Planetary Sciences Community Meetings Calendar
Organized by LPI/USRA *
January 2013
6-10 | 221st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Long Beach, California | |
6-10 |
Second Symposium on Planetary Atmospheres,
Austin, Texas
The Second Symposium on Planetary Atmospheres is soliciting papers on advances in spacecraft observations of planetary atmospheres, modeling, and data assimilation. Topics in the areas of planetary meteorology, atmospheric structure, dynamics and composition, and planetary climate are welcomed. |
|
11 |
Carbon Dioxide Snowfall and the Present Climate of Mars (Paul Hayne, Caltech),
Lecture Hall
In the perpetual darkness of Martian polar winter, temperatures drop so low that the air freezes out, forming the seasonal carbon dioxide ice caps. Under the grazing rays of polar summer, the caps replenish the atmosphere through sublimation. This seasonal exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and polar caps results in roughly 25% variations in atmospheric pressure and dramatically affects the atmospheric circulation. Energy balance in the polar regions drives the process, with the latent heat of CO2 deposition primarily offsetting the radiative energy loss to space during polar night. Most CO2 deposition probably occurs directly at the surface, but some accumulation may be due to CO2 snowfall. Cloud echoes by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and saturated atmospheric temperature profiles were tantalizing hints of this process. Using new data from the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS), I will show that CO2 snowfall is a common occurrence in both hemispheres and seems to be the dominant process controlling the thickness of the seasonal caps. The snowiest place in the south polar region is the south polar residual cap, which probably persists by maintaining a high albedo during summer. Intriguing similarities and differences between the hemispheres emerge, lending insight into the presence of the south polar residual cap and its role in buffering the present-day climate of Mars. |
|
14-16 | 8th Meeting of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group, Washington, DC | |
16-17 |
Astrobiological and Cosmochemical Implications of Marco Polo-R Sampling of a Primitive Asteroid,
Barcelona, Spain
Marco Polo-R mission is a currently proposed ESA mission with the main goal of returning samples from a primitive asteroid. By obtaining materials from 1996FG3, a pristine binary asteroid that exhibits deep water absorption bands in IR spectra, we expect to gain insight on many key issues on the role that these asteroids had in terrestrial planets' evolution. Nowadays we know that some groups of carbonaceous chondrites accreted with significant organic and water content, but these meteorites arrived to Earth surface were biased towards the highest strength ones. Consequently, we really don't know how representative are of the volatile content of pristine asteroids. In this sense, we are still far to understand how aqueous alteration participated in the catalysis of organic compounds: was a prebiotic chemistry on work in undifferentiated bodies before the formation of Earth?. Marco Polo-R mission will assess which is the amount of carbon and water present in a primitive NEO, being also able to answer these important questions on the amount, and complexity of organics and water delivered to early Earth. All these topics are relevant for astrobiology and planetary sciences communities, so we encourage people to participate in this interdisciplinary meeting. Scientific discussions, and results will be crucial to write the Marco Polo-R yellow book before the final decision to be taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) and set the main scientific goals, and questions to be answered. |
|
23-24 |
Calibration Targets for Astronomical Polarimetry for the 0.3 to 30 Micron Wavelength Range,
Zurich, Switzerland
Workshop goals: 1. Review the measuring and calibration limits of existing and future polarimetric instruments 2. Compile information from the community on polarimetric calibration targets (via questionnaire) 3. Identify needs for new, more or better calibration targets for astronomical polarimetry 4. Initiate new observing programs for better calibration targets with improved parames |
|
24 |
Venus Upper Atmosphere Science and Technology Interchange Meeting,
Cleveland, Ohio
The STIM will foster a science discussion on goals, objectives, priorities, and the significance of the Venus upper atmosphere and how the science would contribute to overall exploration of Venus. We will discuss the desired measurements and requirements to achieve potential Venus upper atmosphere science and spacecraft concepts and technologies that could reach the Venus UA and collect and return the desired data. |
|
25 |
The Impact Histories of Meteorite Parent Bodies (Thomas Davison, University of Chicago),
Lecture Hall
