address any questions to [email protected].

 

Sanlyn Buxner (Education and Public Outreach Officer) and

Brian Jackson (Deputy Education and Public Outreach Officer)

 

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NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) MEETING AUGUST 17-18

 

NASA’s Planetary Science Advisory Committee (PAC) will hold a virtual meeting

on Monday, August 17, 2020, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT and Tuesday, August 18, 2020,

10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT. The agenda and connection information can be found here.

 

The meeting will be available telephonically and by WebEx.  

To participate in this meeting by telephone on all days: 

USA toll free conference call number 1-800-779-9966 

OR toll conference call number 1-517-645-6359, 

Passcode 5255996. 

The WebEx link is https://nasaenterprise.webex.com/

Meeting number is 901 917 366 

Password (case sensitive) on both days: PAC@Aug17+18

 

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SOFIA CYCLE 9 CALLS FOR PROPOSALS AND WEBINAR

 

SOFIA Cycle 9 Calls for Proposals Released

 

The Proposal Calls for SOFIA Cycle 9 observations have been released with a

deadline of September 4, 2020, 21:00 PDT (September 5, 2020, 4:00 UTC). Detailed

information about the Cycle 9 calls can be found on our website.

 

Two Calls for Proposals are offered:

·         A Call for regular programs, for which approximately 500 hours of observations

will be offered and funding up to $4M is expected to be available for eligible proposers

·         A Call for the SOFIA Legacy Program, which enables programs producing a rich

archival dataset of significant scientific value to the astronomical community. Up to four

legacy proposals will be accepted, with each allocated up to ~200 hours of observing time

(~200 hours of observations per cycle in total). Funding is expected to be available at the

level of $2M per year.

 

All six instruments — EXES, FIFI-LS, FORCAST, FPI+, GREAT, and HAWC+

will be available during the Cycle (July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022). SOFIA plans

to offer three Southern deployments: two long deployments (July-September 2021 and

2022) offering GREAT and HAWC+, and a short deployment in March 2022 offering

FIFI-LS. 

 

Proposals are to be submitted through the USPOT tool. The Help Desk is open to answer

any question and inquiry from the community: [email protected].  

 

Proposal Preparation Webinar: August 18, 8am-10:30am Pacific Time

 

On Tuesday August 18, 8am-10:30 am Pacific Time, a proposal Preparation Webinar

will be held on Webex. This webinar is intended to provide practical information to both
experienced and prospective SOFIA users on how to best design a scientifically and

technically strong SOFIA proposal for Cycle 9

 

For each SOFIA instrument, science staff members will present realistic science examples

and demonstrate how to determine the necessary signal to noise, choose the observing

strategy, determine the observing time estimation with SITE and design the corresponding
Astronomy Observation Request with USPOT. A general presentation will introduce the

main science cases addressed by SOFIA, and the general capabilities of the instrument

suite, as well as the specific features offered during Cycle 9, including the Dual Anonymous Review
framework. There will be ample time for questions.

 

Please connect through this Webex link. The preliminary agenda and more connection
information are available here. Slides from the webinar and associated video tutorials for
the 2019 Proposal Tool webinar are available here.

 

New for SOFIA in Cycle 9

 

·         Starting with Cycle 9, the observatory is adopting a policy of “two year” proposals:
accepted regular proposals with priority 2 and 3 will stay active in Cycle 9 and Cycle 10.

Priority 1 regular proposals and Legacy Proposals will continue to remain active until

completed.

·         For Cycle 9, the observatory is implementing dual-anonymous review. Proposers

should now upload two distinct pdfs in their proposals, and not identify themselves in the

main body pdf file.

·         The proprietary data period for Cycle 9 regular programs is six months rather than

twelve.

·         For Cycle 9, legacy proposals are invited to participate in a two-step process whereby

pilot Cycle 9 observations will be performed prior to the decision on committing to a full

legacy program.

·        “Survey” proposals, which propose to observe a small subset of a large number of

targets, are encouraged. “Such projects must specify and justify the minimum number of

targets necessary to complete the scientific objectives. The observatory plans to award up

to 100 hours for survey programs.

