Nasa's Ames Research Center

NASA’S AMES RESEARCH CENTER: Contributions to Flight and Planetary Science James Anderson, NASA Ames Historian

Featured Story From the Desk of Lori Glaze News from Space Meeting Highlights Opportunities for Students

Spotlight on Education In Memoriam Milestones New and Noteworthy Calendar

LUNAR AND PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN October 2019 Issue 158 FEATURED STORY

NASA’S AMES RESEARCH CENTER: Contributions to Flight and Planetary Science James Anderson, NASA Ames Historian

Note from the Editors: This issue’s lead article is the ninth in a series of reports describing the history and current activities of the planetary research facilities funded by NASA and located nationwide. This issue features NASA’s Ames Research Center, which has led NASA in conducting world-class research and development in aeronautics, exploration technology, and science since 1939. — Paul Schenk and Renée Dotson

Aerial image of NASA Ames Research Center. Credit: NASA.

This year marks the 80th anniver- expansion of the facilities that the atmosphere provides an artful sary of NASA’s Ames Research National Advisory Committee for organizing theme to tie together Center, situated in the heart of Aeronautics (NACA) established all the different facets of research California’s Silicon Valley. Before at Langley Memorial Aeronautical and the independent, expert, and the advent of both NASA and Laboratory, now NASA’s Langley sometimes eccentric, characters of Silicon Valley, Ames was already Research Center. Ames has always the researchers themselves who evolving as a special place where had a cadre of theorists, engineers, have made Ames what it is over state-of-the-art facilities and machinists, and computers (from the years — the “atmosphere” world-class talent melded to humans to supercomputers) that of Ames as a place. When taken produce cutting-edge research in have collaborated to solve the literally, an atmosphere is that aerodynamics, thermodynamics, most urgent and interesting prob- immense, life-sustaining, gaseous and simulation. lems related to flight. ocean at the bottom of which we live and find refuge from the Basic and applied research have Flight, of course, requires hazards of the space beyond been cornerstones of Ames since some kind of an atmosphere. Earth. After all, the first “A” in it was founded in 1939 as an When taken metaphorically, an NASA is “Aeronautics,” and there

is no way to get from Earth to Icing studies were already under- work at Ames. There were also space without passing through way at Langley and the leader of limitations to what sorts of icing our atmosphere, just as there is that effort, Lewis Rodert, brought conditions could be produced in no way to land on another world that research to Ames and con- wind tunnels. without passing through its own, ducted it out of the first research however tenuous, otherworldly building to open here. Aircraft Things getting cold proved to be atmosphere. Atmospheres and were modified to collect data per- a much less persistent issue of the need to understand and adapt tinent to the issue, and the results interest than having to deal with our technology to their structures, informed early solutions in ther- things getting hot and turbulent. their behaviors, and their underly- mal deicing that were built into a Before the end of the war, there ing physics have permeated much number of Allied aircraft during were already plans for expanding of the work at Ames. the war. Rodert would win the supersonic tunnel design. Ames Collier Trophy for this research. had a supersonic tunnel with a 1 Even though atmospheres are far × 3-foot (30 × 91-centimeter) test from the whole story, the diverse After the war, Rodert moved on section, but newer tunnels would areas of expertise at Ames today, to the NACA’s third laboratory, be required to accommodate from entry systems and aero- now NASA’s Glenn Research larger models and to get around sciences to cost-effective space Center. Further pursuing the icing other limitations that the dimen- missions, intelligent and adaptive research into evermore refined sions imposed. systems, advanced computing and and practical applications was not IT systems, air traffic management, the cutting-edge theoretical work The new supersonic tunnel that astrobiology, life science, and that was already dominant, and was built proved incapable, initially, space and Earth science, have would continue to dominate, the of operating in the transonic sometimes evolved in concert with one another and, at other times, independently of one another. The interests of research leaders and their teams often accounted for the disciplinary shifts between the research fields.

When NASA succeeded the NACA in 1958, planetary science was hardly a leading justification for that shift, but NASA would soon develop strength in the field, and Ames played an integral role from the beginning. What follows are some key highlights from Ames’ past and present that have made — and continue to make — Ames the indispensable node it is within NASA and throughout the expanded networks of planetary science and space technology. Ames Before NASA H. Julian “Harvey” Before NASA, there was Allen in 1957 in front supersonic flight. And before of the 8 × 7-foot (244 × 213-centimeter) supersonic flight, there were Supersonic Wind problems affecting aircraft that Tunnel test section. ranged from icing to engine buf- A blunt body model feting, all of which resulted from mounted in the test section is ready for interactions with the aircraft and testing. Credit: NACA. our atmosphere.

regime. Charles Hall, a longtime away from the body’s surface out as a center. As the Apollo-era bud- Ames researcher who will reappear into the surrounding atmosphere, gets ebbed, the Center continued in this story, led the modifications be it a capsule containing a war- to advance the state-of-the-art in to the 6 × 6-foot (183 × 183-cen- head or, eventually, an astronaut. the cutting-edge fields that had timeter) supersonic tunnel to pre-dated Apollo, while branching make it operational continuously out into life sciences and the space from Mach 0.65 to Mach 2.2. The Ames in the sciences. tunnel enabled basic research that resulted in the development of Apollo Era innovations such as the conical The blunt body concept has The Planetary camber and improved understand- remained an enduring innovation, ing of vortex flows. as the concept continues to be Atmosphere applied to entry probe design Experiments Even before NASA, however, today. Throughout the 1960s, the Ames was not simply a world-class Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Test (PAET) collection of wind tunnels. A capsule shapes were all tested in complimentary and exceedingly Ames’ facilities and refined as a Validation of the blunt body practical, quick, and economical result. In addition to thermal pro- concept and stability testing of method of research was employed tection system research and heat various re-entry capsule designs to collect transonic data that shield testing, Ames also devel- took place in the Ames hypervel- helped validate the supersonic area oped navigation systems, designed ocity free flight facility. Prototypes rule, a theory developed at Ames flight simulators, built magnetom- for the facility had been con- by Robert T. Jones, the American eters deployed on the Moon, and structed in 1958 and 1961, inventor of the swept wing. That analyzed lunar samples to look for achieving re-entry speeds with method involved simply dropping signs of life. models launched into a count- models, often full scale, with their er-flow of gas in a shock tunnel. instrumentation from aircraft aloft. Along with Johnson Space Rocket-boosted model tests would Center, Ames was the only other One of the leaders of that have been more expensive and NASA facility to analyze Apollo research and technological devel- time-consuming. 11 samples in 1969. The Lunar opment, Alvin Seiff, had designed Biological Laboratory contained a supersonic free flight tunnel at As the 1950s progressed, plenty a clean room — an integral part Ames that opened in 1948. By the of rockets were being tested of the semiconductor industry 1960s, Seiff and David Reese, the for their flight properties, and — that was specifically designed Assistant Chief of the Vehicle re-entry conditions proved to be and built to look for signs of life Environment Division, had been a major obstacle to protecting the in the lunar samples. The Ames considering how an entry probe intended nuclear warhead cargo. scientists in the Life Detection could be used to determine atmo- The pointed nose cone shapes that Systems Branch comprised a team spheric structure. worked so well aerodynamically at of chemists, biologists, and micro- certain speeds could not withstand biologists (about a third of whom Seiff’s key insight was to invert the thermodynamic heating that were women) who tested 300 dif- the whole approach to hypervel- resulted from re-entry speeds at ferent environments using 10 petri ocity aerodynamic research. Rather higher Mach numbers. dishes for each environment. than determining the aerodynamics of a body traveling through To solve the re-entry problem, Those 3000 petri dishes were known atmospheric conditions, a counterintuitive solution was monitored for any signs of life. Of how could a body of known proposed and developed by course, no signs of life have ever aerodynamics be used to deter- Ames’ most eccentric character been detected, but the experience mine the atmospheric conditions? and Smith DeFrance’s succeeding gained in Vance Oyama’s lab would The solution would open up other director, the chief of the Ames later inform the Viking mission to worlds, literally, to the study of Theoretical Aerodynamics Section, Mars. For Viking, the biology team their atmospheres during probe H. Julian “Harvey” Allen. Allen’s would be led by Ames’ Harold P. entry. The result was the Planetary blunt body concept addressed Klein, and Oyama served as the Atmosphere Experiments Test the fact that at re-entry speeds, principal investigator for the gas (PAET), a project that Reese thermodynamics became more exchange experiment. managed through its design, devel- important than aerodynamics. A opment, and fabrication at Ames. blunt tip changed the bow shock Apollo benefitted from Ames’ wave in a way that shifted the heat expertise without redefining Ames The PAET probe was outfitted

A view looking down into the top of the completed Planetary Atmosphere Experiments Test (PAET) engineering model showing the details of the assembly’s components and wiring harness. Credit: Charlie Lonzo.

with accelerometers, pressure and the PAET’s systems functioned as data to reconstruct an atmospheric temperature sensors, a mass spec- designed and the payload contin- profile. This validation on Earth trometer, and a radiometer. The ued to send data for over an hour led to its application in the plan- radiometer measured emission as it floated, but it sank before the etary atmospheric entries carried from the shock layer of the probe. USS Vanguard arrived to retrieve out by Pioneer Venus, multiple Once fabrication of the PAET it. Retrieval would have been a Mars entries starting with both spacecraft was complete, it was nice benefit, but it was never a Viking landers, the Galileo probe loaded onboard a plane in May requirement for the mission. to Jupiter, and the Huygens probe 1971 and sent to Wallops Station to Saturn’s moon Titan. in Virginia for launch. Not only did the mission give practical feedback about the In concert with such practical, PAET launched from Wallops behavior of the instruments under economical, and scientifically rich on Sunday, June 20, and splashed true atmospheric entry conditions, instrumentation at Ames was down near Bermuda within 15 but the data the PAET returned the equally important theoretical minutes. Its entry speed was 6.6 overlaid beautifully with meteo- research into planetary atmo- kilometers per second (4 miles rological data from conventional spheres. Of the many talented per second), high enough to soundings. Especially successful scientists in the field, James Pollack require the rocket boost supplied was the atmosphere structure deserves special recognition. by NASA’s Scout rocket. The determination, which returned a Scout was NASA’s only solid temperature profile accurate to rocket with orbital capability at within 1°C (less than 2°F) over James Pollack the time, so the days of dropping long stretches of the 80 kilome- a test probe from an airplane or ters (50 miles) in altitude from Pollack spent over 20 years at even a high-altitude balloon like which it started recording. Ames until succumbing to a form so many previous and successful of cancer at age 55. A researcher aerodynamics tests would not PAET proved that a probe could whose work embodied the have sufficed. The launch had enter an atmosphere while col- connections to be drawn and the been delayed two days because lecting data at planetary re-entry insights to be gained through the of antenna issues that the USS speeds, transmit that data before study of atmospheres and plane- Vanguard sustained after encoun- impact — but after emerging tary science — and their humbling tering rough seas during its from the communications black- and profound influence on our participation providing telemetry out phase of entry — and that understanding of Earth — Pollack for an earlier Mariner launch. All researchers could then use that was involved with every major

of fields within planetary science over his career. He advanced and refined models of greenhouse heating using data returned from Mariner 5 and Venera 4. He studied aerosols and their effect on the climate, developed numerical models for the physics underlying planetary formation of the gas giants, and contributed to the general circula- tion model that would become the Mars Global Climate Model.

He developed a reputation for seeing the big picture, and for providing cogent insights and sug- gestions to his colleagues. While not a computer scientist, Pollack supported the computer coding work through incredibly detailed handwritten notes to the program- Dr. James Pollack of mers. His relationship with his own the Ames Theoretical desktop workstation produced Studies Branch. an amusing anecdote. Apparently Credit: Wade Sisler. unaware that his e-mail messages planetary mission from Mariner 9 Sagan’s first graduate student at could be deleted, years of messages through Cassini, which launched Harvard, where he completed his took up enough disk space that it three years after Pollack passed doctorate. Sagan’s own thesis had led to trouble with his computer away in 1994. focused on Venus and, while at account. It’s worth considering the Harvard, Pollack’s doctoral thesis photo of Pollack at the computer He was the “P” in the famous investigated the greenhouse effect in light of such a story, seeing “TTAPS” paper, “Nuclear Winter: in Venus’ atmosphere. someone completely at ease with Global Consequences of Multiple physical theory, numerical theory, Nuclear Explosions,” published They were close collaborators and even the associated algorithms, in Science in 1983. At the time, and at the same time polar while remaining endearingly clue- Pollack was the chief scientist of opposites in many respects. less about clearing out an inbox. the Ames Climate Office, a posi- Sagan became a wildly popular tion he held from 1978 to 1984. communicator of science and Pollack put the Ames supercom- For the publication, fellow Ames pursued a broad array of research puters to work. Drawing upon scientists Brian Toon and Thomas interests over the course of his his earlier work on Venus and Ackerman contributed their career, while Pollack maintained a the greenhouse effect, Pollack expertise on cloud microphysics, dedicated focus to planetary sci- further developed radiative transfer climate, and radiation. Richard ence and became renowned only algorithms that astronomer Allen Turco, working for defense within particular segments of the Grossman and physicist Harold contractor R&D Associates, was scientific community. Graboske had applied to the evolu- the lead author. Carl Sagan was tion of low mass stars. the “S.” By the late 1960s, Pollack was looking forward to returning Pollack also drew upon Ames’ Pollack had met Sagan at the to northern California when strength in airborne astronomy. University of California, Berkeley, Raymond Reynolds, the chief of Continuing the study of the clouds when he was completing a the Theoretical Studies Branch, of Venus in early 1971, Pollack master’s degree in physics while hired Pollack, who then began his connected with Fred Witteborn, Sagan worked as a postdoctoral career at Ames in 1970. Reynolds chief of the Astrophysics Branch researcher. Their overlapping and Pollack both shared interests at Ames. This led to airborne interests sparked a collaboration in the greenhouse effect and the observations of Venus onboard that would continue for the rest atmosphere of Jupiter. an Ames Learjet in the summer of of their lives. After completing his 1972 using an infrared telescope. master’s degree, Pollack became Pollack contributed to a number The observations indicated that

Artist’s concept of the venusian atmosphere contained series of spin-stabilized satellites, the gas giant before its slingshot Pioneer 10 crossing sulfuric acid in high concentrations. identical in their basic design, around the planet carried it out on the asteroid belt. carried various combinations of its historic path. Pioneer 11 soon Credit: Rick Guidice. It was an exciting time for plan- instruments into heliocentric orbit followed and was sent even closer etary science. Pioneer 10 had that measured solar wind and around Jupiter and on to Saturn. launched in the spring of 1972, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and Pioneers 10 and 11 certainly lived followed by Pioneer 11, both of cosmic dust. Those economical up to their name, beginning the which were managed at Ames. And spacecraft, Pioneers 6 through so-called “grand tour” of the with the success of the PAET 9, were managed at Ames and outer planets, which culminated and the lobbying efforts of Ames’ became the first spacebased solar with the breathtaking imagery that Director Hans Mark, NASA weather monitoring network. Voyagers 1 and 2 would capture transferred the program that would of not just Jupiter and Saturn, but become Pioneer Venus to Ames The next two missions to receive also Uranus and Neptune, before from Goddard. Charlie Hall, the numerical designations, Pioneers eventually overtaking the Pioneers manager of Pioneers 10 and 11, led 10 and 11, were also spin-stabi- on their respective journeys. that program as well, which sent lized and became the first two of two separate vehicles — an orbiter only five spacecraft that have been Underscoring the momentous and a bus containing four entry sent on trajectories that have, or nature of the spacecraft leaving probes — to the planet, both of eventually will have, carried them our solar system, Sagan spear- which launched in 1978. out of the solar system. Pioneer headed the effort to have the 10 became the first to cross the Pioneer plaques affixed to the Pioneers orbit of Mars, pass through craft. The amount of informa- the asteroid belt, and reach the tion about humanity carried 10 and 11 planet Jupiter. There, in 1973, its onboard such a craft would soon suite of instruments powered be increased even more with the From 1965 to 1968, as human by radioisotope thermoelectric creation of the Voyager records. spaceflight attracted much of the generators sent back the first data attention that NASA received, a and images from the vicinity of The Pioneers were both scientific