Collisions between planetesimals during the early stages of planet formation were fundamental and frequent processes, and are often invoked to explain petrologic features of meteorites. To fully understand the collisional history of a meteorite parent body, and therefore draw conclusions about the conditions in the early Solar System, the number and type of impacts expected on a parent body must be quantified. In this talk, I will present our progress in developing a statistical framework to describe the the range of plausible collisional histories for individual meteorite parent bodies. Then, using this information, I will discuss the collateral effects of some collision scenarios that many parent bodies are likely to experience. We find that localized heating in collisions is common, and that the long term thermal effects of collisions can have significant implications for our understanding of the early Solar System. |
February 2013
1-28 |
Morocco 2013 Mars Analog Field Simulation,
Erfoud, Morocco
In the framework of the PolAres research programme of the Austrian Space Forum, the MARS2013 Mars analog field campaign will further the preparation of future human Mars missions by testing scientific instruments, concepts for human-robotic partnerships and engineering and operations trials. Conducting field research in a representative environment is an excellent tool to gain operational experience and understand the advantages and limitations of remote science operations on other planetary bodies. The area near Erfoud is considered as a relevant proxy for various types of geological features of Mars, as well as a diversity of paleo(micro)biological signatures, terrain topographies similar to the Martian deserts and a test site area size which requires a diligent exploration mission design. This field mission is designed to be an opportunity to study equipment behavior involving the simultaneous usage of various instruments with the option of a human-in-the-loop (e.g. via the Aouda.X spacesuit simulator); a platform for testing life-detection techniques, performing terrain tests for rovers and study concepts of enhancing the situational awareness of remote support teams; studying the northern Sahara as a model region for martian deserts and extreme life; and serving as an outreach platform to enhance the visibility of planetary sciences. |
|
1 |
The Role of Gas and Liquid in the Formation and Alteration of the Renazzo-like Carbonaceous Chondrites (Devin Schrader, University of Hawaii),
Lecture Hall
The Renazzo-like carbonaceous (CR) chondrites are among the least altered samples from the early Solar System, and record conditions present within the protoplanetary disk during their formation. Via a petrographic and compositional study, I will discuss both the pre-accretionary formation conditions of their chondrules and post- accretionary parent asteroid processing. Chondrule formation, as recorded by chondrules in the CR chondrites, took place under conditions which were dust- and ice-rich relative to solar values. Gas-liquid oxidation/sulfidation of Fe,Ni metal is recorded in these chondrules; this corrosion occurred either during chondrule cooling, or during reheating events. After chondrule formation the CR chondrite parent asteroid accreted 16O-poor ice and experienced variable degrees of aqueous alteration, possibly due to heterogeneity in accreted ice or ammonia abundances and/or differing depth within the asteroid. |
|
3-8 |
Waves and Instabilities in Geophysical and Astrophysical Flows,
Les Houches, France
The goal of this winterschool is to bring together leading experts from astrophysical and geophysical communities, in order to discuss flows where stratification, rotation and magnetic field play an important role. Emphasis will be put on simple models of oceans, atmosphere and planet interiors, where basic phenomena such as waves and instabilities can be described theoretically. |
|
4-6 |
The Present-Day Habitability of Mars,
Los Angeles, California
The history of Mars exploration can be characterized by a series of exciting discoveries that have dramatically overturned previously held beliefs about the planet. Until very recently, the dominantly held position within the scientific community was that while geologic and climatic conditions during Mars’ distant past may have been conducive to the potential origin and evolution of life, conditions on Mars today offer slim hope for life as we know it due to the unlikely existence of near-surface liquid water environments. However, recent results from from NASA’s Phoenix Lander and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions suggest that present-day Mars may in fact contain a range of potential liquid water environments associated with perchlorates in near-surface soil layers and seasonally recurring slope lineae. The purpose of this conference is to review observations and theories relating to the current habitability of Mars, and to broadly discuss the implications for future Mars science and exploration. Major topics to be considered include: Mars Salts and Perchlorates; Current Mars Liquid Water Activity; Early MSL Results; Redox Potentials for Martian Life; Active Martian Geochemical Cycles; and Implications for Mars Planetary Protection Policies. |
