Outline Planetary Science Division Update • Administration • Upcoming Opportunities & Selections • National Academy Studies Presentation at the OPAG • Mars Science Laboratory • Mission Status and Plans James L. Green Director, Planetary Science Division

November 6, 2008

1 2 Administration • Moving on: – John Rummel (Hq CS) - Astrobiology – Dennon Clardy (MSFC detailee) - Assistant for Flight Program – Kelly Snook (GSFC detailee) - Lunar Science Recent Selections, – Carlos Liceaga (LaRC detailee) - SALMON AO • Recent Personnel Additions: Opportunities & Studies – Mary Voytek (USGS detailee) - Astrobiology – Tibor Kremic (GRC detailee) - Assistant for Flight Program – Jennifer Heldmann (ARC detailee) - Lunar Science • Government transition: – Congress may pass budget before end of year – NASA preparing for the transition

3 4 Mars Scout-13 Selection Astrobiology Selections

CAN #5 - 10 selections with a 27% success rate – 5 new 5 returning teams but 2 with new PIs • Mark Allen, JPL, Titan as a prebiotic chemical system • Ariel Anbar, ASU, Follow the elements • George Cody, Carnegie Inst. Wash., Astrobiology Pathways • David DesMarais, ARC, Early habitable environments • Chris House, PSU, Signatures of life • Isik Kanik, JPL, Icy Worlds • Karen Meech, UH, Water and its relation to life • Mike Mumma, GSFC, Organics in planetary systems Mars Atmosphere & Volatile EvolutioN • Doug Whittet, RPI, Setting the stage for life • Loren Williams, GIT, Ribosome adaption & evolution

5 6 Upcoming 2008 Opportunities Academy Studies

• Congress: NASA will fund National Academy studies: • Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research (LASER) – R&A - Balance with missions – ESMD is not participating in the 2008 ROSES call but will maintain all their • To be headed by Len Fiske 2007 ROSES commitments – Radioisotope Power System Requirements & availability of Plutonium – ESMD participation in ROSES 2009 under discussion • Proceeding well, several meetings & site visits have occurred – PSD will continue with its commitment to support LASER ($2-3M/yr new awards) – NEO - address issues in the detection and mitigation • Jointly requested by NASA and NSF • NASA Lunar Science Institute Nodes • 1st meeting mid-December 9-10, 2008 at Keck Building – 32 proposals received – ESMD will be part of the selection and fund at least one node • NASA directed both near completion: – Expect to select 5-6 nodes with announcement before end of Jan. 2009 – Science Opportunities Enabled by NASA’s Constellation Sys. – Planetary Protection for Mars Sample Return • Stand-Alone Mission of Opportunity Notification (SALMON) – Released: September 3, 2008 – Preproposal conference held: September 26, 2008 – Each proposal opportunity has its own due date – LADEE Dust Detection Instrument has closed 7 8 Academy Studies (continued) Decadal Task Overview

• Planetary Science Decadal • An overview of planetary science - what it is, its relationship to other – Finalizing the Statement of Task (SOT) with NSF scientific endeavors, and why it is compelling • Expect ground-based planetary astronomy facilities & • A broad survey of the current state of knowledge of the solar system capabilities to be addressed • An inventory of the top-level scientific questions that should guide flight programs and supporting research programs – Expect SOT to be submitted to Academy in November • Recommendations on the optimum balance among small, medium, and • National Academy responsible for organization, large missions and supporting activities process, filling in panel structure • A discussion of high value technology development needs – Expect Assessment Groups, Recent & Current Science • A prioritized list of major flight investigations to be initiated over the Definition Teams to be critical input decade 2011-2020 • Recommendations for supporting research required to maximize the • Town hall discussions: science return from the flight investigations – DPS (completed) • Covers Solar System including the Mars & Moon – Fall AGU (December 18th @ 6:15pm)- PLEASE ATTEND! • Extrasolar planets are covered in the Astrophysics Decadal

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Mars Science Laboratory

Current Status and Plans

Under Study

11 12 Mars Science Lab Background Meeting with the Administrator

• MSL confirmed at $1.6B in August 2006 • Meeting with the Administrator on Oct. 10th – JPL, SRB, MEP office: Reviewed the technical, schedule, and cost – Cost determined at the end of Phase B challenges - presented recommendations – Reported to Congress – Major flight elements have been delivered • Overguide status through FY08 – Instrument development proceeding well – Preparing to start launch/cruise environmental testing in November – Requested & received an overguide of $200M (FY08) – MSL has a “reasonable” chance of meeting the 2009 LRD with – Exceeded 15% overguide threshold of NASA Authorization Act - acceptable risk regular reporting to Congress • Based on this input the Administrator supports a 2009 launch for – Budget Plan: $223M (FY09); $64M (FY10); $55M (FY11) MSL – Next Administrator review of MSL progress is in January 2009 • All missions >$1B are regularly reviewed by NASA • It is in the best interest of the Planetary community that MSL Administrator launch in 2009 a delayed launch date will have significant cost • Early October PSD received word that JPL was coming in impacts – JPL continues to make “reasonable” technical progress at this time with another overrun for FY09 • Total overrun and funding strategy will be reviewed by OMB and Congress (stay tuned!)