Pioneer 10 interstellar plaque positioned on the spacecraft. Credit: NASA.

and cultural achievements. The its outstanding contributions to borne and infrared astronomy manager of the Pioneers, Charlie the Science of television technol- that dates back to at least the Hall, was known for conduct- ogy for its work on Pioneer 10 1960s. While the advent of plan- ing stand-up meetings because and the Jupiter remote tele- etary spacecraft in the 1960s was “people don’t talk so long when cast December 3, 1973.” So in a major development in planetary their feet get tired.” That reason addition to the scientific laurels science, the concurrent devel- was mentioned in Jupiter Odyssey, Pioneer received, it also collected opments in airborne capabilities a 1974 documentary film about an Emmy. have been indispensable, too. Pioneer that was but one example of how Pioneer was recognized Airborne science at Ames has in media. From Airborne looked both up into deep space and down to our planet below, The intersection between media Science to enabling decades of research and science was particularly Virtual Institutes open to scientists from around evident in the Pioneer Image the world. SOFIA’s predecessor, Converter System (PICS), devel- In 2015, as the New Horizons the Kuiper Airborne Observatory oped by L. Ralph Baker of the probe was passing by Pluto, Pluto (KAO), was enabled because of University of Arizona. PICS passed between the line of sight the success that earlier platforms allowed for a real-time display from Earth to a distant star. This had achieved. And the success of the spin-scan images returned occultation was visible from the of the KAO led to its ultimate from the photopolarimeter and Southern Hemisphere and was retirement in order to support included a video signal. That sig- captured by the Stratospheric the development of SOFIA. nal, after creation of a synthetic Observatory for Infrared green image of Jupiter from the Astronomy (SOFIA), the only Airborne observations were also scientifically more interesting observatory in existence capable a part of the Stardust mission’s red and blue channels that were of positioning itself anywhere re-entry. Stardust had passed simultaneously recorded by around the globe and above the through the tail of Comet Wild 2, Pioneer 10, could be broadcast vast majority of water in our collecting dust samples (as well as over television. In recognition, atmosphere, a necessary capability cosmic dust samples along the way), the San Francisco chapter of the for conducting infrared astronomy. and returned those samples to National Academy of Television Earth at the fastest re-entry speed Arts and Sciences presented the SOFIA is only the most recent of any spacecraft, almost twice the Governors’ Award to Ames “for example in a long line of air- re-entry speed of the PAET.

Those samples, and the science airborne observations have helped science is so intimately tied to surrounding their study, are calibrate spacebased observations our understanding of how Earth indicative of the broader, inter- in the past. formed, this research and the disciplinary, and cross-pollinating USGS co-location could present nature of research that the figura- And just as the PAET probe a unique opportunity for refining tive atmosphere of Ames provides. proved a capability on Earth for our understanding of Earth’s From lunar science to astrobiology, use on other worlds, so too may cosmic history while advancing Ames has led the development the resulting collaborative efforts the science and technology that of “virtual institutes,” which between these agencies result in supports Earth-monitoring. bring together researchers across future methods and technologies disciplinary, geographical, and that could be deployed through- Ultimately, our knowledge of organizational separations that out the solar system. It is only Earth is a subset of planetary sci- have historically restricted the flow with the help of agencies such as ence. The enduring value of Ames of scientific communication and NASA and the National Oceanic as a Center is due in no small part hindered collaboration. and Atmospheric Administration to its ability to forge connections (NOAA) that the USGS can that support cutting-edge research get into our atmosphere above and the development of our Ames Today ground level. Once up there, there understanding of our place in the are plenty of opportunities to cosmos. In September of this year, study biology and geology aloft, astronomers using data from the which will only enrich work in Suggested Further Reading Hubble Space Telescope detected other fields like astrobiology and water vapor in the atmosphere of the study of extremophiles. For the most recent overview of exoplanet K2-18b. This exoplanet Ames history, see: is one of thousands now known Additionally, two NASA spacecraft to exist in our galaxy thanks to the currently in development — the Bugos G. E. (2014) Atmosphere Kepler spacecraft, a mission for Mars Helicopter Scout, which of Freedom: 75 Years at which Ames’ Bill Borucki served will accompany the Mars 2020 the NASA Ames Research as the principal investigator. rover, and Dragonfly, a rotorcraft Center. NASA SP-2014-4314, octocopter that will fly to various National Aeronautics and Space Meanwhile, other promising landing points on Titan — are the Administration, NASA History developments are underway firsts of their kind that will take Office, Washington DC. much closer to home. Over this airborne science to other worlds. summer, more than 200 employ- Ames is playing a role in each of For a more detailed account of ees of the U.S. Geological Survey these missions. James Pollack’s work and remi- (USGS) have been moving in niscences from colleagues who at Ames in the NASA Research As we just celebrated the 50th worked with him, see: Park section of the campus. Both anniversary of Apollo, its legacy NASA and the USGS share a is still with us. The Moon remains Marlaire R. D. (2017) James B. mandate to observe, study, and a promising and exciting source Pollack and NASA’s Planetary understand Earth. for scientific research today and Missions: A Tribute. NASA Apollo samples are still contribut- SP-2017-632, National This new co-location of scientific ing to that research. Just this year, Aeronautics and Space talent should enable some poten- NASA announced nine teams that Administration, Washington DC. tially very significant occasions for have been selected to receive pris- cooperation. There are opportu- tine samples returned from Apollo nities for jointly developed tools that have been stored untouched for future satellite missions, as at Johnson Space Center. The well as opportunities to enhance Ames team will study their sample scientific returns through con- to investigate how exposure to the necting USGS ground station environment of space affects the data collection capabilities with surface of the Moon, often called spacebased observations, just as “space weathering.” Since lunar

REFLECTIONS ON NASA’S AMES RESEARCH CENTER Lori S. Glaze Director, NASA’s Planetary Science Division, October 2019

As I reflect on the 80th anniversary scientists to construct a detailed of NASA’s Ames Research Center, map of the lunar surface, and I cannot help being reminded of neutron spectrometer data helped the very word chosen to depict lead to one of planetary science’s the center’s core value: Research. most exciting discoveries — the Originally founded in 1939 to presence of water ice in the polar conduct important wind-tunnel craters of the Moon. research for aircraft structures, Ames’ excellence in basic and The Lunar Crater Observation applied research establishes it as a and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) key player in conducting world- launched in tandem with the class research and development in Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter aeronautics, exploration tech- (LRO) onboard an Atlas V rocket nology, and science for the past in June 2009 as part of the four decades. Providing leader- shared Lunar Precursor Robotic ship in robotic lunar exploration Program — America’s first mis- and astrobiology, Ames laid the sion to the Moon in more than returned from Apollo. These groundwork for some of the 10 years. Assembled and tested samples — considered national Agency’s top-level priorities, mis- at Ames, LCROSS continued treasures —have been stored sions, and programs. the legacy of Lunar Prospector’s and untouched at Johnson Space search for water ice in the per- Center for years, until now. Ames Through human and robotic manently shadowed craters near houses one of the teams selected exploration, our understanding the Moon’s poles. Both LRO and to expound our concept of space of the Moon fundamentally LCROSS forever changed the weathering and advance our changed, and Ames is a prominent way we think about the Moon understanding of how exposure author of that story. Managed by and effectively set the stage for to the space environment affects Ames and selected as part of the the Agency’s priorities of return- the lunar surface. This important Discovery Program, the Lunar ing to the Moon in a sustainable research not only helps NASA Prospector was a transformative way with the Artemis program. prepare for future expeditions to mission that successfully launched the Moon, but also gives us further into low polar orbit of the Moon Earlier this year, NASA proudly insight into our home planet’s in January of 1998 onboard the handpicked nine teams to be cosmic history and origin. American-made Athena II rocket. entrusted with opening one of The Lunar Prospector allowed the remaining pristine samples As we look beyond our Earth-

Moon system, Ames has been Act Agreements, further echoing about the future. Ames is con- integral in NASA’s robotic explo- that science and space exploration tinuing its legacy of excellence ration of planets with atmospheres, is a collaborative and unifying in lunar exploration by making as well as missions needing to effort. important contributions to the re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The Science Mission Directorate’s unique and innovative Thermal For the last 20 years, the NASA Lunar Discovery and Exploration Protection System (TPS) con- Astrobiology Institute (NAI) Program (LDEP) by managing sisting of Phenolic Impregnated helped establish and advance the Volatiles Investigating Polar Carbon Ablator (PICA) tiles the field of astrobiology, doing Exploration Rover (VIPER), developed at Ames in the 1980s important work in furthering our leading the mission’s science, sys- enabled technology for flagship understanding of the origin, evo- tems engineering, real-time rover missions like the Mars Curiosity lution, distribution, and future of surface operations, and software Rover. Ames’ Arc Jet Complex life in the universe. Following the efforts. This unprecedented is an invaluable resource to leadership of the NAI, the field of rover will allow scientists to take test missions with heatshields astrobiology grew and expanded an up-close look at the Moon’s expected to encounter heating into a multi-disciplinary endeavor south pole, and for the first time and pressure conditions similar advancing knowledge of the types ever, analyze and sample the water to those experienced by a space- of environments able to support ice known to be present because craft during atmospheric re-entry. life as well as exploring techniques of important findings from the More recently, NASA’s Heatshield for how we might recognize life Lunar Prospector and LCROSS. for Extreme Entry Environment on another body. Similarly, Ames Additionally, Ames’ Near InfraRed Technology (HEEET) Project is pushed the boundaries in NASA’s Volatiles Spectrometer System perfecting a new, three-dimen- fundamental space biology (NIRVSS) onboard VIPER is sional, woven TPS technology, program, which is responsible critical to analyzing regolith and directly contributing to science for hundreds of science payloads ice samples in the area where the missions recommended in the flown into space. These science first woman and next man will land Planetary Science Decadal Survey. demonstrations directly furthered under the Artemis program. This These technologies are necessary our understanding of biology mission epitomizes the research for future missions requiring and helped illuminate paths for and innovation at the very core protection from extremely intense creating countermeasures for of Ames, and I cannot wait to see atmospheric pressure and heating, longer-duration human spaceflight, what great science it will uncover. I advancing our technology today helping guide NASA as it looks thank all of the staff at Ames, past for the missions of tomorrow. forward to the Moon and Mars. and present, for your contributions Moreover, the Entry Systems and to NASA and planetary science, Technology division at Ames is The past 80 years of Ames and I look forward to the scientific aiding NASA in strengthening accomplishments are a source mysteries we will uncover through commercial partnerships with col- of great pride, and I am filled the hard work, excellence, and laborative and reimbursable Space with excitement when thinking research at Ames.

New Models Suggest Titan Lakes Are Explosion Craters

This artist’s concept of a lake at the north pole of Saturn’s moon Titan illustrates raised rims and rampart-like features such as those seen by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft around the moon’s Winnipeg Lacus. Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech.

Using radar data from NASA’s that fill with the liquid. This may spacecraft prepared for its final Cassini spacecraft, recently pub- be the origin of a type of lake on plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere lished research presents a new Titan that has sharp boundaries. two years ago. An international scenario to explain why some On Earth, bodies of water that team of scientists led by Giuseppe methane-filled lakes on Saturn’s formed similarly, by dissolving Mitri of Italy’s Università d’An- moon Titan are surrounded by surrounding limestone, are known nunzio became convinced that steep rims that reach hundreds of as karstic lakes. the karstic model was inconsistent feet high. The model suggests that with what they saw in these images. explosions of warming nitrogen The new, alternative model for created basins in the moon’s crust. some of the smaller lakes (tens of “The rim goes up, and the karst kilometers/miles across) turns that process works in the opposite way,” Titan is the only planetary body in theory upside down: It proposes Mitri said. “We were not finding our solar system other than Earth pockets of liquid nitrogen in any explanation that fit with a known to have stable liquid on its Titan’s crust warmed, turning into karstic lake basin. In reality, the surface. Instead of water raining explosive gas that blew out craters, morphology was more consistent down from clouds and filling lakes which then filled with liquid with an explosion crater, where and seas as on Earth, on Titan it methane. The new theory explains the rim is formed by the ejected is methane and ethane — hydro- why some of the smaller lakes near material from the crater interior. carbons that we think of as gases Titan’s north pole, like Winnipeg It’s totally a different process.” but that behave as liquids in Titan’s Lacus, appear in radar imaging to frigid climate. have very steep rims that tower The work meshes with other Titan above sea level — rims difficult to climate models showing the moon Most existing models that lay out explain with the karstic model. may be warm compared to how it the origin of Titan’s lakes show liq- was in earlier Titan “ice ages.” uid methane dissolving the moon’s The radar data were gathered by bedrock of ice and solid organic the Cassini Saturn Orbiter during Over the last half-billion or compounds, carving reservoirs its last close flyby of Titan, as the billion years on Titan, methane

in its atmosphere has acted as a University in Ithaca, New York. said Cassini Project Scientist Linda greenhouse gas, keeping the moon Spilker of JPL. “As scientists relatively warm — although still “These lakes with steep edges, continue to mine the treasure trove cold by Earth standards. Scientists ramparts and raised rims would of Cassini data, we’ll keep putting have long believed that the moon be a signpost of periods in Titan’s more and more pieces of the puz- has gone through epochs of cool- history when there was liquid zle together. Over the next decades, ing and warming, as methane is nitrogen on the surface and in the we will come to understand the depleted by solar-driven chemistry crust,” he noted. Even localized Saturn system better and better.” and then resupplied. warming would have been enough to turn the liquid nitrogen into For more about Titan, please visit: In the colder periods, nitrogen vapor, causing it to expand quickly https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ dominated the atmosphere, rain- and blow out a crater. missions/cassini/overview/ ing down and cycling through the icy crust to collect in pools just “This is a completely different below the surface, said Cassini explanation for the steep rims scientist and study co-author around those small lakes, which Jonathan Lunine of Cornell has been a tremendous puzzle,”

NASA Mission Selects Final Four Site Candidates for Asteroid Sample Return

After months grappling with the craft’s earliest images, however, asteroid operations to address rugged reality of asteroid Bennu’s revealed Bennu has an especially such unexpected challenges. In a surface, the team leading NASA’s rocky terrain. Since then, the aster- demonstration of its flexibility and first asteroid sample return mission oid’s boulder-filled topography has ingenuity in response to Bennu’s has selected four potential sites for created a challenge for the team surprises, the mission team is the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, to identify safe areas containing adapting its site selection process. Resource Identification, Security- sampleable material, which must Instead of down-selecting to the Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) be fine enough — less than 2.5 final two sites this summer, the spacecraft to “tag” its cosmic cm (1 in.) in diameter – for the mission will spend an additional dance partner. spacecraft’s sampling mechanism four months studying the four to ingest it. candidate sites in detail, with a par- Since its arrival in December 2018, ticular focus on identifying regions the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has “We knew that Bennu would of fine-grain, sampleable material mapped the entire asteroid in order surprise us, so we came prepared from upcoming, high-resolution to identify the safest and most for whatever we might find,” said observations of each site. The accessible spots for the spacecraft Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx prin- boulder maps that citizen science to collect a sample. These four cipal investigator at the University counters helped create through sites now will be studied in further of Arizona, Tucson. “As with any observations earlier this year were detail in order to select the final mission of exploration, deal- used as one of many pieces of two sites — a primary and backup ing with the unknown requires data considered when assess- — in December. flexibility, resources, and ingenu- ing each site’s safety. The data ity. The OSIRIS-REx team has collected will be key to selecting The team originally had planned to demonstrated these essential traits the final two sites best suited for choose the final two sites by this for overcoming the unexpected sample collection. point in the mission. Initial anal- throughout the Bennu encounter.” ysis of Earth-based observations In order to further adapt to suggested the asteroid’s surface The original mission schedule Bennu’s ruggedness, the OSIRIS- likely contains large “ponds” of intentionally included more than REx team has made other fine-grained material. The space- 300 days of extra time during adjustments to its sample site

The final four candidate sample on Bennu. There are multiple collection sites on possible sampling regions in this asteroid Bennu site, which is set in a small crater are designated Nightingale, encompassed by a larger crater 140 Kingfisher, Osprey m (459 ft.) in diameter. The site and Sandpiper. Each contains mostly fine-grained, dark circle has a 5-m material and has the lowest albedo, (16.4-ft.) radius. Credit: NASA/ or reflection, and surface tempera- Goddard/University ture of the four sites. of Arizona. Kingfisher is located in a small crater near Bennu’s equator at 11° north latitude. The crater has a diameter of 8 m (26 ft.) and is surrounded by boulders, although the site itself is free of large rocks. Among the four sites, Kingfisher has the strongest spectral signature for hydrated minerals.