|
4-8 |
Magnetic Fields in the Universe IV: From Laboratory and Stars to the Primordial Structures,
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
The meeting will cover a wide range of topics, bringing together experts in theory, experiments, observations and modeling of magnetized plasmas. Some issues to be addressed in the conference are laboratory plasmas, magnetic fields in stars, magnetic fields in the interplanetary and interstellar medium, the role of magnetic fields in star formation, magnetized jets and outflows, magnetic fields in galaxies and the intergalactic medium, primordial magnetic fields, basic plasma processes, magnetized turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and dynamo processes. The conference will consist of invited talks on the topics of general interest, as well as a number of contributed talks, and poster presentations. |
|
8 |
ARTEMIS Pick-Up Ions Observations of the Lunar Neutral Exosphere (Andrew Poppe, UC Berkeley),
Lecture Hall
The Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) mission is a dual-probe plasma and fields mission currently in orbit around the Moon. Among its many scientific objectives is to study pick-up ions at the Moon, with the goal of understanding various production mechanisms, such as photo-ionization, sputtering and charge exchange, and the subsequent behavior and impact on the lunar plasma environment. To this end, we have recently reported observations of lunar pick-up ions both in the solar wind and in the terrestrial magnetotail, which the Moon crosses for several days each month. A detailed study of these observations has revealed that these pick-up ions are affected by both the convection electric field and the lunar surface photoelectric field, which gives rise to complex pick-up ion distributions. I have constructed a particle-tracing model to explore the pick-up ion behavior and have used the model place constraints on the density and distribution of the lunar neutral exosphere. I will present the results of the data/model comparison and interpret these results in the context of various neutral exosphere production mechanisms operating at the Moon. |
|
9-16 |
Exoplanets in Multi-Body Systems in the Kepler Era,
Aspen, Colorado
For centuries, theories of planet formation were guided exclusively by our solar system. However, the discovery of planets orbiting other stars (exoplanets) in the past two decades has demonstrated that nature often produces planetary systems quite different from our own, neither anticipated by nor well explained by the current theories of solar system formation and dynamics. The diversity of planetary system architectures (the masses and orbital arrangements of planets) has confronted astronomers with many new challenges and reinvigorated the fields of planet formation and orbital dynamics. Among these challenges are planetary systems with multiple planets in close-in orbits, highly eccentric orbits, and planets in binary star systems. In this one week program, scientists from the fields of planetary science, celestial mechanics, astronomy and astrophysics will meet to discuss new developments in the field of extrasolar multi-planet systems. The goal of our workshop is to provide an environment where these scientists can present new ideas, discuss their implications for identifying the most important problems in the field and chart the field’s future direction. Young scientists, women, and underrepresented minorities will all be encouraged to apply. |
|
12 |
Early Mars: Steps Towards Development of Life (Fred Singer, Chair, Science & Environmental Policy),
Lecture Hall
Any investigation of development of life on early Mars is of necessity speculative; yet key steps, with assumptions clearly spelled out, can be profitably discussed. This paper focuses on the moons of Mars as the key to life development. The paper discusses (1) a novel hypothesis on the origin of Phobos and Deimos; (2) their possible role in the development of the Martian core; (3) development of Mars’ magnetic field; (4) history of oceans and atmosphere in the presence of a temporary magnetosphere; -- and finally, (5) some speculation about the possibility of different varieties of life forms originating at several independent locations on Mars. |
March 2013
4-8 |
Ganymede Lander: Scientific Goals and Experiments,
Moscow, Russia