·         Additional standard modes are offered: the new honeycomb OTF mapping mode for
GREAT and the new total power mode on FIFI-LS.

·         The 63 microns (Band B) for HAWC and the new FIFI-LS on-the-fly mapping mode

is offered as shared risk.

·         The two polarizations of the GREAT Low Frequency Array can now be set to two
different frequencies to allow for simultaneous observations of two different lines.

·         Cycle 9 is potentially the last cycle in which FORCAST will be offered, depending

on funding and proposal pressure.

·         Up to 20 hours will be reserved for programs supporting JWST Early Release Science.

·         A joint proposal agreement with the Green Bank Observatory is now in place for Cycle 9.

 

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CALL FOR PAPERS TO A FOCUS ISSUE IN THE PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL DEDICATED TO
PAPERS HIGHLIGHTING LANDED LUNAR MISSION CONCEPTS AND HIGH-PRIORITY LANDING SITES

 

*New extended due date for submissions: November 1, 2020.

 

Journal: Planetary Science Journal

 

Contact: Please direct questions to the Special Issue Coordinators: Barbara Cohen
([email protected]) and Maria Banks ([email protected]).

 

Submission Instructions: Authors should submit their paper through the normal Planetary
Science Journal submission site (https://journals.aas.org/planetary-science-journal). When
submitting, please indicate the special issue: “Lunar Mission Concepts and High-Priority

Landing Sites” in the comments section.

 

Description of focus for the special issue:

In the last several years, the lunar community has submitted multiple detailed mission

proposals for amazing science we’d like to at the Moon, via Discovery, New Frontiers,

CLPS, and most recently, Planetary Mission Concepts for the Decadal Survey. We also

continue to collect high-quality lunar data via the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

and partner assets, illuminating new places where such missions could be safely and

productively deployed.

This special issue will be dedicated to papers highlighting lunar mission concepts, lunar

data analysis, and high-priority landing sites. A successful paper should bring together

elements of lunar data analysis (e.g. geology, site selection, new analyses, etc.), along

with a lunar mission or instrument/payload concept (science, instrumentation, mission

design, etc). Surface mission concepts should contain both a science justification for a

robotic (or human-assisted) mission, along with a detailed analysis of one or more candidate
landing sites to show the existence of a safe and interesting potential site for the mission

(e.g. geologic setting, slopes, hazards, rock abundance, maturity, etc.). Orbital mission

concepts should include new or updated lunar data analysis or interpretation that supports

the mission concept along with its science justification. Mission concepts need not be

highly mature, but should clearly describe the science case.

 

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ANNOUNCING THE EXOPLANET SOLAR SYSTEM (EXOSS) TUTORIAL TALK SERIES

 

We would like to invite the planetary science community to join a new ExoPAG

Science Interest Group (SIG3) effort to enhance interactions between the Exoplanet

and Solar System communities. We have established a monthly Tutorial Talk aimed

at introducing field newcomers to important topics or methods in planetary and

exoplanetary science. The talks will include a 30 minute tutorial from an expert

to introduce the topic, followed by a 30 minute group discussion of a recent paper

in which the topic/method features. Each talk will be recorded and made available

online to create a database for community engagement. Talks will meet the first

Thursday of the month at 11 AM PDT/ 2 PM EDT.

 

The first ExoSS Tutorial Talk was on August 6th at 11am PDT. The topic was 

Volatile Solubilities in Rocks, by Laura Schaefer (Stanford), with a discussion of

Kite et al. (2020) Atmosphere Origins for Exoplanet Sub-Neptunes.  The recording

for this talk can be found here.

 

All are welcome, so feel free to share this announcement and the link to the recording

of the first tutorial. Also feel free to suggest topics you’d like to hear future tutorials on. 

Vikki Meadows, Mark Marley and Laura Schaefer are currently collecting suggestions

for future tutorials.  

 

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Send submissions to: 

Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected]

 

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