Osprey is set in a small crater, 20 m (66 ft.) in diameter, which is also located in Bennu’s equatorial region at 11° north latitude. There identification process. The original OSIRIS-REx project manager at are several possible sampling mission plan envisioned a sample NASA’s Goddard Space Flight regions within the site. The site with a radius of 25 m (82 Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. diversity of rock types in the ft.). Boulder-free sites of that size “That extraordinary performance surrounding area suggests that the don’t exist on Bennu, so the team encompasses not only the space- regolith within Osprey may also be has instead identified sites ranging craft and instruments, but also the diverse. Osprey has the strongest from 5–10 m (16–33 ft.) in radius. team who continues to meet every spectral signature of carbon-rich In order for the spacecraft to challenge that Bennu throws at us.” material among the four sites. accurately target a smaller site, the team reassessed the spacecraft’s The four candidate sample Sandpiper is located in Bennu’s operational capabilities to maxi- sites on Bennu are designated southern hemisphere, at 47° south mize its performance. The mission Nightingale, Kingfisher, Osprey, latitude. The site is in a relatively also has tightened its navigation and Sandpiper — all birds native flat area on the wall of a large requirements to guide the space- to Egypt. The naming theme crater 63 m (207 ft.) in diameter. craft to the asteroid’s surface, complements the mission’s two Hydrated minerals are also present, and developed a new sampling other naming conventions — which indicates that Sandpiper technique called “Bullseye TAG,” Egyptian deities (the asteroid and may contain unmodified water- which uses images of the asteroid spacecraft) and mythological birds rich material. surface to navigate the spacecraft (surface features on Bennu). all the way to the actual surface This fall, OSIRIS-REx will begin with high accuracy. The mission’s The four sites are diverse in both detailed analyses of the four performance so far has demon- geographic location and geological candidate sites during the mission’s strated that the new standards are features. While the amount of reconnaissance phase. During within its capabilities. sampleable material in each site the first stage of this phase, the has yet to be determined, all four spacecraft will execute high passes “Although OSIRIS-REx was sites have been evaluated thor- over each of the four sites from designed to collect a sample from oughly to ensure the spacecraft’s a distance of 1.29 kilometers (0.8 an asteroid with a beach-like area, safety as it descends to, touches, miles) to confirm they are safe the extraordinary in-flight perfor- and collects a sample from the and contain sampleable material. mance to date demonstrates that asteroid’s surface. Close-up imaging also will map the we will be able to meet the chal- features and landmarks required lenge that the rugged surface of Nightingale is the northern-most for the spacecraft’s autonomous Bennu presents,” said Rich Burns, site, situated at 56° north latitude navigation to the asteroid’s surface.

The team will use the data from higher resolution observations For more about OSIRIS-REx and these passes to select the final pri- of the surface to identify features, asteroid sample return, please visit: mary and backup sample collection such as groupings of rocks that https://www.asteroidmission.org/ sites in December. will be used to navigate to the surface for sample collection. The second and third stages of OSIRIS-REx sample collection reconnaissance will begin in early is scheduled for the latter half of 2020 when the spacecraft will per- 2020, and the spacecraft will return form passes over the final two sites the asteroid samples to Earth on at lower altitudes and take even September 24, 2023.

New Finds for Mars Rover, Seven Years After Landing

MRO didn’t detect clay. That led scientists to wonder what is causing the findings from orbit and the surface to differ. This mosaic of images shows layers The science team is thinking of ancient sediment through possible reasons as on a boulder- sized rock called to why the clay minerals here “Strathdon,” as seen stood out to MRO. The rover by the Mars Hand encountered a “parking lot full Lens Imager (MAHLI) of gravel and pebbles” when camera on the end of the robotic arm it first entered the area, said on NASA’s Curiosity the campaign’s other co-lead, rover. Credit: NASA/ Valerie Fox of Caltech. One idea JPL-Caltech/MSSS. is that the pebbles are the key: NASA’s Curiosity rover has come within the lakes, leaving behind Although the individual pebbles a long way since touching down lots of clay minerals in the region. are too small for MRO to see, on Mars seven years ago. It has That clay signal was first detected they may collectively appear to traveled a total of 21 kilometers from space by NASA’s Mars the orbiter as a single clay signal (13 miles) and ascended 368 meters Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) a scattered across the area. Dust (1207 feet) to its current location. few years before Curiosity launched. also settles more readily over flat rocks than it does over the peb- The rover is far from done, having “This area is one of the reasons we bles; that same dust can obscure just drilled its 22nd sample from came to Gale Crater,” said Kristen the signals seen from space. the Martian surface. It has a few Bennett of the U.S. Geological The pebbles were too small for more years before its nuclear power Survey, one of the co-leads for Curiosity to drill into, so the system degrades enough to signifi- Curiosity’s clay-unit campaign. science team is looking for other cantly limit operations. After that, “We’ve been studying orbiter clues to solve this puzzle. careful budgeting of its power will images of this area for 10 years, allow the rover to keep studying the and we’re finally able to take a Curiosity exited the pebble park- Red Planet. look up close.” ing lot back in June and started to encounter more complex Curiosity is now halfway through a Rock samples that the rover has geologic features. It stopped to region scientists call the “clay-bear- drilled here have revealed the high- take a 360° panorama at an out- ing unit” on the side of Mount est amounts of clay minerals found crop called “Teal Ridge.” More Sharp, inside Gale Crater. Billions during the mission. But Curiosity recently, it took detailed images of years ago, there were streams has detected similarly high amounts of “Strathdon,” a rock made and lakes within the crater. Water of clay on other parts of Mount of dozens of sediment layers altered the sediment deposited Sharp, including in areas where that have hardened into a brittle,

wavy heap. Unlike the thin, recorded in these rocks,” said able to read the paragraphs in a flat layers associated with lake Fox. “It wasn’t just a static lake. book — a dense book, with pages sediments Curiosity has studied, It’s helping us move from a sim- torn out, but a fascinating tale to the wavy layers in these features plistic view of Mars going from piece together. suggest a more dynamic envi- wet to dry. Instead of a linear ronment. Wind, flowing water or process, the history of water was For more about Mars and Curiosity, both could have shaped this area. more complicated.” please visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/ msl/ Both Teal Ridge and Strathdon Curiosity is discovering a richer, represent changes in the land- more complex story behind the scape. “We’re seeing an evolution water on Mount Sharp — a in the ancient lake environment process Fox likened to finally being

Newly Discovered Comet Is Likely Interstellar Visitor Comet C/2019 Q4 A newly discovered comet as imaged by the has excited the astronomical Canada-France- community this week because it Hawaii Telescope on Hawaii’s Big Island appears to have originated from on Sept. 10, 2019. outside the solar system. The Credit: Canada- object — designated C/2019 France-Hawaii Q4 (Borisov) — was discovered Telescope. on August 30, 2019, by Gennady Borisov at the MARGO observatory in Nauchnij, Crimea. The official confirmation that comet C/2019 Q4 is an interstellar comet has not yet been made, but if it is interstellar, it would be only the second such object detected. The first, ‘Oumuamua, was observed and confirmed in October 2017.

The new comet, C/2019 Q4, is still inbound toward the Sun, but it will remain farther than the orbit of Mars and will approach no closer to Earth than about 300 million kilometers Near-Earth Object Coordination from the Sun and will reach its (190 million miles). Center in Frascati, Italy, to obtain closest point, or perihelion, on additional observations. He then December 8, 2019, at a distance of After the initial detections of the worked with the NASA-sponsored about 300 million kilometers (190 comet, Scout system, which is Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, million miles). located at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Massachusetts, to estimate the Laboratory in Pasadena, California, comet’s precise trajectory and “The comet’s current velocity is automatically flagged the object as determine whether it originated high, about 93,000 mph [150,000 possibly being interstellar. Davide within our solar system or came kph], which is well above the Farnocchia of NASA’s Center from elsewhere in the galaxy. typical velocities of objects orbiting for Near-Earth Object Studies the Sun at that distance,” said at JPL worked with astronomers The comet is currently 420 million Farnocchia. “The high velocity indi- and the European Space Agency’s kilometers (260 million miles) cates not only that the object likely

originated from outside our solar from Earth) places it near the between 2–16 kilometers (1.2–10 system, but also that it will leave Sun — an area of sky not usually miles) in diameter. Astronomers and head back to interstellar space.” scanned by the large ground-based will continue to collect observa- asteroid surveys or NASA’s aster- tions to further characterize the Currently on an inbound trajec- oid-hunting NEOWISE spacecraft. comet’s physical properties (size, tory, comet C/2019 Q4 is heading rotation, etc.) and also continue to toward the inner solar system. On C/2019 Q4 can be seen with better identify its trajectory. October 26, it will pass through professional telescopes for months the ecliptic plane — the plane in to come. “The object will peak For more about asteroids and near which Earth and the other planets in brightness in mid-December Earth objects, please visit: https:// orbit the Sun — from above, at and continue to be observable www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch/ roughly a 40° angle. with moderate-size telescopes until April 2020,” said Farnocchia. C/2019 Q4 was established as “After that, it will only be observ- being cometary due to its fuzzy able with larger professional appearance, which indicates that telescopes through October 2020.” the object has a central icy body that is producing a surrounding Observations completed by cloud of dust and particles as it Karen Meech and her team at approaches the Sun and heats the University of Hawaii indicate up. Its location in the sky (as seen the comet nucleus is somewhere

Gaia Untangles the Starry Strings of the Milky Way

Rather than leaving home young, as To figure out when a star formed, cluster would move in a similar way,” expected, stellar siblings prefer to astronomers must instead look says Marina Kounkel of Western stick together in long-lasting, string- at populations of stars thought Washington University, and lead like groups, finds a new study of to have formed at the same time author of the study. data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft. — but knowing which stars are This image shows siblings poses a further challenge, “We knew of a few such co-moving a view of stellar families — clusters Exploring the distribution and past since stars do not necessarily hang star groups near the solar system, and co-moving history of the starry residents of out long in the stellar cradles where but Gaia enabled us to explore the groups of stars in our galaxy is especially challenging they formed. Milky Way in great detail out to far the Milky Way — as it requires astronomers to deter- greater distances, revealing many identified using data from the second mine the ages of stars. This is not “To identify which stars formed more of these groups.” data release of at all trivial, as average stars of a together, we look for stars moving ESA’s Gaia mission. similar mass but different ages look similarly, as all of the stars that Kounkel used data from Gaia’s Families younger very much alike. formed within the same cloud or second release to trace the structure than 30 million years are highlighted in and star formation activity of a orange, on top of an large patch of space surrounding all-sky view based on the solar system, and to explore Gaia observations. how this changed over time. This The most massive among these familial data release, provided in April 2018, groups of stars lists the motions and positions of may keep moving over one billion stars with unprece- together through the dented precision. galaxy in long, string- like configurations for billions of years The analysis of the Gaia data, rely- after their birth. ing on a machine learning algorithm, Credit: ESA/Gaia/ uncovered nearly 2000 previously DPAC. unidentified clusters and co-moving

groups of stars up to about 3000 The strings also appear to be that older strings are an important light years from us — roughly oriented in particular ways with fossil record of our galaxy’s spiral 750 times the distance to Proxima respect to our galaxy’s spiral arms, structure,” says co-author Kevin Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun. something that depends upon the Covey, also of Western Washington The study also determined the ages ages of the stars within a string. University. for hundreds of thousands of stars, This is especially evident for the making it possible to track stellar youngest strings, comprising stars “The nature of spiral arms is still families and uncover their surpris- younger than 100 million years, debated with the verdict on them ing arrangements. which tend to be oriented at right being stable or dynamic structures angles to the spiral arm nearest to not settled yet. Studying these older “Around half of these stars are our solar system. strings will help us understand if found in long, string-like configu- the arms are mostly static, or if rations that mirror features present The astronomers suspect that the they move or dissipate and re-form within their giant birth clouds,” older strings of stars must have over the course of a few hundred adds Kounkel. been perpendicular to the spiral million years — roughly the time arms that existed when these it takes for the Sun to orbit around “We generally thought young stars stars formed, which have now the galactic center a couple of would leave their birth sites just a been reshuffled over the past times.” few million years after they form, billion years. completely losing ties with their For more about Gaia, please visit: original family, but it seems that “The proximity and orientation of http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/ stars can stay close to their siblings the youngest strings to the Milky Space_Science/Gaia for as long as a few billion years.” Way’s present-day spiral arms shows

Comet’s Collapsing Cliffs and Bouncing Boulders

Scientists analyzing the treasure stand the processes that drive neck region that connects the trove of images taken by ESA’s surface evolution. comet’s two lobes, an area that Rosetta mission have turned underwent a lot of noticeable up more evidence for curious Loose debris is seen all over the large-scale surface changes over bouncing boulders and dramatic comet, but sometimes boulders the course of the mission. There, cliff collapses. have been caught in the act of a boulder about 10 meters wide being ejected into space, or rolling (32.8 feet wide) has apparently Rosetta operated at Comet 67P/ across the surface. A new exam- fallen from the nearby cliff, and Churyumov-Gerasimenko between ple of a bouncing boulder was bounced several times across the August 2014 and September 2016, recently identified in the smooth surface without breaking or leaving collecting data on the comet’s dust, gas and plasma environment, its surface characteristics and its interior structure.