A study of Jupiter system is an important part of international efforts to understand the origin of Galilean satellites and more generally the origin of the Solar System. Few years ago Russian Academy of Sciences and Roscosmos proposed to include a Lander for investigation of one of the moons of Jupiter, namely Europa or possibly Ganymede, as an additional element of EJSM/Laplace international mission to Jupiter system. This is considered as a very important component of Roscosmos’s long-term strategic plan for reinforced cooperation with ESA and NASA. Ganymede – the third of Galilean satellites is becoming now the final destination point of the European JUICE mission. Its concept results from the reformulation of the EJSM/Laplace mission into a European-led mission. On the other hand Russia is working now on a lander concept for Ganymede. Russian GL (Ganymede Lander) will be a partner mission for JUICE. The main scientific object of GL will be a search of possible present and past signatures of life and ‘in situ’ studies of the environment from the surface by remote and contact methods. In addition to coordination of scientific tasks, certain number of practical problems (e.g. navigation, data transfer, types of surface topography information for landing etc.) are planned to be discussed during these Colloquia. Russian GL mission is presently aimed for launch in 2023-2024, though this schedule might be revised in the future and aligned with JUICE. Science payload of the mission is being considered, and international participation is welcomed. |
|
6-8 | Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science, Washington, DC | |
10-15 |
Fundamental Properties and Processes of Magnetotails,
Reykjavik, Iceland
The conference will provide a forum in which various communities can come together and discuss recent achievements of observational, theoretical, and modeling studies with the objective to develop a deeper understanding of fundamental properties and processes of planetary magnetotails through a comparative examination. We will have presentations to compare and contrast knowledge from our best-sampled environment, the Earth’s magnetotail, to the less explored magnetotails of Saturn and Jupiter, and to the least explored magnetotails of Mercury, Uranus, and Neptune. |
|
11-12 |
Characterising Exoplanets: Detection, Formation, Interiors, Atmospheres and Habitability,
London, United Kingdom
This meeting aims to set the agenda for the next decade in this rapidly expanding field of extra-solar planet science. Some 800 planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system have now been detected, with varying masses and orbital parameters. The challenge now is to move from detection to understanding these planets as bodies in their own right. |
|
16-17 |
Microsymposium 54, Lunar Farside and Poles: New Destinations for Exploration,
The Woodlands, Texas
The goal of Microsymposium 54 is to present a summary of these new discoveries, and to bring together representatives of the geology, mineralogy, petrology, spectroscopy, geochemistry, geophysics, and dynamics communities to discuss these new findings and to ponder their implications for the next generation of significant scientific problems. A critical aspect of this discussion will be to assess the implications of this new perspective for future goals and destinations for robotic and human lunar exploration. |
|
18-22 | 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2013) *, The Woodlands, Texas | |
19-22 |
11th CoRoT Week,
Tenerife, Spain
The 11th CoRoT Week seeks to bring together the full CoRoT community to present the mission’s results, to interchange ideas about the analysis and interpretation of its data, and to place CoRoT in the context of the rapidly developing fields of exoplanets and asteroseismology. Thereby, we want to prepare the CoRoT community to exploit the legacy of that mission to the best extent possible. |
|
25-27 |
Herschel Calibration Workshop: Only the Best Data Products for the Legacy Archive,
Madrid, Spain
This workshop will enable Herschel calibration experts and observatory users to gather to assess the current status, successes and shortcomings of the whole set of observing modes available to Herschel and the calibrations performed. It is scheduled to take place around the end of Helium cryogenic phase of the mission and before full consolidation of calibrations and archived observations in a post operational phase. The workshop will therefore provide further feedback into the planning of calibration improvements in the upcoming years so that the Herschel Science Archive has the best calibrated data possible. |
April 2013
3-6 |
From Stars to Life — Connecting our Understanding of Star Formation, Planet Formation, Astrochemistry and Astrobiology,
Gainesville, Florida
We would like to understand the physical and chemical processes that lead to habitable planet formation, starting from the simplest interstellar medium initial conditions of pre-stellar cores, through star formation, accretion & protoplanetary disk evolution, and planet & planetary system formation & evolution. We will discuss theoretical, observational and laboratory constraints on these processes. The conference aims to foster inter and multidisciplinary collaboration between researchers interested in these topics. |
|
4-5 |
NASA Planetary Science Subcommittee Meeting,
Washington, D.C.
