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Newsletter 14-2 Published on Division for Planetary Sciences ( Newsletter 14-2 Published on Division for Planetary Sciences (https://dps.aas.org) Newsletter 14-2 Issue 14-2, January 22, 2014 +-----------------------------CONTENTS--------------------------------+ 1) NOTE FROM THE CHAIR 2) MESSAGE FROM THE FEDERAL RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE (FRS) CHAIR 3) REMINDER: CALL FOR DPS 2014 PRIZE NOMINATIONS 4) REMINDER : 2014 ONLINE MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS 5) CALL FOR MISSION CONCEPTS FOR THE LARGE-SIZE 'L2' MISSION OPPORTUNITY IN ESA'S SCIENCE PROGRAMME 6) DRAFT SOLICITATIONS OF SOME PSD R&A SOLICITATIONS FOR ROSES14 RELEASED TO PUBLIC 7) MARS CRITICAL DATA PRODUCTS PROGRAM (ROUND IX) 8) JOBS/POSITIONS OPPORTUNITIES 9) UPCOMING MEETINGS +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1 NOTE FROM THE CHAIR Washington DC may be currently covered in snow, but warm fuzzies abound here as a 2014 budget has passed into law (more details in the note below from the Federal Relations Subcommittee). Take a deep breath, and think about our DPS community’s successes. We’ve secured $1.3 Billion dollars to do planetary exploration. Our missions are healthy: Cassini, Curiosity, MESSENGER, JUNO, and more. ESA’s ROSETTA mission successfully reawakened from hibernation, ready to go comet hunting. Europa got a big boost with the news from the Hubble Space Telescope hinting at tidally-driven water geysers. What have you done to share this news with your family, your community, your representatives in Washington? Drop me a line; I’d like to share some of your stories. Regarding NASA’s R&A reorganization, please communicate your thoughts with the members of the Planetary Science Subcommittee (PSS), as well as the members of the various assessment groups (OPAG, SBAG, VEXAG, MEPAG, LEAG, etc). The input will be considered soon, so take the time now to share your opinions about this draft rollout with the AG chairs and PSS, especially thoughts on how to improve the rollout. Meeting update: we are happy to report that the Denver DPS broke almost exactly even, with a surplus of just $230 out of a ~$398K budget; total attendance was 692 registrants. Major thanks for this success go to Fran Bagenal, John Spencer, and Andrew Steffl, as well as to the AAS meeting support staff. The DPS Committee is hard at work preparing for future DPS meetings. For the November 2014 meeting in Tucson, Arizona, the Local Organizing Committee (headed by Joe Spitale) and the Scientific Organizing Committee (led by Faith Vilas) are both in full swing. If you are asked to help, please do so. Better yet, volunteer! Remember Carl Sagan’s TV show, Cosmos? There is a new version, Cosmos – A Spacetime Odyssey (see its trailer athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBTd9--9VMI [1]) hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson on Fox. Wait, why Fox, you ask, aren’t they anti-science? The answer is: indeed Fox - because of the people who watch Fox. These are precisely the people we need to reach if we want to rekindle a fire for space science exploration in the heart of America. The premier episode airs on 9 March 2014. Leverage this: offer to be the host at a Cosmos kick-off event at your local library or middle school; invite your non-astronomy buddies over to watch an episode of Cosmos. Let me know some of your other ideas. The DPS is a Division of the Page 1 of 12 American Astronomical Society. Send questions, comments, updates to [email protected] Send graduate school and REU program updates to [email protected] Newsletter 14-2 Published on Division for Planetary Sciences (https://dps.aas.org) Finally, planetary science was featured in the New York Times today. Kenneth Chang examined fiscal limitations that may affect some upcoming decisions, including the Senior Reviews of Cassini and Curiosity (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/science/space/the-final-frontiers-financial-limits.html?ref=science [2]). As Chang points out in his closing sentences, after the late 1980s when NASA planetary science was truly threatened and a ten-year-long cessation of planetary launches ensued, our community regrouped. The resultant priorities developed into the Cassini mission, and eventually the reinvigorated Mars program and all the missions in flight today. Those of us who were young planetary scientists during that dark decade of no missions (which encompassed my entire grad-school career) did not despair. We kept the faith, we imagined the future robust program, and we worked to create the program we have now. I adjure you to keep the faith now. Focus on the future. Make your dreams real. And please do remember to renew your DPS membership by paying your 2014 dues online at https://members.aas.org/ [3] (see hereafter for details) ! Heidi B. Hammel DPS Chair 2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2---------2 MESSAGE FROM THE FEDERAL RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE (FRS) CHAIR It's nice to be the bearer of relatively good news for once! Congress