Example of a boulder As part of the analysis of some having moved across the surface of Comet 76,000 high-resolution images 67P/Churyumov- captured with its OSIRIS cam- Gerasimenko’s era, scientists have been looking surface, captured for surface changes. In particular, in Rosetta’s OSIRIS imagery. Credit: ESA/ they are interested in comparing Rosetta/MPS for the period of the comet’s closest OSIRIS Team MPS/ approach to the Sun — known as UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/ perihelion — with that after this INTA/UPM/DASP/ IDA. most active phase, to better under-

“footprints” in the loosely consoli- the fall of a 70 m-wide (229.7 ft.- Looking in detail at the debris dated surface material. wide) segment of the Aswan cliff around the collapsed region observed in July 2015. But Ramy suggests that other large erosion “We think it fell from the nearby El-Maarry and Graham Driver of events have happened here in the 50 m-high [98.4 ft.-high] cliff, and Birkbeck, University of London, past. El-Maarry and Driver found is the largest fragment in this may have found an even larger that the debris includes blocks of landslide, with a mass of about collapse event, linked to a bright variable size ranging up to tens of 230 tonnes [253.5 tons],” said outburst seen on September 12, meters, substantially larger than Jean-Baptiste Vincent of the DLR 2015 along the northern-southern the boulder population following Institute for Planetary Research, hemisphere divide. the Aswan cliff collapse, which is who presented the results at the mainly comprised of boulders a 2019 EPSC-DPS conference in “This seems to be one of the larg- few meters diameter. Geneva. “So much happened est cliff collapses we’ve seen on on this comet between May and the comet during Rosetta’s lifetime, “This variability in the size distribu- December 2015 when it was most with an area of about 2000 square tion of the fallen debris suggests active, but unfortunately because meters [6561.7 square feet] collaps- either differences in the strength of this activity we had to keep ing,” said El-Maarry, also speaking of the comet’s layered materials, Rosetta at a safe distance. As such at EPSC-DPS. and/or varying mechanisms of we don’t have a close enough cliff collapse,” adds El-Maarry. view to see illuminated surfaces During perihelion passage, the with enough resolution to exactly southern hemisphere of the comet Studying comet changes like these pinpoint the ‘before’ location of was subjected to high solar input, not only gives insight into the the boulder.” resulting in increased levels of dynamic nature of these small activity and more intensive erosion bodies on short timescales, but the Studying boulder movements than elsewhere on the comet. larger scale cliff collapses provide like these in different parts of unique views into the internal the comet helps determine the “Inspection of before and after structure of the comet, helping to mechanical properties of both the images allow us to ascertain that piece together the comet’s evolu- falling material and the surface the scarp was intact up until at tion over longer timescales. terrain on which it lands. The com- least May 2015, for when we et’s material is in general very weak still have high enough resolution “Rosetta’s datasets continue to compared with the ice and rocks images in that region to see it,” surprise us, and it’s wonderful the we are familiar with on Earth. says Driver, an undergraduate next generation of students are Boulders on Comet 67P/C-G are student working with El-Maarry already making exciting discov- around one hundred times weaker to investigate Rosetta’s vast eries,” adds Matt Taylor, ESA’s than freshly packed snow. image archive. Rosetta project scientist.

Another type of change has also “The location in this particu- For more information about been witnessed in several locations larly active region increases the Rosetta, please visit: http:// around the comet: the collapse of likelihood that the collapsing www.esa.int/Our_Activities/ cliff faces along lines of weakness, event is linked to the outburst that Space_Science/Rosetta such as the dramatic capture of occurred in September 2015.”

Mission to Jupiter’s Icy Moon Confirmed An icy ocean world in our solar progress to completion of final Clipper mission one key step system that could tell us more design, followed by the construc- closer to unlocking the myster- about the potential for life on tion and testing of the entire ies of this ocean world,” said other worlds is coming into focus spacecraft and science payload. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate with confirmation of the Europa administrator for the Science Clipper mission’s next phase. The “We are all excited about the Mission Directorate at NASA decision allows the mission to decision that moves the Europa Headquarters in Washington. “We

This artist’s rendering shows NASA’s standing of our cosmic origin, and ready for launch as early as 2023. Europa Clipper even life elsewhere.” The agency baseline commitment, spacecraft, which is however, supports a launch readi- being developed for a The mission will conduct an ness date by 2025. launch sometime in the 2020s. This view in-depth exploration of Jupiter’s shows the spacecraft moon Europa and investigate For more about the Europa configuration as of whether the icy moon could Clipper mission, please visit: early 2016. Credit: harbor conditions suitable for life, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ NASA/JPL-Caltech. honing our insights into astrobiol- missions/europa-clipper/ are building upon the scientific ogy. To develop this mission in the insights received from the flagship most cost-effective fashion, NASA Galileo and Cassini spacecraft and is targeting to have the Europa working to advance our under- Clipper spacecraft complete and

Unexpected Periodic Flares May Shed Light on Black Hole Accretion

ESA’s X-ray space telescope within one hour and light up again tory in the following couple of XMM-Newton has detected nine hours later. months, confirmed that the distant never-before-seen periodic flares black hole was still keeping the of X-ray radiation coming from “It was completely unexpected,” tempo, emitting nearly periodic a distant galaxy that could help says Giovanni Miniutti, of the bursts of X-rays every nine hours. explain some enigmatic behaviors Centro de Astrobiología in Madrid, The researchers are calling the of active black holes. Spain, lead author of a new paper new phenomenon quasi-periodic published in the journal Nature. eruptions or QPEs. XMM-Newton, the most powerful X-ray observatory, discovered “Giant black holes regularly flicker “The X-ray emission comes from some mysterious flashes from like a candle but the rapid, repeat- material that is being accreted into the active black hole at the core ing changes seen in GSN 069 from the black hole and heats up in the of the galaxy GSN 069, about December onwards are something process,” explains Miniutti. An X-ray view of the 250 million light years away. On completely new.” active black hole at the core of distant December 24, 2018, the source “There are various mechanisms in galaxy GSN 069, was seen to suddenly increase its Further observations, performed the accretion disc that could give about 250 million brightness by up to a factor of 100, with XMM-Newton as well as rise to this type of quasi-periodic light years away, then dim back to its normal levels NASA’s Chandra X-ray observa- signal, potentially linked to insta- based on data from ESA’s XMM-Newton bilities in the accretion flow close X-ray observatory. to the central black hole. The upper part shows an actual “Alternatively, the eruptions could observation, and the graph in the lower be due to the interaction of the part shows variations disc material with a second body of the X-ray — another black hole or perhaps brightness of the the remnant of a star previously source relative to its ‘dormant’ level. The disrupted by the black hole.” black hole undergoes never-before-seen Although never before observed, flashes — dubbed Miniutti and colleagues think peri- ‘quasi-periodic eruptions’, or QPEs odic flares like these might actually — every nine hours. be quite common in the Universe. Credit: ESA/XMM- Newton; G. Miniutti It is possible that the phenomenon & M. Giustini (CAB, CSIC-INTA, Spain). had not been identified before

because most black holes at the could naturally be accounted for. of GSN 069 at the time when cores of distant galaxies, with New data and further studies will the periodic eruptions were first masses millions to billions of tell if this analogy really holds.” detected to look for more cases to times the mass of our Sun, are study. much larger than the one in GSN The quasi-periodic eruptions 069, which is only about 400,000 spotted in GSN 069 could also “One of our immediate goals is times more massive than our Sun. explain another intriguing property to search for X-ray quasi-periodic observed in the X-ray emission eruptions in other galaxies, to fur- The bigger and more massive the from nearly all bright, accreting ther understand the physical origin black hole, the slower the fluctu- supermassive black holes: the of this new phenomenon,” adds ations in brightness it can display, so-called soft excess. co-author Margherita Giustini of so a typical supermassive black Madrid’s Centro de Astrobiología. hole would erupt not every nine It consists in enhanced emission hours, but every few months or at low X-ray energies, and there is “GSN 069 is an extremely fascinat- years. This would make detection still no consensus on what causes ing source, with the potential to unlikely as observations rarely it, with one leading theory invok- become a reference in the field of span such long periods of time. ing a cloud of electrons heated up black hole accretion,” says Norbert near the accretion disc. Schartel, ESA’s XMM-Newton And there is more. Quasi-periodic project scientist. eruptions like those found in Like similar black holes, GSN GSN 069 could provide a natu- 069 exhibits such a soft X-ray The discovery would not have ral framework to interpret some excess during bursts, but not been possible without XMM- puzzling patterns observed in a between eruptions. Newton’s capabilities. significant fraction of active black holes, whose brightness seems to “We may be witnessing the forma- “These bursts happen in the low vary too fast to be easily explained tion of the soft excess in real time, energy part of the X-ray band, by current theoretical models. which could shed light on its phys- where XMM-Newton is unbeat- ical origin,” says co-author Richard able. We will certainly need to use “We know of many massive black Saxton from the XMM-Newton the observatory again if we want holes whose brightness rises or operation team at ESA’s astronomy to find more of these kinds of decays by very large factors within center in Spain. events in the future,” concludes days or months, while we would Schartel. expect them to vary at a much “How the cloud of electrons is slower pace,” says Miniutti. created is currently unclear, but we For more about this discovery are trying to identify the mecha- of QPEs, please visit: https:// “But if some of this variability nism by studying the changes in astronomycommunity.nature.com/ corresponds to the rise or decay the X-ray spectrum of GSN 069 users/300795-giovanni-miniutti/ phases of eruptions similar to during the eruptions.” posts/53402-newly-discovered-x- those discovered in GSN 069, then ray-quasi-periodic-eruptions-qpes- the fast variability of these systems, The team is already trying to from-a-galactic-nucleus-may-shed- which appears currently unfeasible, pinpoint the defining properties light-on-bh-accretion

The Apollo Experiment That Keeps on Giving

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and viding plentiful insights. Along with The longevity of the experiment Michael Collins departed from the the Apollo 11 astronauts, those of can be attributed at least in part Moon 50 years ago, but one of the Apollo 14 and 15 left arrays behind to its simplicity because the arrays experiments they left behind con- as well. The Apollo 11 and 14 themselves require no power. tinues to return fresh data to this arrays have 100 quartz glass prisms Four telescopes at observatories day: arrays of prisms that reflect (called corner cubes) each, while in New Mexico, France, Italy, light back toward its source, pro- the array of Apollo 15 has 300. and Germany fire lasers at them,

A close-up view, taken on February directions in space of the Moon’s 5, 1971, of the north and south poles, which laser ranging retro lunar laser detects. reflector (LR3), which the Apollo 14 astronauts deployed Einstein’s theory of gravity on the moon during assumes that the gravitational their lunar surface attraction between two bodies extravehicular does not depend on their composi- activity. Credit: NASA. tion. The Sun’s gravity attracts the Moon and Earth. If this attraction depended on the composition of the two objects, it would affect the lunar orbit. Earth contains more iron than the Moon. Analysis of data from the lunar laser ranging experiment finds no difference in how gravity attracts the Moon and Earth due to their makeup.

The north star Polaris is nearly overhead at Earth’s north pole. That pole changes direction compared to the stars due to the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth’s shape (the measuring the time that it takes is east of the Moon. There are diameter at the equator is larger for a laser pulse to bounce off two tidal bulges, the second one than the diameter at the poles). the reflectors and return to Earth. half a day later. The gravitational The pole will trace out a circle in This allows the distance to be mea- force between the tidal bulges and the sky returning to the north star sured to within a few millimeters. the Moon pull against and slow in 26,000 years. This motion of Earth’s rotation while also pulling the pole is sensed and measured by The orbit, rotation, and orientation the Moon forward along the direc- lunar laser ranging. of the Moon are accurately deter- tion it moves in its orbit about mined by lunar laser ranging. The Earth. The forward force causes With renewed interest in the lunar orbit and the orientation of the Moon to spiral away from exploration of the Moon, NASA the rotating Moon are needed by Earth by 3 millimeters (0.1 inches) has approved a new generation of spacecraft that orbit and land on each month. reflectors to be placed on the lunar the Moon. For instance, cameras surface within the next decade. on spacecraft in lunar orbit can In a similar way, Earth’s gravity The improved performance of see the reflecting arrays, relying on tugs on the Moon, causing two new reflectors and their wider geo- them as locations accurate to less tidal bulges of the lunar rock. In graphical distribution on the Moon than a fraction of a meter. fact, the positions of the reflecting would allow improved tests of arrays vary as much as 15 centi- Einstein’s relativity, study the deep Laser ranging measurements have meters (6 inches) up and down lunar interior, investigation of the deepened our understanding of each month as the Moon flexes. history of our celestial neighbor, the dance between the Moon and Measuring how much the arrays and support of future exploration. Earth as well. The Moon orbits move has enabled scientists to The legacy of the first human visit Earth at an average distance better understand the elastic prop- to the Moon half a century ago of 385,000 kilometers (239,000 erties of the Moon. will be continued. miles), but lunar laser ranging has accurately shown that the distance Analysis of lunar laser data For more about the Apollo mis- between the two increases by 3.8 shows that the Moon has a fluid sions, please visit: https://www. centimeters (1.5 inches) a year. core. This was a surprise when nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/ discovered two decades ago missions/index.html Tides in Earth’s oceans are highest because many scientists thought not when the Moon is overhead, that the core would be cool and but hours later. The highest tide solid. The fluid core affects the

Pluto System After New Horizons

The Pluto System After New Horizons (PSANH) The invited reviews at the conference form the basis conference was held at the Johns Hopkins Applied for the chapters in a new book being prepared to Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, on July summarize our current understanding of the Pluto 14–18, 2019. The conference provided an oppor- system and the Kuiper belt, following the discoveries tunity to summarize our understanding of the and insights provided by both the New Horizons Pluto system and the Kuiper belt following the mission and ongoing remote sensing observations. New Horizons encounters with Pluto and 2014 This book will be part of the Space Science Series MU69 (nicknamed “Ultima Thule”). Contributions published by the University of Arizona Press in spanning all relevant research on the Kuiper belt, collaboration with the Lunar and Planetary Institute including both observations and theory, were and will be the successor to the “Pluto and Charon” presented. volume published in 1997.

The conference began with a reception on July 14 The results from the New Horizons mission to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the New revolutionized our view of the Pluto system, but Horizons flyby of Pluto. Scientific sessions filled those findings provide only a snapshot in time the next four days with a mix of invited reviews and of a very dynamic place. Fortunately, the New contributed oral presentations. The morning and Horizons results also provide ground truth for evening oral sessions were organized according to the ongoing remote sensing observations, informing the following themes: Pluto Geology, Pluto Composition, interpretation of their results. Hopefully, this rich Charon, Pluto’s Small Satellites, Pluto Atmosphere “third zone” of the solar system will continue to be (including haze), Pluto Climate, MU69 and KBOs, explored in the years ahead by both in situ space- Potential Future Missions to Pluto and the Outer craft and ever more sophisticated remote sensing Solar System, and Origins. For each theme, a panel facilities. discussion followed the individual presentations to delve deeper into each subject and to identify any For more information about the PSANH conference, remaining unresolved issues. A two-hour poster including links to the program and abstracts, visit session spanning all the scientific themes was held on the meeting website at https://www.hou.usra.edu/ the afternoon of July 16. meetings/plutosystem2019/.