In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Planetary Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Subcommittee reports to the Science Committee of the NAC. The meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting, from the scientific community and other persons, scientific and technical information relevant to program planning. |
|
5 |
GRAIL Explores the Moon's Interior (Walter Kiefer, Lunar and Planetary Institute),
Lecture Hall
The overarching science goal for NASA’s GRAIL mission was to understand the structure of the Moon’s interior from crust to core. GRAIL mapped the Moon’s gravity field at elevations between 3 and 55 km during 2012. The resulting gravity map reveals features as small as 7 to 9 km across and is the best global gravity map for any planetary object, including Earth. When combined with recent measurements of the Moon’s global topography, GRAIL has dramatically improved our knowledge of the Moon’s internal structure. The bulk density of the lunar crust is about 10% lower than anticipated by prior geophysical models but is consistent with lab measurements of lunar rocks. The bulk density is particularly low surrounding major impact basins, reflecting the high porosity of basin ejecta sheets. The gravity observations require the presence of large volumes of intrusive basaltic material in the Aristarchus and Marius Hills volcanic fields, whereas the Cauchy and Hortensius volcanic fields do not contain such intrusions. Intrusive volcanism is also a likely contributor to the gravity anomalies at impact basin mascons, such as the Orientale basin. |
|
7-12 | European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2013, Vienna, Austria | |
8-12 |
Transformational Science with ALMA: From Dust to Rocks to Planets Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems,
Waikoloa, Hawaii
The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) is the world's most complex ground-based astronomical observatory. While still under construction, ALMA is opening a window into cosmic origins from previously inaccessible cold and dark parts of our universe. With its anticipated 66 antennae in full operations, ALMA will deliver astonishing imaging capabilities and sensitivity that will surpass any other telescope at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The first light observations from ALMA, begun in September 2011, are exciting researchers with new views of gas and dust harboring young stars and planetary systems. We are on the threshold of an explosion of observations that will transform our knowledge and understanding of how solar systems, planets, and life all begin. In this workshop, investigators from around the world will meet in Hawaii to explore the evolution of material in protostellar disks from formation to dissipation. The Island of Hawaii is home to the largest observatory in the Northern Hemisphere, and is the site of extensive, collaborative, international research efforts. A focus of the workshop will be the processing of the gas and dust components, and the growth of planetesimals. We will also explore chemical changes, and radiative signatures at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. We will showcase results from ALMA early science projects and feature synergies with other telescopes that can help to advance this field, particularly those sited on the island of Hawaii. |
|
9-10 | Third International Workshop on Lunar Superconductor Applications, Cocoa Beach, Florida | |
11 |
LunarCubes Briefing #2,
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Flexure Engineering is creating the LunarCube Working Group and LunarCube workshops to promote the creation of a standard to facilitate the development of low-cost, rapid-development payloads that could be easily added to the many lunar opportunities that will exist in the coming decades. LunarCubes will be more expensive and complex than typical CubeSats but much cheaper than typical interplanetary sats. Since lunar mission opportunities are more rare and costly than LEO opportunities, it will be common to combine multiple LunarCube-based payloads into one package for launch and operations. This will lead to complications not seen in a typical CubeSat mission and the LunarCube standard will have to address three new areas: Payload integration, launch - Multiple LunarCubes on one ride-along opportunity; Payload integration, operations - Multiple LunarCubes on one lander or Mother Ship; Mission Management - Multiple LunarCubes operating simultaneously. Due to tight travel budgets and new rules for government-sponsored workshops we have chosen to break the first workshop up into three one day briefings to be held in October, November, and April. The purpose of the briefings and the working group will be to create an open discussion about these issues and more to advance lunar science and mission opportunities for teams around the world. |
|
12 |
Lunar Crustal Magnetism — Origins and Influence on Space Weathering (Doug Hemingway, University of California, Santa Cruz),
Lecture Hall