13 14 MSL HW Status Lessons-Learned • Project, Program Office and NASA Headquarters will perform L-L • Also expect to conduct an independent team evaluation • Elements to look at: – Technical readiness - (ie: changed heat shield material) – Was Phase-B long enough to adequately identify and retire risks – Scalability and Heritage – Manufacturing, assembly, test programs

15 16 2nd flyby Oct. 6th

Steins flyby Sept 5th Planetary Mission Status

25km Enceladus flyby Oct. 9th

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Set for launch Oct. 22

LaserCom Demo Lunar Program Wallops Launch on Minotaur V Extended Themis Mission

International geophysical network Will require backside communications

19 20 New Frontier Program Status • Open competition for PI class missions of strategic importance to Planetary Science • AO make great progress: New Frontiers & Discovery – Draft to be released and posted for community comment for about 3 months before final AO • First use of the new standard AO for PI-led missions Future Opportunities • Follows NOSSE recommendations 1 & 2

New Frontiers Program 21 22 nd rd 1st NF mission 2 NF mission 3 NF mission AO Mars evolution: Lunar formation: NEO characteristics: : (1996-1997) (1998-1999) NEAR (1996-1999) : South Pole - Aitken Basin Sample -Kuiper Belt Jupiter Polar Orbiter Return Mission Mission Surface Sample Return Completed

Venus In Situ Solar wind sampling: Comet diversity: Nature of dust/: Explorer (2001-2004) CONTOUR (1999-2006 )

Aug 15 2002 Network Science Lost Completed / In Flight /Centaur

Comet internal structure: Mercury environment: Main-belt : Lunar Internal Structure Sample Return (2005-2006) MESSENGER (2004-2012) (2007-2015) GRAIL (2011-2012 )

Io Observer Launched January 2006 August 2011 launch Arrives July 2015 In Flight / Development Ganymede Observer 23 No RPS were used on any of these 24 DSMCE Program Overview DSMCE Selections

Aerial Polar VALOR: The Feasibility of A Nuclear-Powered Long- • Discovery-Scout Mission Capability Enhancement Baines, Kevin JPL Venus Vehicle Duration Balloon Mission to Explore the Poles of Venus

Los Alamos National Locating and Characterizing Lunar Polar Volatiles: Feasibility Elphic, Richard Moon • Program solicited mission concept proposals for Laboratory of a Discovery-Class Mission Journey to the land of Eternal Darkness and Ice (JEDI): A Jolliff, Bradley Washington University Moon Rover small planetary missions that require the ASRG Lunar Polar Volatile Explorer power source Rivkin, Andrew Applied Physics Lab Asteroid Lander Ilion: An ASRG-Enabled Trojan Asteroid Mission Concept A tour through Martian history: An ASRG-powered polar ice – Two Stirling Engines with ~140 Watts each (as GFE) Hecht, Michael JPL Mars Lander borehole. • Intended to foster science exploration in planetary Stofan, Ellen Proxemy Research Outer Planets Lander (TiME) science by missions enabled by ASRG McEwen, Alfred University of Arizona Outer Planets Orbiter Mission Concept: (IVO) Sample Concept Study for a Comet Coma Rendezvous Sample Sandford, Scott NASA/AMES Comet Return Return Mission

• Mission design assistance for these 6 month mission Sunshine, Jessica Univeristy of Maryland Comet Lander Comet Hopper concept studies will be offered by NASA

• Selected 9 proposals out of 40 submitted • Next Discovery AO about 6 months after NF • GFE Stirling as part of the AO is TBD

25 26 OPF Studies • NASA-ESA joint studies of Jupiter System and Saturn System Science – Studies to concentrate on costing the “sweet spot” science missions – Align schedule with ESA: 2018-2022 launch date Outer Planets Flagship Status • Studies have been delivered to NASA for review – More details to be provide by Curt Niebur • Complete a technical evaluation during Nov/Dec. • Presentation to NASA & ESA science heads in Jan. 2009 • One destination will go forward as a NASA/ESA effort – ESA: Continue as a part of the larger Cosmic Visions selection process – NASA: technical risk reduction and detailed budget planning

27 28 SALMON: Types of Missions of Opportunity • Traditional MoOs – Investigations involving participation in non-NASA space missions (ie: science instrument, technology demonstrations, hardware components …) • U.S. Participating Investigator NASA’s – Co-Investigator (non-hardware) for a science or technology experiment to be built and flown by an agency other than NASA • New Science Missions using Existing Spacecraft – Investigations that propose a new scientific use of existing NASA spacecraft (ie: NExT, EPOXI …) • Small Complete Missions – Science investigations that can be realized within the specified cost cap (includes all phases from access to space through data publication) • Focused Opportunities – Investigations that address a specific, NASA-identified flight opportunity “Flyby, Orbit, Land, Rove, and Return Samples” 29 30

Recent Selections

• Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) – Launch in ~November 2013 • Astrobiology CAN #5 – 10 selections (5 new 5 returning teams but 2 with new PIs) 27% success rate – Obtained contributions from Astrophysics and Earth Science Divisions – Press release today!

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