— Summary provided by Hal Weaver

Lunar ISRU Workshop

The 2019 Lunar ISRU Workshop was held at USRA questions were distributed throughout the sessions to Headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, on July 15–17. encourage audience participation. An international group of approximately 200 people from Europe, Australia, Canada, Korea, and Japan The major findings from this workshop included: participated in this workshop, and represented govern- ment, commercial, and academic institutions. • Architectures for human spaceflight should be designed to utilize local resources. The workshop brought together several broad communities not accustomed to working together: policy, • The most critical immediate issue for lunar ISRU legislation, law, and regulation; marketing, valuation, is to execute a resource prospecting campaign to and finance; mineral exploration (characterization); understand if the resources are actually geologi- mining (extraction); mineral processing; and planetary cal reserves. science. Each community has its own levels of history and terminology. A common observation among the • Terrestrial mining companies will engage in workshop attendees was that moving forward would lunar ISRU if they can see a net benefit to their be faster and more effective with better communica- operations. tion. In addition to speeding information dispersal, better communication would help replace unknowing • In order to get terrestrial mining companies repetitions of effort with more nuanced, broadly based involved, a market potential needs to be evident cooperative work. To that end, a glossary or dictionary for products derived from space resources. A focused on Space Resources should be developed in commitment to human permanence on the 2020 and maintained indefinitely in an easy-to-find Moon and Mars is enabling for the commercial location. aspects of lunar ISRU and creation of markets.

The workshop was set up to investigate the five At the end of the workshop, the audience was asked phases of resource utilization: identification, charac- to respond to the question “What are the three take- terization, extraction, processing, and markets. The away messages you have learned at this workshop?” first morning was devoted to introducing the work- using one- or two-word answers. Ground truth, pros- shop and community updates from space agencies pecting, collaboration, propellant, and simulants were and commercial entities. During the workshop, the the most popular answers. attendees were polled on 14 questions and statements using Mentimeter (www.mentimeter.com) to get a To view the program, abstracts, and presentations, sense of where the majority opinion was regard- visit the workshop website at https://www.hou.usra. ing lunar in situ resource utilization (ISRU). These edu/meetings/lunarisru2019/.

— Summary provided by Clive Neal

Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution VI

The sixth Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary In a departure from previous meeting formats, two Evolution Conference (LMI VI) was held from workshops were held prior to the start of the confer- September 30 to October 3, 2019, at the FINATEC ence proper. Twenty-eight additional presentations (Fundação De Empreendimentos Científicos E were delivered at these workshops. Ludovic Ferrière Tecnológicos) on the University of Brasília (UnB) and Michael Poelchau hosted the 1.5-day workshop campus in Brasilia. The event attracted 90 partici- for 17 participants on “Recognition of Impact pants from 21 countries. The LMI conference series Structures and Ejecta Layers on Earth – Shock arose out of the Workshop on Cryptoexplosions and Metamorphism in Rocks and Minerals.” Presentations Catastrophes in the Geological Record held in Parys ranged from introductory shock physics to reviews (Vredefort Dome) in 1987, with the first two LMI of impact-diagnostic criteria, and new research results meetings held in Sudbury in 1992 and 1997, followed related to identification of impact structures, crater by Nördlingen (Ries Crater) in 2003, the Vredefort fields, and ejecta layers, as well as practical sessions Dome in 2008, and Sudbury in 2013. LMI VI is the covering microscopy of shock phenomena and first dedicated impact cratering meeting ever hosted in PDF indexing. The one-day “Electron Backscatter South America. Diffraction (EBSD) and Geochronology” workshop, organized by Aaron Cavosie, Erin Walton, Timmons Erickson, and Gavin Kenny, updated 17 participants on state-of-the-art EBSD applications to zircon and a range of other accessory minerals that hold great promise as additional criteria for confirmation of shock metamorphism and as shock barometers. In addition, data relating to different dating techniques (LA-ICP-MS, SIMS, and ID-TIMS) for accessory minerals were compared.

The program of the main conference commenced The conference on September 30. A total of 70 oral and 51 poster group photograph presentations were made, with special sessions taken in front of the FINATEC conference on The Chicxulub Impact Event and the K-Pg venue. Boundary, Shock Wave/Material Interactions, Distal

Impact Ejecta, and Impact Cratering on Lunar and likely to prove to be a significant catalyst for future Planetary Bodies, besides more general themes such impact research on the continent, with several new as Cratering Processes, Complex Impact Structures, international collaborations already in progress. Large Impacts and the Evolution of Life, Impactites, and Impact Melts. The more relaxed 20-minute oral The conference also provided an opportunity for a time slots provided ample opportunity for further plenary discussion on the future of the terrestrial interactions, which continued into the tea and lunch impact database. The conference (1) approved that breaks, as well as well-organized evening functions. a formal approach be made to The Meteoritical More than 30 presentations have been promised for Society by the organizing committee of the con- a conference proceedings volume that is likely to ference to explain the current situation and request take the form of a GSA Special Paper. guidance and support for planned efforts to revise the database, and (2) nominated a task group to Following the conference, from October 4–8, 27 review the existing state of the terrestrial database participants joined the Araguainha Dome excursion and propose changes to be considered at the 2020 in central-western Brazil, which was led by Natalia LPSC and MetSoc meetings. Hauser; Elder Yokoyama led 13 participants through the Vista Alegre and Vargeão impact structures in The success of LMI VI is largely thanks to the tireless southern Brazil. Despite threats of heavy thun- efforts of the local organizing committee of Wolf derstorms, particularly kind weather allowed the Uwe Reimold (UnB; Chair), Natalia Hauser, Luciana Araguainha group to complete two lengthy hikes Prado, and Elder Yokoyama (all UnB), and Alvaro P. through the central uplift of South America’s largest Crósta (University of Campinas), supported by David impact structure, in which regional stratigraphy and Baratoux, Jeff Plescia, and Kai Wünnemann. Christian the wide variety of Araguainha impactites, including Koeberl chaired the Scientific Committee, which, in several types of impact-formed melt breccias, were addition to the members of the organizing commit- examined. Hauser was ably assisted by Uwe Reimold tee, included Aaron Cavosie, Gareth Collins, Roger and Ph.D. student Carolinna Souza Maia. Additional Gibson, Paula Lindgren, Lidia Pittarello, and Mark contributors to the field guide included Alvaro Wieczorek. The meetings support group of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, provided sterling conference support to the organizing committee. The Araguainha tour in front of the Serra de Arnica folded Financial support for the conference was provided quartzites. by the Barringer Crater Company, The Institute of Geosciences at UnB, the University of Brasília, the CAPES foundation of Brasil, the IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France), the FINATEC Foundation at the University of Brasília, and The Meteoritical Society. The Barringer Crater Company, The Meteoritical Society, and the IRD provided significant sponsorships that — combined — allowed 21 travel grants to be offered to postgraduate students and early career researchers. Philippe Claeys (Chair), Lidia Pittarello, Steven Jared, and Lutz Hecht formed the travel award committee, which was also supported by David Baratoux on behalf of the Crósta, Marcos Vasconcelos, and Ana Rita Maciel. IRD. The Vargeão and Vista Alegre structures afforded participants excellent opportunities to observe and In conclusion, the organizing committee would like discuss the formation of shatter cones, and examine to use this opportunity to express sincere thanks to monomict and polymict breccias and pseudotachylitic all organizations and individuals who contributed breccias formed in the Serra Geral basalt and its sed- to the success of LMI VI and, therefore, the future imentary footwall, with extensive discussion of these of impact cratering studies, in general, and in South features as analogs for lunar and martian targets. The America, in particular. field guide was co-compiled by Alvaro Crósta. For more information about the program and Considering that 17 researchers and postgraduate abstracts, visit the conference website at https://www. students from Brazil attended the workshops and hou.usra.edu/meetings/lmi2019/. conference, and judging from the discussion held during the conference and excursions, LMI VI is

LPI Summer Intern Program in Planetary Science

The LPI Summer Intern Program in Planetary Science provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to perform cutting-edge, peer-reviewed research, learn from widely respected planetary scientists, and discover exciting careers in planetary science. During the 10-week internship, students have the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities, including NASA Johnson Space Center scientific visits, lectures, and career development workshops. Many of today’s planetary science leaders got their start as LPI summer interns. Every career starts somewhere, and we encourage you to join us as you embark on your journey.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute invites undergraduates with at least 50 semester hours of credit to experience cutting-edge research in the lunar and planetary sciences. Students with majors in a physical or natural science, engineering, computer science, or mathematics have an advantage, but any eligible student may apply.

The 10-week program runs from June 1 to August 7, 2020. As a summer intern, you will work one-on-one with a scientist at the LPI or at the NASA Johnson Space Center on a research project of current interest in lunar and planetary science. Interns are selected by the project advisors who look for academic excellence and scientific interest and backgrounds compatible with their specific project needs.

Benefits of an internship: • Gain valuable research experience • Develop new skills and refine others • Meet and work with professionals, establishing contacts for letters of reference and networking • Experience a new work environment

The LPI is located near the NASA Johnson Space Center, on the south side of Houston, Texas. On NASA’s behalf, the LPI provides leadership in the scientific community for research in lunar, planetary, and solar system sciences, and linkage with related terrestrial programs. The deadline for applying for the 2020 program is January 6, 2020.

For more information, including eligibility and selection criteria, areas of research, and an online application form, visit https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpiintern/.

LPSC Student Opportunities

LPI Career Development Award

The Lunar and Planetary Institute Career Development Award, which is open to both U.S. and non-U.S. applicants, will be given to selected graduate students who have submitted a first-author abstract for presentation at the 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

The application deadline will be January 8, 2020.

Stephen E. Dwornik Student Awards

The Dwornik awards are open to students at any degree level in a field related to planetary geosciences who are either (1) U.S. citizens or non-citizens currently enrolled in a U.S. educational institution, or (2) U.S. citizens currently enrolled in an international educational institution. Recent graduates, pre-college students, and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible. Students who have previously won a “best presentation” award as a graduate student are not eligible to compete again in either category. Students who have won a “best presentation” award as an undergraduate are not eligible to compete again in either category as an undergraduate but are eligible to compete in either category as a graduate student. Students who have won honorable mention award(s) as a graduate or undergraduate student in either category are eligible to compete again.

The deadline for Dwornik Award applications is January 8, 2020.

For more details about either of these awards,

visit https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2020/student-awards/

28 Issue 158 October 2019 © Copyright 2019 Lunar and Planetary Insitute OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS NASA’s Summer Undergraduate Program for Planetary Research (formerly PGGRP) The Summer Undergraduate Program for Planetary Research (SUPPR) is an eight-week summer internship providing undergraduates majoring in geology and related sciences with an opportunity to participate in NASA planetary geosciences research.

Students work under the direction of a NASA-sponsored planetary science investigator at various science institutions. The program is designed to help students gain educational experience in their fields of study while contributing to NASA missions and science.

College undergraduates who have not yet begun graduate studies and who are interested in learning about research in planetary geoscience are eligible. Previous participants of SUPPR (formerly PGGURP) are not eligible. Preference is given to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

All online application information must be received at the LPI no later than January 31, 2020. Notification of selection will be made by March 13, 2020. Successful applicants should be prepared to make a decision regarding the offer to participate within two days of notification.

For more information, visit https://www.lpi.usra.edu/suppr/

California Institute of Technology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program is one of the “crown jewels” of Caltech. Since 1979, SURF students have had the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of experienced mentors working at the frontier of their fields. Students experience the process of research as a creative intellectual activity from beginning (defining and developing a project) to end (presenting their results at SURF Seminar Day).

SURF is modeled on the grant-seeking process: • Students collaborate with a potential mentor to define and develop a project. • Applicants write research proposals as part of the application process. • Faculty review the proposals and recommend awards. • Students carry out the work over a 10-week period during the summer. • At the conclusion of the program, students submit a technical paper and give an oral presentation at one of several SURF Seminar Days, symposia modeled on a professional technical meeting.

The deadline for all application materials is February 22, 2020. For more information, visit https://www.sfp.caltech.edu/programs/surf.

NASA Internships are competitive awards to support educational opportunities that provide unique NASA- related research and operational experiences for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, as well as educators. These opportunities serve students by integrating interns with career professionals emphasizing mentor-directed, degree-related tasks, while contributing to the operation of a NASA facility or the advancement of NASA’s missions.

The application deadlines for the 2020 program are: Spring Session: November 5, 2019 Summer Session: March 8, 2020

For more information, visit https://intern.nasa.gov/.

NASA Fellowships are competitive awards to support independently conceived or designed research, or senior design projects by highly qualified faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students, in disciplines needed to help advance NASA’s missions, thus affording them the opportunity to directly contribute to advancements in STEM-related areas of study. Our Fellowship opportunities are focused on innovation and generate measurable research results that contribute to NASA’s current and future science and technology goals.

NASA Postdoctoral Program

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) provides early-career and more senior scientists the opportunity to share in NASA’s mission, to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.

NASA Postdoctoral Fellows work on 1- to 3-year assignments with NASA scientists and engineers at NASA centers and institutes to advance NASA’s missions in Earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, space bioscience, aeronautics, engineering, human exploration and space operations, astrobiology, and science management.

NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellows contribute to our national scientific exploration, confirm NASA’s leadership in fundamental research, and complement the efforts of NASA’s partners in the national science community.

Application cycle deadlines for the NASA Postdoctoral Program are March 1, July 1, and November 1, annually. Currently, the Astrobiology Program accepts applications only during the March and November rounds and does not consider applications submitted during the July round.

Note: You may submit only ONE application for ONE research opportunity per application cycle.

For more information, visit https://npp.usra.edu/.

SAO Summer Intern Program

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Summer Intern Program is an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) internship where students take on an astrophysics research project with an SAO or Harvard scientist. In 2020, the program will run for 10 weeks, from June 7 to August 15. Students are expected to work at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for the full duration of the program. Interns are housed in Harvard’s graduate student dormitory facilities.

Potential areas of research include (with a few example study subjects that reflect ongoing research at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics):

• Galaxies: How do they form, what powers them, how will they evolve over cosmic time? • Our solar system: What are near-Earth asteroids? What kinds of objects populate the Oort cloud and Kuiper belt? • Stars and planets: Are stellar models accurate? Where are new planets to be found? • Lab astrophysics: What chemistry takes place in space? Do ices matter? How did the Earth get its water? • Extreme astrophysics: What connects supermassive black holes to their host galaxies? What can we learn from X-ray emitting binary stars? • Extreme astrophysics: What connects supermassive black holes to their host galaxies? What can we learn from X-ray emitting binary stars?

Undergraduate students interested in astronomy, astrophysics, physics, or related physical sciences are encour- aged to apply. The program can offer a wide range of projects to interns.

For more information, visit https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/opportunities/reu/.

Each summer, more than 400 college students from across the country are invited to intern at APL. As a college intern, you’ll spend the summer contributing to engineering and research projects that help protect our nation and expand the frontiers of science.

APL College Summer Intern Program APL offers science and engineering internships each summer. The Laboratory’s internship program provides practical work experience and an introduction to APL. Students spend the summer working with APL scientists and engineers, conducting research, developing leadership skills, and growing professionally.

