PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 6, Number 5 (January 29, 2012)
PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org
Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Melissa Lane, Susan Benecchi
Email: pen_editor at psi.edu
o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o
1. MEX Lunar List Solicitation for Payloads
2. DAP-2012
3. IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology
4. Pellas-Ryder Best Student Paper Award Nominations Due
5. Availability of Hayabusa Mission Samples / New Cosmic Dust Catalog
6. Volcano-Ice Interactions on Earth and Other Planets Conference III
7. NASA Lunar Science Forum Director's Seminar
8. [NASA] ROSES-2012 to be Released February 14
9. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions
o---------------------------------------------------------------------o
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MEX LUNAR LIST SOLICITATION FOR PAYLOADS
Moon Express Inc. is a Google Lunar X PRIZE Team based at NASA-Ames
Research Park and partnered with NASA-Ames on lunar lander development.
Moon Express plans to fly a series of robotic commercial lunar landing
missions. These missions will carry scientific, educational, and
commercial payloads to the lunar surface, beginning in late 2013 with
Moon Express-1 (ME-1). Moon Express is also now soliciting payloads for
ME-2, to fly in 2014/2015.
Several payloads are already under agreement to fly on ME-1 but open
payload space remains on ME-1, and ME-2 has not yet begun to fill.
Moon Express seeks to discuss payload flight opportunities with funded
US or overseas PIs and organizations with research or educational
payloads that can be ready for launch aboard ME-1 in late 2013, as well
as PIs/organizations interested in proposing to NASA, NSF, or other
agencies/sources for the ME-2 launch in 2014/2015.
Interested PIs and organizations should contact Moon Express Chief
Scientist Dr. Alan Stern (alanstern@moonexpress.com; 303.324.5269).
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DAP-2012
The Dust, Atmosphere and Plasma Environment of the Moon and Small
Bodies (DAP-2012) workshop will take place June 6-8, 2012, in Boulder,
Colorado. It will be a forum to discuss our current understanding of
the surface environment of the Moon and asteroids, to share new results
from past and ongoing missions, and to describe expectations for
planned upcoming missions. The workshop will be focused on the open
science questions, the status and future of our modeling and laboratory
experimental capabilities, the definition of the required measurements
and instrument capabilities for future investigations from orbit, or
to be deployed on the surface.
Contributions to DAP-2012 are planned to be published in a special
issue of Planetary and Space Sciences.
The workshop is hosted by A. Stern and M. Horanyi, and supported
by the NASA Lunar Science Institute: Colorado Center for Lunar Dust
and Atmospheric Studies, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space
Physics, and the Center for Integrated Plasma Studies of the
University of Colorado.
Program Committee:
Bill Bottke (SWRI)
Andy Cheng (APL)
Dan Britt (UCF)
Mihaly Horanyi (CCLDAS)
Robert Lin (UC Berkeley)
Alan Stern (CCLDAS and SWRI)
Abstracts Due: March 30, 2012
Conference webpage:
http://ldap2012.colorado.edu/
[Edited for length.]
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IAG/AIG INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GEOMORPHOLOGY
The IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology will be held in
Paris, France, from August 27 to 31, 2013. Go to:
http://www.geomorphology-iag-paris2013.com/en
There will be planetary geomorphology sessions.
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PELLAS-RYDER BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE
Just a reminder that nominations for the Pellas-Ryder Best Student
Paper Award are due next Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Please send your
nomination to P-R Nominations Committee Chair David Williams
(David.Williams@asu.edu).
The Pellas-Ryder Best Student Paper Award, jointly sponsored by MetSoc
and the GSA Planetary Geology Division, is awarded to a student who is
first author of the best planetary science paper published in a
peer-reviewed scientific journal. Any first author of a paper
published on a topic listed on the cover of Meteoritics & Planetary
Science is eligible for consideration for this award.