Although the Moon does not now possess a global magnetic field, its surface is dotted with strong crustal magnetic anomalies, often hundreds of kilometers across. These enigmatic magnetic features may be the signatures of a now extinct dynamo but could also be the result of exotic processes related to basin-forming impact events. In any case, the magnetic anomalies are important clues to the Moon's early history and evolution. Curiously, many of the magnetic anomalies are accompanied by complex, sinuous patterns of bright surface markings, known as "swirls". A strong candidate explanation for the appearance of swirls is that they form where locally strong magnetic fields disturb space weathering patterns, effectively shielding portions of the surface from the darkening effects of solar wind ion bombardment. In this talk, I will show that an analysis of the local magnetic field geometry supports the solar wind shielding hypothesis and I will discuss how the modeling results give insights into the underlying magnetic sources and the nature of the magnetizing field. I will also discuss the possibility of a low-cost spacecraft mission that could collect the extremely low altitude measurements needed to test our predictions. |
|
15-18 |
Light Pollution: Theory, Modelling, and Measurements (LPTMM-2013),
Smolenice, Slovak Republic
This conference is more specifically oriented toward scientific and astronomical issues. It will address themes concerning theoretical concepts of modelling light pollution, numerical tools and simulation experiments, effects of atmospheric aerosols and obstacles on light pollution, impact of spectral characteristics of light sources and reflecting surfaces, observational techniques, data, and products and design and evaluation of dark sky friendly lighting technologies. |
|
15-19 |
2013 IAA Planetary Defense Conference,
Flagstaff, Arizona
Papers are solicited in the following areas: Planetary Defense Recent Progress & Plans NEO Discovery NEO Characterization Mitigation Techniques & Missions Impact Effects that Inform Warning, Mitigation & Costs Consequence Management & Education The conference will include an exercise where participants will simulate the decision-making process for developing deflection and civil defense responses to a hypothetical asteroid threat. |
|
15-19 |
International Young Astronomer School on Exploiting the Herschel and Planck Data (2013),
Meudon, France
The Doctoral School of Astronomy-Astrophysics of Great Paris (ED 127) is the only thematic doctoral school in France, in the field of astronomy and astrophysics. The school is supported by four universities or Institutes : the Paris Observatory (carrier), Université Paris-Sud (P11), Université Paris Diderot (P7) and UPMC (P6). Since 2008, the Doctoral School organizes a biennial international school in the field of observational astronomy, intended for PhD students and postdocs. The third edition of this school will be held in March 2013. The previous two had been very successful and received about 40 participants each, representing more than fifteen different nationalities. This is the third edition of a school with the goal to train young researchers, PhD students and postdocs, regardless of nationality, to the scientific exploitation of two recently launched European space missions, Planck and Herschel. The first results obtained by these two satellites, the most successful ever launched in their respective fields, are reshaping the landscape in many areas of astrophysics (cosmology, galaxies and large structures, star formation, interstellar medium, the solar system) and there is some urgency to introduce the concepts and specific methods of exploitation of their data to future researchers. |
|
17-19 |
UK Astrobiology Conference,
Edinburgh, Scotland
The fifth UK Astrobiology Conference (ASB5) will be held in Edinburgh from April 17-19, 2013. Hosted by the UK Centre for Astrobiology on behalf of the Astrobiology Society of Britain, the conference focus will be “Molecules and Life in Extreme Environments.” |
|
22-24 | Workshop on the Evolution and Constitution of Mercury's Interior, Chicago, Illinois | |
22-27 |
20th Young Scientists' Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics,
Kyiv, Ukraine
The aim of the annual Open Young Scientists' Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics is to provide young scientists with a possibility to communicate and present their scientific work. Fields: • atmospheric studies and space geophysics • Solar physics and heliosphere • Solar System & extrasolar planets • stellar astrophysics • interstellar and intergalactic medium • extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology • high-energy astrophysics and astroparticle physics • positional astronomy and astronomical equipment • computers in astrono |
|
23-25 | SPICE Domestic Training Class for 2013, Monrovia, California | |
26 |
The Great (and Perplexing) Equatorial Ridge on Saturn's Moon Iapetus (Andrew Dombard, University of Illinois at Chicago),
Lecture Hall
The equatorial ridge on Iapetus is one of the most peculiar features in the solar system. A mountain range up to 20 km high, it runs perfectly along the moon's equator for most of its circumference. The formation of this ridge has baffled scientists since its discovery almost a decade ago. Here, I review models that have been proposed to explain the ridge and argue that it is the end product of a sub-satellite formed by a giant impact during the formation of the solar system. |
|
29-May 3 |
Friends of Friends Meeting 2013,
Cordoba, Argentina
The meeting is aimed at stretching the bounds between the astronomers that work at the IATE and their external collaborators, as well as sharing the state-of-the-art of works that are being developed by the IATE members. |
May 2013
3 |