ATLAS Intern Program The APL Technology Leadership Scholars (ATLAS) program provides a unique educational opportunity for a select group of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Discovery Program for College Graduates The Discovery Program is an exciting opportunity for select recent college graduates. It consists of three to four assignments spanning multiple technical organizations across APL. The rotational assignments are six months in length each and are designed to provide participants with challenging work that will stimulate professional growth.

For more information about these and other programs, visit http://www.jhuapl.edu/Careers/Internships.

Upcoming Public Event Opportunities

Upcoming opportunities exist for educator and public engagement around the broader topics of NASA planetary exploration. Contact local astronomical societies, planetariums and museums, local scientists, and NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors (solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssa/directory.cfm). Ask them to join your events and share their experiences or resources with your audience.

NASA: 60 Years and Counting https://www.nasa.gov/60 From 2018 through 2022, NASA is marking a series of important milestones including the 60th anniversary of the agency’s founding.

Transit of Mercury November 11, 2019 http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/tm2019.html This transit will be visible to observers in the U.S., New Zealand, Europe, Africa and western Asia. This event is a great opportunity to discuss the sun, Mercury, and/or the scale of the solar system with your communities!

50th Anniversary, Apollo 12 Landing November 19, 2019 https://www.lpi.usra.edu/apollo50/ This November marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 12 landing on Oceanus Procellarum. Apollo 12 provided the first opportunity to study the Moon exten- sively within a radius of 0.5 kilometers of the landing site. The LPI has compiled a sample of its Apollo and future exploration resources, as well as public engagement resources at https://www.lpi.usra.edu/apollo50/.

Geminids Meteor Shower December 13–14, 2019 https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20191214_10_100 The Geminids Meteor Shower is produced by dust particles left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini. The shower peaks this year on December 14; however, viewing will be less than ideal given the waning gibbous phase of the Moon. Meteor showers provide a great opportunity to discuss small bodies with your audiences!

Mars 2020 Rover Engagement Activities Beginning in Fall 2019, NASA will run a nationwide “Name the Rover” contest open to K–12 students in the U.S. Entries are now being accepted. The deadline is November 1, 2019. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/name-the-rover/

Judges are also needed for the “Name the Rover” contest: https://www.futureengineers.org/registration/judge/nametherover

All are invited to watch the live feed from the Spacecraft Assembly Facility cleanroom at JPL, where engineers are building and testing Mars 2020 before it is shipped to its launch site. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/where-is-the-rover

Free Public Outreach Workshop for Early-Career Astronomers The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is sponsoring a free skill-building workshop to support early-career astronomers in doing effective outreach to schools, families, and the public. The AAS Astronomy Ambassadors program is offering two days of hands-on training, extensive resources, and pre-tested activities with a like- minded group of peers. This workshop is offered in conjunction with the 235th meeting of the AAS in Honolulu in January 2020. For more information and to apply to attend, visit https://aas.org/content/ aas-astronomy-ambassadors-program-2020-application

Resources for Planetary Scientists Involved in Public Engagement The Lunar and Planetary Institute’s education and public engagement team is pleased to assist planetary scientists in their communication and public engagement activities. The LPI conducts scientist workshops to provide insight on meeting audience needs, and has placed a variety of recommendations online. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/scientist-engagement

“Spotlight on Education” highlights events and programs that provide opportunities for planetary scientists to become involved in education and public engagement. If you know of space science educational programs or events that should be included, please contact the Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Education Department at [email protected].

Samuel A. Bowring 1953–2019

to 1990. In 1991, he joined the faculty of MIT.

Bowring’s major contributions were recognized by many organizations and institutions, including the National Academy of Sciences (Member, 2015), the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (Member, 2013), the American Geophysical Union (Fellow, 2008; Norman L. Bowen Award, 2010; Walter H. Bucher Medal, 2016), the Geochemical Samuel Bowring, the Robert extinctions. He is also highly Society (Fellow, 2011), the R. Schrock Professor Emeritus regarded for his work on the origin Geological Society of America of Geology in the Earth and and evolution of continental crust, (Fellow, 1999), and MIT (Breene Planetary Sciences (EAPS) showing, for instance, that that the M. Kerr Professorship, 2002–2007; Department of the Massachusetts Acasta Gneisses in the Northwest Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow, Institute of Technology (MIT), has Territories of Canada were 4 bil- 2006 to 2019). Bowring was a passed away. lion years old. dedicated teacher and mentor and made many contributions to EAPS, Bowring was a legend in geo- Bowring was born in Portsmouth, including serving the first-year chronology (pushing the limits New Hampshire and raised in learning community Terrascope of geochronologic techniques to Durham, New Hampshire. He (2006–2014) as associate director unprecedented analytical precision graduated from the University of and then director, and chairing and accuracy) and a world expert New Hampshire with a B.S. in the (former) Undergraduate in constraining rates of geologic Geology in 1976, from the New Committee (2002–2016). While he processes and the timing of signif- Mexico Institute of Mining and will be missed by friends, family, icant events in the geologic record. Technology with an M.S. in 1980, colleagues, and students, his enor- He investigated the explosion and from the University of Kansas mous impact on MIT and Earth of multi-cellular life in the Early with a Ph.D. in Geology in 1985. science will endure. Cambrian as well as the end-Perm- He was an Assistant Professor at ian and the end-Cretaceous mass Washington University from 1984

— Text courtesy of Rob van der Hilst, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Robin Brett 1935–2019

Peter Robin Brett, the Australian- Australia, Brett received his B.S. born scientist, who was one of in geology from the University the first to study rocks from the of Adelaide in 1956, and then left Moon during NASA’s Apollo Australia to attend Harvard, where space program, died at home in he earned a master’s and Ph.D. in Washington on September 27 as geology and geochemistry in 1963. the result of Alzheimer’s disease. Brett joined the staff of NASA’s He was 84 years old. Johnson Space Center in 1969, and as chief of the geochemis- Born in 1935, in Adelaide, South try branch, was responsible for

much of the planning for the a NASA Exceptional Scientific educating and informing those study of the Apollo lunar samples. Achievement Award in 1973 for outside the science community He conducted research on the his work in Houston. about the importance of Earth materials brought back by astro- science. “Few disciplines, no mat- nauts on successive flights. He was Before his career with NASA, ter how meritorious, can survive if also involved in planning missions, Brett worked at the U.S. the public and decision makers do debriefing astronauts, relaying sci- Geological Survey (USGS) in not find them interesting and rele- entific information to the NASA Washington and returned there vant to everyday life,” he said. “If community, and working with the in 1974 to head the Division of we have not convinced them that press. His interest in interacting Earth Sciences at the National basic science is fundamental to with the press was to excite the Science Foundation. He and his our existence, then we have failed taxpayers about the knowledge and staff were responsible for the ourselves and our future.” insights we gained from extrater- funding of Earth science research restrial science and why it mattered, and the Ocean Drilling Program Brett was the first scientist from explaining that by learning about (formerly the Deep Sea Drilling the U.S. to be named secretary the Moon, we learn much more Project), a multi-national effort to general and president of the about the Earth at present, by explore and study the composi- International Union of Geological putting its past in context. tion and structure of the Earth’s Sciences. At various times, he oceanic basins. Brett published was president of the Meteoritical With the early lunar missions, more than 90 papers on mineral Society and the Geological Society there was a fear that lunar dust deposits, lunar petrology, meteor of Washington, as well as the chair might harbor some lethal threat to impact structures, and the biologi- of the planetology section of the humankind, so the astronauts were cal extinction of the dinosaurs. He Geological Society of America. In quarantined in a sealed-off section was the first, in 1992, to suggest 2002, Brett was presented with the of the Lunar Receiving Lab (LRL) that heavily shocked anhydrite was Superior Service Award of the U.S. where Brett and the other scien- a major killing mechanism of the Department of the Interior for tists worked. After the Apollo 12 dinosaurs when a meteor crashed outstanding career and contribu- astronauts settled in, there was into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula tions to the mission of the USGS. a spill in the LRL, potentially 65 million years ago. Asteroid 6179 Brett (1986 EN) was exposing Brett and his colleagues named in his honor. and sending them into quarantine Starting with the Moon landings, with the astronauts. Brett received Brett learned the importance of

James Carter 1937–2019 degree in mining and geological thing from Earth’s upper crust to engineering from Texas Western environmental geochemistry to College, now The University of paleontology. A leading expert on Texas at El Paso, in 1961 and his lunar geology, Carter was one of Ph.D. in geochemistry from Rice the scientists who analyzed sam- University in 1965. Carter joined ples of Moon rocks brought back the Graduate Research Center from the Apollo missions. NASA Credit: University of of the Southwest (GRCSW) contacted him in the early 1990s Texas at Dallas — the precursor institution to to help create a material that Dr. James Carter, associate pro- UT Dallas — as a postdoctoral was similar to actual lunar soil in fessor emeritus and one of the researcher in 1964. He remained chemical composition, texture, longest-serving faculty members at with the GRCSW when it became mineralogy, and other proper- The University of Texas at Dallas UT Dallas in 1969 and retired in ties. The material was produced (UT Dallas), died in Richardson, 2008 after 43 years of teaching for engineering and equipment Texas, on September 21. He was 82. and research. studies in support of future human activities on the Moon. Carter grew up in McAllen, Throughout his career as a Carter founded a company called Texas, and earned his bachelor’s geoscientist, Carter studied every- ETSimulants to make and ship

tons of the lunar regolith simu- at the Perot Museum of Nature recognized the professor and his lant, or fake Moon dirt, to NASA and Science. years of service by establishing and other researchers. the James L. Carter Scholarship/ Carter, who served as head of Fellowship Endowment Fund He also made a name for himself the Department of Geosciences for students pursuing degrees in when he discovered and helped from 1985 to 1993, taught geosciences. The James L. Carter excavate the articulated neck of classes, mentored many gradu- Master’s Scholarship Fund for an Alamosaurus in Big Bend ate students and led numerous Geosciences was subsequently National Park. One of the largest geology field camps. When he established in 2016. dinosaur fossils ever found in retired, the School of Natural Texas, the skeleton is on display Sciences and Mathematics

David Criswell 1941–2019 David Criswell, a noted space phys- conferences and study groups, icist with many science publications edited major proceedings and spe- and worldwide patents, as well as cial journal issues, and operated the a former member of the science Lunar and Planetary Review Panel, staff at the Lunar Science/Lunar which that reviewed more than and Planetary Institute, passed 3000 research proposals submitted away on September 10. He was 78 to NASA in the 1970s. years old. Criswell began writing articles and Criswell received his Ph.D. in papers on the use of extraterres- 1968 from Rice University in the trial materials for commercial usage Department of Space Physics and and space settlements in 1979. His Astronomy. His graduate research article in The Industrial Physicist, at Rice University included “Solar Power via the Moon” (April/ experimental work on auroral May 2002), was the continua- photometry and particle detection tion of many years of dedicated using rockets and satellites. He service to the development of working with industry, govern- joined the technical staff of TRW space resources for developing ment, and academic clients. He Inc.-Houston Operations in 1968 Third World Countries, seeking to also organized and participated and pursued a wide range of develop a source of safe, efficient, in reviews of advanced research projects in support to the Apollo and cost-effective energy for future programs at the Institute of program. In 1970, Criswell came generations of Earth’s inhabitants. Geophysics and Planetary to the newly created Lunar Science Physics at Los Alamos National Institute in Houston as a visiting In 1980, Criswell accepted a Laboratory and provided similar scientist, becoming a senior staff research position with the newly assistance to the Illinois Space scientist by the time the Institute formed California Space Institute Institute. He directed the CalSpace was renamed as the Lunar and (CalSpace) headquartered at the Automation and Robotics Panel, Planetary Institute. University of California, San Diego. which conducted an independent He participated in formulation evaluation of the use of advanced Criswell conducted research on of local and statewide Cal Space automation and robotics within Moon-solar wind interactions, research programs and acquired the NASA space station program. dynamics of the soil regolith, lunar NASA and private funds for the Criswell was also the primary surface seismology, and related development of systems to process developer and Director of the topics. He directed the only post- lunar materials, directing high- Consortium for Space/Terrestrial Apollo study funded by NASA level program reviews for NASA Automation and Robotics of during the 1970s on the conver- and the congressional Office of the Universities Space Research sion of lunar resources into basic Technology Assessment. Association. Criswell organized industrial materials. He directed a and wrote the proposal under number of LPI functions such as From 1982 to 1990 Criswell which the University of California local and international scientific served as an aerospace consultant, won the National Space Grant

College and Fellowship program which was designed to build bases in California in 1989 and operated on the Moon in order to beam the program for the first year clean, renewable energy from the before returning to Texas in 1990. Sun to Earth. People often said he was a man ahead of his time. In While successful in a number his personal life, he was a devoted, of professional research areas, funny, sweet husband, father, Criswell was most passionate about grandfather, brother, and friend. In and most noted for his work on a every sense, the world will be much potential lunar solar power system, the poorer without him.

Ahmed El Goresy 1934–2019 work he significantly contributed to at the Carnegie Institution of a better understanding of cosmo- Washington. After his return to chemical processes in the early Germany, he became a senior solar system. scientist at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg and El Goresy obtained his B.Sc. in later Professor at the Universität 1955 in Mineralogy and Petrology Heidelberg. In 1998 he officially at the University of Heliopolis, retired from his position in Cairo, Egypt. In 1961, he received Heidelberg and moved to the cos- his Ph.D. for work on ore depos- mochemistry department of the its by using ore microscopy. His Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie in supervisor was the famous pioneer Mainz. After closure of the cosmo- of ore microscopy, Paul Ramdohr chemistry department in 2005, El at the University of Heidelberg. El Goresy moved to the Bayerisches Credit: Bayerisches Geoinstitut Goresy was Ramdohr’s last and Geoinstitut in Bayreuth, where he best student. In 1969, Ramdohr stayed active until August 2017. Ahmed El Goresy died at his home became principal investigator in Heidelberg on October 3, 2019, of NASA’s lunar sample analy- In scientific meetings, El Goresy at the age of 85. El Goresy was a sis program. El Goresy was his was very outspoken. He clearly highly regarded mineralogist with a co-investigator, and eventually stated his opinion and never worldwide reputation. His research took over as principal investigator. avoided discussion of controversial focused on minerals and mineral El Goresy and Ramdohr made issues. He was extremely enthusi- assemblages of extraterrestrial sam- fundamental contributions to the astic about his research, and it was ples. With his major tool, reflected study of opaque mineralogy and almost impossible to talk to him light microscopy, he studied mete- phase assemblages of lunar mare about things other than his own orite samples from asteroids, the basalts as well as highland rocks, research. He was so excited about Moon, and Mars, as well as lunar estimating temperature and oxygen his findings that in his talks he rocks and terrestrial impactites. He fugacity during crystallization of would often exceed the time limit; was a pioneer in complementing lunar mare basalts. his contributions in meetings and his microscopic findings by using discussions will be missed. scanning electron microscopy, the In 1961, he briefly returned to electron microprobe, and later the Egypt, taking a research position El Goresy had about 25 students, ion probe and Raman spectroscopy. in Cairo. In 1963, he became a many of whom have made a career He made numerous discoveries research scientist at the Max- in science. The first thing he always of shock-induced high-pressure Planck Institut für Kernphysik in taught his students was to look phases in meteorites and samples Heidelberg. He then spent some through a microscope, as the basis from terrestrial impact craters, and months as a guest scientist at of any further work. El Goresy saw detected unusual mineral assem- the Smithsonian Astrophysical features in thin sections others did blages in a variety of meteorite Observatory and at Harvard not see. His knowledge of minerals, types, studying their chemistry and University before taking a two- particularly opaque minerals, was isotopic composition. With his year post-doctoral fellowship enormous and because he was

familiar with all relevant phase rela- the NASA Lunar and Planetary at the Tohoku University in tions, he could immediately explain Science Review Board, and was Sendai, Japan, and at the Ecole these or speculate on the origin of awarded with the Victor-Moritz Polytechnique Fédérale de the observed mineral assemblage. Goldschmidt Award and the Lausanne, Switzerland. Abraham-Gottlob-Werner Medal El Goresy served the scientific of the German Mineralogical With the passing of El Goresy, community as Council Member of Society. In 1972, he became a fel- the Meteoritical Society has lost a the Meteoritical Society; Chairman low of the Meteoritical Society, and highly motivated researcher with of the International Commission was the recipient of the Leonard extraordinary abilities. He dedi- on Cosmic Mineralogy of the Medal in 2013. He was invited as cated his work to the observation International Mineralogical Fairchild Distinguished Scholar in and interpretation of microstruc- Association; and United Nations 1983 at the California Institute of tures in meteorites and was one of Visiting Professor at the Institute Technology in Pasadena, and was the key drivers for progress in the of Mineral Deposits of the a guest Professor at the Muséum field of cosmochemistry. Scientists Chinese Academy of Geology, National d’Histoire Naturelle in like him have become rare. Beijing, China. He participated in Paris in 1994, and more recently