The award is limited to undergraduate and graduate students who are
first authors of a paper published in peer-reviewed scientific
journals between January 1 - December 31, 2011. For full details on
eligibility, go to this website:
http://rock.geosociety.org/pgd/awards.html#_pellas-ryder
Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Dr. David A. Williams
Chair, Pellas-Ryder Nominating Committee
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AVAILABILITY OF HAYABUSA MISSION SAMPLES / NEW COSMIC DUST CATALOG
(1) Hayabusa Mission Samples
Today JAXA and NASA announce the general availability of samples of
asteroid Itokawa returned to Earth by the Hayabusa Mission. While the
bulk of the samples are available from JAXA, by agreement 10% of the
Itokawa samples are available from NASA. Please see the announcement
of opportunity letter from JAXA, their sample catalog, and directions
for preparing sample requests at:
http://hayabusaao.isas.jaxa.jp/
The NASA website for their share of the Itokawa samples is at:
http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/hayabusa/index.cfm
(2) New Cosmic Dust Catalog
NASA's Cosmic Dust Catalog 18 is now online at:
http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/dust/cdcat18/index.cfm
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VOLCANO-ICE INTERACTIONS ON EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS CONFERENCE III
Abstract deadline: 15 February 2012
Conference date: 18-22 June 2012
Fairbanks, AK
http://volcanoes.dickinson.edu/iavcei_iacs_viic/events2012.html#june
The joint IAVCEI-IACS Commission on Volcano-Ice Interactions would
like to announce the Third International Conference on Volcano-Ice
Interactions on Earth & Other Planets, to be held in Anchorage,
Alaska, June 18-22, 2012. We are planning a three-day oral and poster
session meeting format followed by two days for field excursions to
the Wrangell volcanic field and Cook Inlet volcanoes. The conference
precedes the International Glaciological Society symposium on
mountain glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets in a warming climate that
will be held in Fairbanks the following week from June 25-29. The
purpose of the conference is to bring together scientists with a
common interest in volcano-ice interactions and to highlight recent
studies and eruptions at snow- and ice-clad volcanoes. We are
particularly interested in encouraging students and post-docs to
attend and present their research results.
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NASA LUNAR SCIENCE FORUM DIRECTOR'S SEMINAR
NLSI's new Director's Seminar will be the last Tuesday of every month.
January 31, 2012, 9:00AM PST, 17:00 GMT
Excavation and Mobility Modeling of Lunar Regolith as Part of the NLSI
"Scientific Exploration Potential of the Lunar Poles" Project
Speaker: Jerome B. Johnson, PhD, University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Webinar abstract:
The "Excavation and Mobility Modeling" task of the "Scientific
Exploration Potential of the Lunar Poles" project is to develop
physically based discrete element method (DEM) models of the
interaction of wheeled mobility platforms and excavation tools with
lunar regolith at the poles and elsewhere. The DEM explicitly models
the dynamics of assemblies of particles, such as regolith (the layer
of loose rock particles covering bedrock). The goal is to develop a
DEM modeling capability that is usable by non-specialists and that can
be configured to accurately simulate a wide range of applied and basic
science and engineering problems beyond the current focus on mobility
and excavation problems.
Participation Instructions:
RSVP to Ricky Guest (Ricky.Guest@nasa.gov) if joining by Polycom or
other videoconferencing system.
The slides and audio/video for this meeting will be presented using
Adobe Connect. To join, connect to:
http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/nlsi_directors_seminar/
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[NASA] ROSES-2012 TO BE RELEASED FEBRURARY 14
Notice of Intent to Propose Due: March 16, 2012 - January 25, 2013
Proposals Due: May 4, 2012 - March 22, 2013
The Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences - 2012
(ROSES-2012) will be available on or about February 14, 2012. Go to:
http://nspires.nasaprs.com
Choose "Solicitations" followed by "Open Solicitations".
This NASA Research Announcement solicits proposals for supporting
basic and applied research and technology relevant to Earth Science,
Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrophysics.
Awards range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts
(e.g., data analysis) to more than $1M per year for extensive
activities (e.g., development of science experiment hardware). The
funds available for awards in each program element offered in this
ROSES NRA range from less than one to several million dollars, which
allow selection from a few to as many as several dozen proposals
depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of
merit.
The typical period of performance for an award is four years, although
a few programs may specify shorter or longer (maximum of five years)
periods.
Questions concerning general ROSES NRA policies and procedures may be
directed to:
Dr. Max Bernstein
sara@nasa.gov
202-358-0879
[Edited for length.]
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PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS
Posted at http://planetarynews.org/meetings.html
March 17-18, 2012
Early History of the Terrestrial Planets: New Insights from the Moon
and Mercury
http://www.planetary.brown.edu/html_pages/micro53.htm
The Woodlands, TX
June 18-22, 2012
Volcano-Ice Interations on Earth and Other Planets Conference III
http://volcanoes.dickinson.edu/iavcei_iacs_viic/events2012.html#june
Fairbanks, AK
August 27-31, 2013
IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology
http://www.geomorphology-iag-paris2013.com/en
Paris, France
[Editor Note: If there is a planetary-related meeting, conference or
workshop of which your colleagues should be aware, please send the
date, title, URL and location to pen_editor at psi.edu.]
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