CRISM Analysis of Crater Uplifts (Veronica Bray, University of Arizona),
Lecture Hall
The central uplifts of large impact craters can expose bedrock and ancient crust that are otherwise buried. One example is the central peak of the 79 km diameter Ritchey crater (28.8°S, 309°E). Ritchey Crater is near the boundary between Hesperian ridged plains and Noachian highland terrain units on the global geologic map of Mars. We are conducting lithological mapping of the central uplifts of Ritchey and other craters in order to reconstruct the stratigraphy of buried noachian crust in the region between Corprates Chasma and the Argyre basin. |
|
5-9 |
43rd Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society Division on Dynamical Astronomy,
Paraty, Brazil
The annual DDA Meeting brings together top researchers in astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science, and astrodynamics for in-depth and stimulating discussions and talks on all aspects of dynamics in the space sciences. The DDA meeting features invited talks on a range of topics, contributed talks (with no parallel sessions), and posters that can be displayed throughout the entire meeting. |
|
6-7 |
First Annual International Conference on Space Environment & Aviation Technology (SEAT 2013),
Singapore
The SEAT conference serves as a platform for aerospace scientists and engineers who are in academia, government labs, and industry to share and disseminate scientific knowledge, research results, and perspectives on the new challenges, future opportunities, and emerging trends in aviation education, research, and programs. The themes of the conferences are space environment (covers aerospace community, atmospheric/space/planetary environment, aviation weather, space weather, and other related space and atmospheric environment) and aviation technology (covers topics on aerospace engineering and aeronautical engineering). |
|
6-8 |
Humans to Mars Summit (H2M),
Washington, DC
Explore Mars is hosting the Humans to Mars Summit at the George Washington University, Washington, DC. Every step of the planning and executing process of getting humans to Mars will be discussed. |
|
10 | RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting: Observation, Evolution and Origin of Planetary Satellites, London, United Kingdom | |
13-15 |
Planet Validation Workshop,
Marseille, France
The “Planet Validation” Workshop proposes to ask fundamental questions and evaluate the best answers in this context. The stakes are high, as hundreds of Kepler candidates will be validated instead of firmly confirmed, and soon those detected by SPHERE, GPI, GAIA, ESPRESSO, EUCLID and maybe PLATO and TESS... The aim of the meeting is to bring together experts in data analysis, statistics, different planet detection methods, and stellar and galactic models and to discuss the choices made by the recently developed planet validation tools. |
|
15-17 |
Ice and Planet Formation,
Lund, Sweden
This workshop in Lund focuses on ice(s) and planet formation. Astrophysical ice has become an increasingly popular topic in the past years, inspired and driven by new observations of ices in molecular clouds and protoplanetary discs, models of dust coagulation and planet formation where ice plays an important role and current and upcoming laboratory experiment of ice collisions and ice deposition. |
|
20-21 |
Exoplanets in the Post-Kepler Era,
Cambridge, MA
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will host a conference to explore the future directions of exoplanet astrophysics after the abundant science harvest of the Kepler mission. We will take this opportunity to honor Dave Latham’s pioneering role in exoplanet science and his long and profound contributions to this field. |
|
21-23 |
NLSI Workshop Without Walls: Lunar Volatiles (Part 1),
Virtual
The workshop will focus on three themes: 1) “Origins of lunar volatiles” includes identifying the composition, as well as endogenous and exogenous processes for manufacturing, delivering, and releasing them, 2) “Sequestration of lunar volatiles” is the processes that contribute to the retention and loss of volatiles, as well as observations that define the distribution and concentrations of volatiles in different reservoirs on the Moon and 3) “Volatiles as a resource” explores in situ resource utilization prospecting, extraction techniques, experiments, and mission planning. |
|
24-27 |
Spacefest V,
Tucson, Arizona
Spacefest is THE event for the space enthusiast of any stripe-Pure astronomy; manned exploration; robotic exploration; commercial space, and space history, professional or amateur. |
|
28-29 |
iCubeSat 2013 — The 2nd Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop,
Ithaca, New York
iCubeSat was created in 2011 by JA as a neutral, non-profit, open source, open access forum for anyone with an interest in the concept of Interplanetary CubeSats to present, disseminate and archive their ideas, work, tools, techniques and other relevant items for anyone interested in the peaceful exploration of space. |
|
28-30 | Annual Meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA), Vancouver, Canada | |
28-31 |
High Resolution Optical Spectroscopy,
Postdam, Germany