NASA Administrator Selects Douglas Loverro as Next Human Spaceflight Head

NASA Administrator Jim security impacts of commercial Bridenstine named Douglas space activities, and oversaw the Loverro as the agency’s new asso- establishment of a strategy for ciate administrator for the Human addressing growing challenges in Exploration and Operations space security. Mission Directorate. Loverro succeeds former astronaut Kenneth Loverro is the recipient of many Bowersox, who has been acting prestigious honors, including the associate administrator since July. Secretary of Defense’s Medal for Outstanding Public Service, For three decades, Loverro was the Lifetime Achievement in the Department of Defense Award from the Federation of Credit: Bayerisches Image credit: and the National Reconnaissance Galaxy Explorers, the Society of Department of Office developing, managing, and Satellite Professional Engineers Defense establishing national policy for Stellar Award, and the AFCEA the full range of national security Benjamin Oliver Gold Medal for space activities. Engineering among many other uate from the Air Force’s Air civilian and military honors. Command and Staff College and From 2013 to 2017, Loverro Squadron Officer School and served as the Deputy Assistant Loverro holds a Master’s of was the top graduate from the Secretary of Defense for Space Science in Physics from the Defense Department’s Industrial Policy. In this role, he was respon- University of New Mexico, a College of the Armed Forces. sible for establishing policy for Master’s of Political Science from United States allies to the benefits Auburn University, and a Master For information about NASA’s of space capabilities and to help of Business Administration from missions, programs, and activi- guide the department’s strategy the University of West Florida, ties, including the Artemis and for addressing space-related issues. in addition to his Bachelor of Commercial Crew programs, visit: He led departmental activities Science in Chemistry from the https://www.nasa.gov. in international space coopera- United States Air Force Academy. tion, assessment of the national He was a distinguished grad-

NASA Administrator Names Acting Director for Goddard Space Flight Center NASA Administrator Jim Loverro succeeds former astro- in the Department of Defense Bridenstine named Douglas naut Kenneth Bowersox, who has and the National Reconnaissance Loverro as the agency’s new been acting associate administra- Office developing, managing, and associate administrator for tor since July. establishing national policy for the Human Exploration and the full range of national security Operations Mission Directorate. For three decades, Loverro was space activities.

From 2013 to 2017, Loverro to help guide the department’s Loverro holds a Master’s of served as the Deputy Assistant strategy for addressing space-re- Science in Physics from the Secretary of Defense for Space lated issues. He led departmental University of New Mexico, a Policy. In this role, he was activities in international space Master’s of Political Science from responsible for establishing policy cooperation, assessment of the Auburn University, and a Master for United States allies to the national security impacts of of Business Administration from benefits of space capabilities and commercial space activities, and the University of West Florida, oversaw the establishment of a in addition to his Bachelor of strategy for addressing growing Science in Chemistry from the challenges in space security. United States Air Force Academy. He was a distinguished grad- Loverro is the recipient of many uate from the Air Force’s Air prestigious honors, including the Command and Staff College and Secretary of Defense’s Medal for Squadron Officer School and Outstanding Public Service, the was the top graduate from the Lifetime Achievement Award Defense Department’s Industrial from the Federation of Galaxy College of the Armed Forces. Explorers, the Society of Satellite Professional Engineers Stellar For information about NASA’s Award, and the AFCEA Benjamin missions, programs, and activi- Oliver Gold Medal for Engineering ties, including the Artemis and Credits: NASA/ among many other civilian and Commercial Crew programs, visit: Bill Hrybyk military honors. https://www.nasa.gov.

NASA Announces New Director of Langley Research Center

David Bowles retired after 39 NASA mission needs. Turner years with the agency. also served as director of the Engineering Directorate at Since 2015, Turner has served as Langley. In this capacity, he was Langley’s deputy center director. responsible for the conceptu- As center director, he will lead a alization, design, development diverse group of about 3,400 civil and delivery of ground and servant and contractor scientists, flight systems and for design- researchers, engineers and support ing, enabling and implementing staff, who work to make revolu- engineering capabilities to meet tionary improvements to aviation, NASA missions. expand understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, and develop technol- Turner began his career with ogy for space exploration. NASA in 1990 by serving as a Image credit: NASA design engineer with the Lidar Prior to his appointment as In-Space Technology Experiment deputy center director, Turner project, where he spearheaded NASA Administrator Jim served as the associate direc- development of the laser aligning, Bridenstine announced the selec- tor responsible for managing bore-sight limit system. Over the tion of Clayton Turner as the next daily operations with a focus next 29 years, Turner served in director of the agency’s Langley on center commitments. In this various roles with progressively Research Center in Hampton, capacity, he was responsible for increasing responsibility, leading Virginia. Turner assumed the aligning Langley’s institutional the agency’s engineering con- director’s position on September resources and infrastructure tributions to many successful 30, when current Center Director to meet current and future flight projects, including: the

Earth Science Cloud-Aerosol Launch Abort System; and the NASA Exceptional Engineering Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder entry, decent and landing segment Achievement Medal, and the Paul Satellite Observation Project; of the Mars Science Laboratory. F. Holloway Non-Aerospace the Earth observing technology Technology Transfer Award. development Gas and Aerosol Turner earned a Bachelor of Monitoring Sensorcraft Project; Science Degree in electrical engi- For more information about the materials technology devel- neering from Rochester Institute Turner, visit: https://www. opment Gas Permeable Polymer of Technology. Throughout his nasa.gov/feature/langley/ Materials Project; the Space career, Turner has received many clayton-p-turner-deputy-direc- Shuttle Program Return-to-Flight; prestigious awards, including the tor-nasa-langley-research-center. the flight test of the Ares 1-X Presidential Rank Award, the NASA rocket; the flight test of the Orion Outstanding Leadership Medal, the

NASA Awards $2.3 Million in Fellowships to U.S. Universities for Aviation, Planetary, Space Research

NASA has awarded fellowships The recipient institutions of • University of Hawaii Systems to 14 minority-serving institutions MUREP fellowships are: • University of Houston through its Minority University System Research and Education Project • The University of California, • San Diego State University (MUREP) and five majority insti- Riverside Foundation tutions through its Aeronautics • The University of Minnesota Research Mission Directorate (two awards) The recipient institutions of (ARMD), all totaling $2.3 million, to • University of New Mexico ARMD fellowships are: support graduate student research. • University of Texas, Arlington • University of Florida The university projects funded • University of California, • Ohio State University by these fellowships represent Irvine • Pennsylvania State University the highest levels of the inno- • University of Maryland • Georgia Institute of vative breadth and depth of • University of Washington, Technology research and contribute directly Seattle • Pennsylvania State University to the nation’s aviation and space • Montclair State University priorities, including America’s • Florida International The awards provide for the return to the Moon through the University augmentation of each award with Artemis program. • New Mexico State University the possibility of a fourth-year

extension based on an institu- with lunar missions. The agency’s For more information these tion’s ability to expand on the lunar exploration plans are based fellowship awards and the previous years’ accomplishments, on a multifaceted approach, first projects they will fund, visit: offering further opportunities to landing astronauts on the Moon https://www.lpi.usra.edu/pub- infuse new research into NASA’s by 2024 and then establishing a lications/newsletters/lpib/new/ work in the areas of science sustained human presence on and nasa-awards-2-3-million-fellow- and aeronautics, and providing around the Moon by 2028 as a ships-u-s-universities-aviation- a timeline conducive to aiding way to prepare to send astronauts planetary-space-research/ the agency’s forward momentum to Mars.

NASA Marshall to Lead Artemis Program’s Human Lunar Lander Development

Image credit: NASA Television

NASA Administrator Jim said. “Marshall has unique capa- and technology development, Bridenstine was joined by U.S. bilities and expertise not found at engineers at Marshall will work Representatives Mo Brooks and other NASA centers. I’m pleased with American companies to Robert Aderholt of Alabama and NASA has chosen Marshall to rapidly develop, integrate, and Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee at spearhead a key component of demonstrate a human lunar land- the agency’s Marshall Space Flight America’s return to the Moon and ing system that can launch to the Center in Huntsville, Alabama, usher in the Artemis era. Thanks Gateway, pick up astronauts. and to announce the center’s new to Administrator Bridenstine for ferry them between the Gateway role leading the agency’s Human travelling here to share the great and the surface of the Moon. Landing System Program for its news in person.” return to the Moon by 2024. “Marshall Space Flight Center, and Bridenstine discussed the North Alabama, have played a key “Marshall Space Flight Center is announcement in front of the role in every American human the birthplace of America’s space 149-foot-tall Space Launch System mission to space since the days program. It was Marshall scien- (SLS) rocket liquid hydrogen tank of Mercury 7. I am proud that tists and engineers who designed, structural test article currently Marshall has been selected to be built, tested, and helped launch being tested. the lead for the landers program,” the giant Saturn V rocket that said Aderholt. “I am also very carried astronauts on the Apollo Informed by years of expertise proud that Marshall has designed missions to the Moon,” Brooks in propulsion systems integration and built the rocket system, the

Space Launch System, which will International Space Station, will make missions to the Moon and oversee all aspects related to pre- Mars possible. We look forward paring the landers and astronauts to working with our industry part- to work together. Johnson also ners and our NASA partners from will manage all Artemis missions, around the country.” beginning with Artemis 1, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep NASA’s Johnson Space Center space exploration systems. in Houston, which manages major NASA human spaceflight For more on NASA’s Artemis programs including the Gateway, program, visit: https://www.nasa. Orion, Commercial Crew and gov/artemis.

NASA Funds CubeSat Pathfinder Mission to Unique Lunar Orbit

NASA has awarded a $13.7 will rotate together with the form for science and technology million contract to Advanced Moon as it orbits Earth and will demonstrations. Space of Boulder, Colorado, to pass as close as 1,000 miles and develop and operate a CubeSat as far as 43,500 miles from the The 12-unit CubeSat is about the mission to the same lunar orbit lunar surface. size of a small microwave oven. targeted for Gateway – an orbiting Onboard is a communications sys- outpost astronauts will visit before The pathfinder mission represents tem capable of determining how descending to the surface of the a rapid lunar flight demonstra- far CAPSTONE is from NASA’s Moon in a landing system as part tion and could launch as early as Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and of NASA’s Artemis program. December 2020. CAPSTONE will how fast the distance between the demonstrate how to enter into two spacecraft is changing. The The Cislunar Autonomous and operate in this orbit as well inter-spacecraft information will be Positioning System Technology as test a new navigation capability. used to demonstrate software for Operations and Navigation This information will help reduce autonomous navigation, allowing Experiment (CAPSTONE) is logistical uncertainty for Gateway, future missions to determine their expected to be the first spacecraft as NASA and international part- location without having to rely to operate in a near rectilinear ners work to ensure astronauts exclusively on tracking from Earth. halo orbit around the Moon. In have safe access to the Moon’s this unique orbit, the CubeSat surface. It will also provide a plat- CAPSTONE will provide NASA

and its partners with important operations in this unique regime. insights to support exploration of the Moon and Mars, including: The award to Advanced Space is through a Phase III Small • Demonstration of space- Business Innovation Research craft-to-spacecraft navigation (SBIR) contract, a follow-on to services earlier SBIR awards that devel- Credits: Tyvak • Verification of near rectilinear oped CAPSTONE’s autonomous Nano-Satellite halo orbit characteristics for positioning and navigation Systems future spacecraft system experiment. • Experience entering this orbit with a highly efficient lunar The CAPSTONE team includes development, and demonstration transfer Advanced Space and Tyvak Nano- of exploration capabilities to • Experience with rideshare or Satellite Systems, Inc. of Irvine, reduce risk, lower life cycle cost small dedicated launches to California. The project is man- and validate operational concepts the Moon aged by NASA’s Small Spacecraft for future human missions. • Commercial experience pro- Technology (SST) program within viding mission planning and the agency’s Space Technology NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration operations support services Mission Directorate. Based at program includes sending a suite for NASA’s Ames Research Center of new science instruments and • CubeSats beyond Earth in California’s Silicon Valley, SST technology demonstrations to • Rapid commercial delivery expands U.S. capability to execute study the Moon, landing the first of a CubeSat mission beyond unique missions through rapid woman and next man on the lunar Earth orbit development and demonstration surface by 2024, and establishing of capabilities for small spacecraft a sustained presence by 2028. The A number of launch options are applicable to exploration, science agency will leverage its Artemis possible for the mission, includ- and the commercial space sector. experience and technologies to ing being the primary payload on Advanced Exploration Systems prepare for the next giant leap – a small spacecraft launch vehicle. (AES) within NASA’s Human sending astronauts to Mars. After launch, CAPSTONE will Exploration and Operations take approximately three months Mission Directorate will fund to enter its target orbit and begin the launch and support mission a six-month primary demon- operations. AES engages in activ- stration phase to understand ities focused on advanced design,

NASA Selects Proposals to Demonstrate SmallSat Technologies to Study Interplanetary Space

NASA has awarded a $13.7 Positioning System Technology million contract to Advanced Operations and Navigation Space of Boulder, Colorado, to Experiment (CAPSTONE) is develop and operate a CubeSat expected to be the first spacecraft mission to the same lunar orbit to operate in a near rectilinear targeted for Gateway – an orbiting halo orbit around the Moon. In outpost astronauts will visit before this unique orbit, the CubeSat descending to the surface of the will rotate together with the Moon in a landing system as part Moon as it orbits Earth and will of NASA’s Artemis program. pass as close as 1,000 miles and as far as 43,500 miles from the Credits: ESA/ NASA/SOHO The Cislunar Autonomous lunar surface.