has passed an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2014 (FY14). That means that the entire government has funding for the entire fiscal year. This removes threats of government shutdowns and sequestration for FY14. Considering that budgets across the government are decreasing, the Planetary Sciences Division fared well, receiving a top line budget of $1.345 billion. This is an increase of $127.5 over the FY14 Presidential Budget Request (PBR). Now that FY 2014 funds have been appropriated, NASA can begin work creating an operating plan to spend these FY14 dollars and the fiscal year 2015 (FY15) PBR process will move forward. I want to thank each of you who responded to our call to action near the end of 2013. Your efforts, combined with those of other planetary science advocates, helped to secure this outcome. There is still work to do in the months ahead, but we are moving in a very positive direction. We will be closely monitoring the implementation of this appropriation, the NASA authorization bill, and the FY15 PBR, and we will be working to influence the process and outcomes wherever possible. If you have any questions, please contact Makenzie Lystrup, FRS Chair, at [email protected] [4]. NASA top line: $17.6465 billion ($68.9 billion decrease from PBR) Science top line: $5.1512 billion ($133.4 million increase from PBR) Planetary science top line: $1.345 billion ($127.5 million increase from PBR) R&A: $130.1 million (no change from PBR) NEO observations: $40.5 million (no change from PBR) Discovery: $285 million ($27 million increase from PBR) New Frontiers: $258 million (same as PBR) -- includes $218,700,000 for OSIRIS-REx Outer Planets: $159 million ($80 million increase from PBR) -- includes $80 million for Europa mission Mars Exploration: $288 million -- includes $65 million for Mars 2020 rover development Technology: $146 million ($5M decrease from PBR) -- includes requested level for Pu-238 On Europa (this is from the House bill, but is referenced in the Senate bill): "...$80,000,000 shall be for pre-formulation and/or formulation activities for a mission that meets the science goals outlined for the Jupiter Europa mission in the most recent planetary science decadal survey.) The DPS is a Division of the Page 2 of 12 American Astronomical Society. Send questions, comments, updates to [email protected] Send graduate school and REU program updates to [email protected] Newsletter 14-2 Published on Division for Planetary Sciences (https://dps.aas.org) On the Discovery program: "NASA shall use the funds provided for the Discovery program to support extended operations for the Messenger program and to increase the tempo by which Announcements of Opportunity (AOs) are released and missions are selected from those AOs. NASA is encouraged to initiate a new Discovery AO no later than May I, 2014 with final phase two selection and award of one or more missions by September, 2015. On helping teams who proposed missions using ASRGs to previous AOs: "NASA's discontinuation of Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) flight system development activities may disadvantage individuals or teams whose Planetary Science mission proposals assumed, based on NASA's previous AOs and development schedule, that ASRG technology would be available to them when needed. NASA shall take steps to mitigate the impact on such proposers and ensure that they have sufficient opportunities to compete for funds in the future with adjusted mission concepts that no longer rely on ASRG technology." On the Administration's proposed education and public outreach restructuring: "Consistent with longstanding NASA practice, the agreement maintains EPO funding within the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The current method of distributing EPO funds within SMD, however, may not produce the most efficient allocation of limited resources. For fiscal year 2015 and future years, NASA shall consider consolidating EPO funding within each SMD division and allocating funds to individual activities based on an assessment of division-wide priorities and program effectiveness." On Congress's frustration with NASA's recent operating plan formulation that is perceived as ignoring the will of Congress; it should be noted that this is an issue that beyond planetary science into other divisions of NASA, but it is of note as it may affect the development of the next operating plan, including within planetary science: "Reprogramming and transfer authorities exist so that NASA can respond to unexpected, exigent circumstances that may arise during the fiscal year, not so that NASA can pursue its internal priorities at the expense of congressional direction. If NASA persists in abusing its reprogramming and transfer authorities, those authorities will be eliminated in future appropriations acts." Makenzie Lystrup DPS FRS Chair 3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3---------3 REMINDER : CALL FOR DPS 2014 PRIZE NOMINATIONS DEADLINE APRIL 1, 2014 Every year the DPS recognizes exceptional achievement in our field.
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