The pathfinder mission represents access to the Moon’s surface. It will two spacecraft is changing. The a rapid lunar flight demonstra- also provide a platform for science inter-spacecraft information will be tion and could launch as early as and technology demonstrations. used to demonstrate software for December 2020. CAPSTONE will autonomous navigation, allowing demonstrate how to enter into and The 12-unit CubeSat is about the future missions to determine their operate in this orbit as well as test size of a small microwave oven. location without having to rely a new navigation capability. This Onboard is a communications sys- exclusively on tracking from Earth. information will help reduce logis- tem capable of determining how tical uncertainty for Gateway, as far CAPSTONE is from NASA’s NASA and international partners Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and work to ensure astronauts have safe how fast the distance between the

THE WOMEN OF THE MOON: Tales of Science, Love, Sorrow, and Courage By Daniel R. Altschuler and Fernando J. Ballesteros Oxford University Press, 2019, 336 pp., Hardcover. $26.95. global.oup.com

Upcoming opportunities exist for educator and public engagement around the broader topics of NASA planetary exploration. Contact local astronomical societies, planetariums and museums, local scientists, and NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors (solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssa/directory.cfm). Ask them to join your events and share their experiences or resources with your audience.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

PLANETARY GEOSCIENCE By Harry Y. McSween, Jr., Jeffrey E. Moersch, Devon M. Burr, William M. Dunne, Joshua P. Emery, Linda C. Kah, and Molly C. McCanta Cambridge University Press, 2019, 350 pp., Hardcover. $64.99. www.cambridge.org

For many years, planetary science has been taught as part of the astronomy curriculum, from a very physics-based perspective, and from the framework of a tour of the solar system — body by body. Over the past decades, however, spacecraft exploration and related laboratory research on extraterrestrial materials have given us a new understanding of planets and how they are shaped by geological processes. Based on a course taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this is the first textbook to focus on geologic processes, adopting a comparative approach that demonstrates the similarities and differences between planets, and the reasons for these. Profusely illustrated, and with a wealth of pedagogical features, this book provides an ideal capstone course for geoscience majors — bringing together aspects of mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, volcanology, sedimen- tology, geomorphology, tectonics, geophysics, and remote sensing.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

REMOTE COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSIS: Techniques for Understanding Spectroscopy, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of Planetary Surfaces Edited by Janice L. Bishop, James F. Bell III, and Jeffrey E. Moersch Cambridge University Press, 2019, 666 pp., Hardcover, $110.00. www.cambridge.org

How do planetary scientists analyze and interpret data from laboratory, telescopic, and spacecraft observations of planetary surfaces? What elements, minerals, and volatiles are found on the surfaces of our solar system’s planets, moons, asteroids, and comets? This comprehensive volume answers these topical questions by providing an overview of the theory and techniques of remote

compositional analysis of planetary surfaces. Bringing together eminent researchers in solar system exploration, it describes state-of-the-art results from spectroscopic, mineralogical, and geochemical techniques used to analyze the surfaces of planets, moons, and small bodies. The book introduces the methodology and theoretical background of each technique, and presents the latest advances in space exploration, telescopic and laboratory instrumentation, and major new work in theoretical studies. This engaging volume provides a comprehensive reference on planetary surface composition and mineralogy for advanced students, researchers, and professional scientists.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

FLUID MECHANICS OF PLANETS AND STARS Edited by Michael Le Bars and Daniel Lecoanet Springer, 2020, 241 pp., Hardcover. $159.99. www.springer.com

This book explores the dynamics of planetary and stellar fluid layers, including atmospheres, oceans, iron cores, and convective and radiative zones in stars, describing the different theoretical, com- putational, and experimental methods used to study these problems in fluid mechanics, including the advantages and limitations of each method for different problems. This scientific domain is by nature interdisciplinary and multi-method, but while much effort has been devoted to solving open questions within the various fields of mechanics, applied mathematics, physics, Earth sciences and astrophysics, and while much progress has been made within each domain using theoretical, numerical, and experimental approaches, cross-fertilizations have remained marginal. Going beyond the state of the art, the book provides readers with a global introduction and an up-to-date overview of relevant studies, fully addressing the wide range of disciplines and methods involved. This book is volume 595 of the CISM International Centre for Mechanical Sciences Courses and Lectures series.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

THE DYNAMICS OF SMALL SOLAR SYSTEM BODIES By Jeremy Wood Springer, 2019, 124 pp., Paperback. $59.99. www.springer.com

This Springer Brief in Astronomy summarizes the latest relevant research and discoveries that have been made in the area of ringed small bodies and small body taxonomy, including those that lay the groundwork for future discoveries. Before 2013, ringed small bodies were only theoretical. Thus, there are very limited publications available on this relatively new subfield of astronomy. With the introduction of the GAIA catalog, star positions are now known better than ever before. Since rings are discovered through the use of starlight occultation, we could very well be looking at an explosion of discoveries of ringed small bodies in the near future. Each chapter is accompanied by exercises, and an end-of-book answer key is provided. As such, this brief will benefit students and researchers alike who wish to have a single document and quick access to the latest information on ringed small bodies and small body taxonomy.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

2020 GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY By Storm Dunlap and Wil Tirion Firefly Books, 2019, 112 pp., Paperback. $14.95.www.fireflybooks.com

2020 Guide to the Night Sky is the ideal resource for novices and experienced amateurs in the United States and Canada, and has been updated to include 16 more pages of even more new and practical information covering events to occur in North America’s night sky throughout 2020. The book has all the guidance, information, and data that skywatchers need. The book covers astro- tourism, the impact on the hospitality industry and its growth linked to astronomical events and stargazing destinations, and space probes, including the seemingly immortal Hubble Telescope, taking our cameras to worlds farther and farther away, even to Mars. This guide is organized by month and provides lunar phases, planet activity, constellation maps and tables of planet and star movement, and sky activity and events. Each month has all the compass points, dates, and exact times to view the planets. There are also monthly constellation maps with dates, times, and hourly rates of comets, fireballs, and meteor showers. Skywatchers in the United States and Canada won’t miss a thing, even with just binoculars. Amateur astronomers have come to rely upon and expect each year’s edition of this proven sell-through title. It is the handy reference they grab as they head out to do some skywatching, and now they can use it to plan an astrovacation.

MOON CALENDAR CARD PACK By Kim Long Workman Publishing, 2019. 10 × 6.75-inch reference cards, $15.00 for 5 cards, $120.00 for 40 cards. www.workman.com

This is the 38th edition of Kim Long’s classic Moon calendar, the first of its kind and a fan favorite since 1982. With a graphic, at-a-glance 2020 lunar calendar on the front and easy-to-read, detailed data provided by the U.S. Naval Observatory on the reverse, this handy card is a fun reminder to tack up by your desk or in your garden shed. Available in a pack of 5 and a pack of 40, it also makes a great gift for kids, gardeners, fishermen and sportsmen, sky watchers, and followers of the many faiths that mark time by the Moon. Whatever your reason for Moon watching, you won’t miss a thing with the 2020 Moon Calendar Card.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS, STARS AND GALAXIES FLASHCARD SET Produced by Carddia 52 standard playing-card-size flashcards, $24.99.www.carddia.com

Learning about the solar system can be a bit tough, with so many planets and their satellites, and reading through textbooks may make students even more confused. These flashcards could be a great help. This set covers the entire solar system and other major astronomical objects such as galaxies, clusters, and nebulae. Each card has an image on one side, and the object’s name (with its abbreviation or astronomical symbol), structure, and brief description on the other side. Both sides are printed in full-color, and the cards are water- and tear-resistant. A universe infographic is included.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

BACK TO THE MOON Produced by WGBH Boston One disc, $24.99. shop.pbs.org

On February 6, 2018, the world watched as the first Falcon Heavy rocket blasted toward the heavens. It was the most powerful rocket to leave Earth since the iconic Saturn V lifted Apollo astronauts to the Moon. With millions watching via livestream, it became clear: Crewed space travel is making a comeback. And we are going back to the Moon. On the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, NOVA looks ahead to the hoped-for dawn of a new age in lunar exploration. This time, governments and private industry are working together to reach our nearest celestial neighbor. But why go back? The Moon can serve as a platform for basic astronomical research, as an abundant source of rare metals and hydrogen fuel, and ultimately as a stepping stone for human missions to Mars and beyond. Join the next generation of engineers that aim to take us to the Moon and discover how our legacy of lunar exploration won’t be confined to the history books for long.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

THE PLANETS Produced by WGBH Boston Two discs, $29.99. shop.pbs.org

Among the stars in the night sky wander the worlds of our own solar system, each home to truly awe-inspiring sights: a volcano three times as tall as Mount Everest, geysers erupting with icy plumes, a cyclone larger than Earth that’s been churning for hundreds of years. In this five-part series, NOVA explores the awesome beauty of The Planets. With special effects and extraordinary footage captured by orbiters, landers, and rovers, you’ll get an up-close look at Saturn’s 45,000-mile- wide rings, Mars’ towering ancient waterfalls, and Neptune’s supersonic winds. Scientists share the inside story of the missions that revealed everything from methane lakes on a distant moon to the mysterious unfrozen sea in Pluto’s heart. Along the way, NOVA reveals how each of these spectacu- lar worlds has shaped our own planet: Earth.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

MOON’S FIRST FRIENDS By Susanna Leonard Hill Sourcebooks Wonderland, 2019, 40 pp., Hardcover. $17.99. shop.sourcebooks.com

This is a heartwarming story of a friendship-seeking Moon that also celebrates the extraordinary 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. From high up in the sky, the Moon has spent her whole life watching Earth and hoping for someone to visit. Dinosaurs roam, pyramids are built, and boats are made, but still no one comes. Will friends ever come visit her? One day a spaceship soars from Earth…and so does her heart. This book includes bonus educational pages about the Moon mission. For ages 4 to 8.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

A COMPUTER CALLED KATHERINE: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon By Suzanne Slade Little, Brown Young Readers, 2019, 40 pp., Hardcover. $18.99. www.littlebrownlibrary.com

This book tells the inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson – made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures – who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the Moon. Katherine knew it was wrong that African Americans didn’t have the same rights as others – as wrong as 5+5=12. She knew it was wrong that people thought women could only be teachers or nurses – as wrong as 10-5=3. And she proved everyone wrong by zooming ahead of her classmates, starting college at fifteen, and eventually joining NASA, where her calcu- lations helped pioneer America’s first manned flight into space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world’s first trip to the Moon. Award-winning author Suzanne Slade and debut artist Veronica Miller Jamison tell the story of a NASA “computer” in this smartly written, charmingly illustrated biography. For ages 4 to 8.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

LITTLE LEARNING LABS GEOLOGY FOR KIDS: 26 Projects to Explore Rocks, Gems, Geodes, Crystals, Fossils, and Other Wonders of the Earth’s Surface By Garret Romaine Quarry Books, 2019, 80 pp., Paperback. $12.99. www.quartoknows.com

Dig in and learn about the Earth under your feet. Little Learning Labs: Geology for Kids features 26 simple, inexpensive, and fun experiments that explore the Earth’s surface, structure, and processes. This family-friendly guide explores the wonders of geology, such as the formation of crystals and fossils, the layers of the Earth’s crust, and how water shapes mountains, valleys, and canyons. There is no excuse for boredom with these captivating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activities. This book covers how to identify the most common rocks and minerals, how to maintain and display your rock collection, how insects are trapped and pre- served in amber, how geysers and volcanoes form and erupt, how layers of rock reveal a record of time, and how to pan for gold like a real prospector. Geology is an exciting science that helps us understand the world we live in, and Little Learning Labs: Geology for Kids actively engages readers in simple, creative activities that reveal the larger world at work. For ages 8 to 12.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

CYCLES IN SPACE: A Look at Nature’s Cycles By Bray Jacobson Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2019, 32 pp. Hardcover. $26.60. www.garethstevens.com

As Earth moves around the sun, the seasons on Earth change. The movement of the Moon affects the tides in Earth’s oceans. What happens in space has an influence on our lives. In this book, readers explore the cycles in the space that most affect us and the space science taught in upper elementary science classes. Accessible language and simple explanations make this the perfect introduction to Earth’s cycles for readers struggling with traditional textbooks. Diagrams of each cycle provide a great review of each cycle as well as another way to understand each concept. For ages 4 to 11.

Note: Product descriptions are taken from publishers’ websites. LPI is not responsible for factual content.

October November December

October

The Venera-D Landing Sites and Cloud Habitability Workshop October 2–5 Moscow, Russia https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/venera-d2019/

38th International Meteor Conference October 3–6 Bollmannsruh, Germany https://imc2019.imo.net/

The Tenth Moscow Solar System Symposium (10M-53) October 7–11 Moscow, Russia https://ms2019.cosmos.ru

Planet2/RESCEU Symposium: From Protoplanetary Disks through Planetary System Architecture to Planetary Atmospheres and Habitability October 14–18 Okinawa, Japan http://www.resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/symposium/resceu_sympo2019/

Global Experts Meeting on Frontiers in Chemistry October 17–19 Rome, Italy https://frontiersmeetings.com/conferences/chemistry/

70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) October 21–25 Washington, DC https://www.iac2019.org

White Dwarfs as Probes of Fundamental Physics and Tracers of Planetary, Steller, and Galactic Evolution October 21–25 Hilo, Hawaii http://www.gemini.edu/iau357/

Brown Dwarf to Exoplanet Connection III October 21–22 Newark, Deleware http://www.jackiefaherty.com/bdexocon2019

14th Geant4 Space Users Workshop October 21–23 Xylokastro, Greece https://indico.esa.int/event/304

Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group October 28–30 Washington D.C. Area https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/leag2019/

2nd RPI Space Imaging Workshop October 28–30 Saratoga Springs, New York http://seal.rpi.edu/workshop/2019

Voyage 2050 Workshop — Shaping the European Space Agency’s Space Science Programme October 29–31 Madrid, Spain https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/voyage-2050

November

Rocky Exoplanets in the Era of JWST: Theory and Observation November 4–8 Greenbelt, Maryland https://seec.gsfc.nasa.gov/Symposium.html

VEXAG Meeting November 4–8 Boulder, Colorado https://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag/

COSPAR 2019 November 4–8 Herzliya, Israel http://www.cospar2019.org/

Asteroid Science in the Age of Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-Rex November 5–7 Tucson, AZ https://corex.lpl.arizona.edu/international-workshop

Mars Extant Life: What’s Next? November 5–8 Carlsbad, New Mexico https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lifeonmars2019/

17th Meeting of the Venus Exploration Group (VEXAG) November 6–8 Boulder, Colorado https://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag/meetings/vexag-17/

Subaru Telescope 20th Anniversary – Optical and Infrared Astronomy for the Next Decade November 17–22 Waikoloa Villiage, Hawaii https://subarutelescope.org/subaru20anniv/index.html

Planet Formation Workshop 2019 November 25–28 Tokyo, Japan http://th.nao.ac.jp/meeting/planet-formation-workshop2019/

International Conference on Chemistry and Applied Research November 27–28 Dubai, UAE https://www.meetingsint.com/conferences/chemistryresearch

7th European Nanotechnology Congress November 27–28 Madrid, Spain https://www.meetingsint.com/conferences/euronanotechnology

December

First International Orbital Debris Conference (IOC) December 9-12 Houston, Texas https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/orbitaldebris2019/

2019 AGU Fall Meeting December 9-13 San Francisco, California http://fallmeeting.agu.org