The scope of this meeting is to bring together the astronomical community that builds and uses high- resolution spectrographs. High spectral resolution is essential to quantify and to constrain the many micro- and macro-scale processes in cosmic plasma. In particular we will emphasize the coupling be- tween predictive numerical simulations and quantitative spectroscopic observations. We organize this meeting in the framework of the series of “Potsdam ThinkShops” as meeting number 10. The venue will be held at the Telegrafenberg science campus of the AIP in Potsdam in May 2013 and will be open for an international professional auditorium as well as students |
|
29-31 |
Third Meeting of the International Primitive Body Exploration Working Group (IPEWG),
Nice, France
The IPEWG 2013 workshop will take place over the course of three days, and includes several topical panel sessions with scheduled time for discussion. These sessions will be structured to provide diverse perspectives from the international community in areas that are of great interest to the community. A final session will summarize the results into a series of recommendations and action items. |
|
31 |
Decoding the High-Temperature Origins of Refractory Oxides from Ancient Stars (Tom Zega, University of Arizona),
Lecture Hall
As stars evolve, they shed their matter through dust-driven stellar winds or explosive events such as supernovae. These stellar ashes can enter the interstellar medium and become the starting material for a new star. Our own solar system formed partly from the remnants of ancient stars, and it was long ago suspected that individual grains of this presolar stardust material should have survived intact within the solid relics leftover from its birth, i.e., primitive meteorites. The isolation and measurement of presolar grains has been a decades-long struggle, largely because many of them occur intimately mixed at the nanometer scale in chondritic meteorites - the bulk of which contain phases that formed in our own solar system. In recent years, developments in electron and ion optics have revolutionized our ability to measure the isotopic composition of a grain, extract it in situ, and investigate its crystal chemistry and structure. Such information is fundamental to inferring the origins of such grains, e.g., the type, mass, and composition of their parent stars as well as the thermodynamic processes of their circumstellar envelopes and secondary processing they experienced within our solar system. I will show how secondary ion mass spectrometry, focused-ion-beam scanning-electron-microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be combined to gain insight into the origin of presolar spinel (MgAl2O4) and hibonite (CaAl12O19) grains. |
June 2013
2-6 | 222nd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Indianapolis, Indiana | |
2-7 |
Exploring the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems,
Victoria, Canada
Topics include 1) Diversity and Evolution of Planetary Systems, 2) Protoplanetary discs: high resolution imaging, composition and structure, 3) Grains and Planetesimals, 4) Disc Chemistry, 5) Initial conditions of planet formation; planet formation pathways, 6) Signposts of planetary systems, 7) Dynamics in Planetary Systems: migration, multiplicity, 8) Exoplanet Atmospheres; composition, radiative transfer and circulation and 9) Interior Structure and Planetary Composition. |
|
3-4 |
1st Annual International Conference on Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro 2013),
Singapore
GSTF provides a global intellectual platform for top notch academics and industry professionals to actively interact and share their groundbreaking research achievements. GSTF is dedicated to promoting research and development and offers an inter-disciplinary intellectual platform for leading scientists, researchers, academics and industry professionals across Asia Pacific to actively consult, network and collaborate with their counterparts across the globe. |
|
3-5 | Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference 2013, Broomfield, Colorado | |
6-9 |
1st International Workshop on Education in Astrobiology,
Hoor, Sweden
The meeting aims to bring together scientists and teachers engaged in astrobiology education on universities and other training institutions to discuss new teaching and assessment forms in astrobiology, foster international cooperation in astrobiology teaching, and give the attendants a thorough overview of the field. |
|
7 |
The Surface Composition of Mercury From MESSENGER Data (Shoshana Weider),
Lecture Hall
Geochemical results from the X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Spectrometers onboard the MESSENGER spacecraft, and insights they provide into Mercury's formation and geological evolution Shoshana Weider |
|
10-14 | AbGradCon 2013, Montreal, Canada | |
10-14 | International Venus Workshop, Catania, Italy | |
11-14 | Isotopes as Diagnostic Tools in Astronomy, Geology and Biology, Hoor, Sweden | |
14 |
Massive Ice Avalanches on Iapetus Mobilized by Friction Reduction During Flash Heating (Kelsi Singer, Washington University, St. Louis),
Lecture Hall
Large ice avalanches on saturnian satellites exhibit a behavior similar to long-runout landslides found across the solar system: some mechanism (or mechanisms) apparently reduces the material’s friction, allowing the landslides to travel 10-30 times their drop heights (as opposed to ~2x for a more “normal” frictional regime). These landslides achieve immense runout lengths, even over variable slopes and topography. Landslides on Iapetus are some of the longest and most voluminous in the solar system, reaching lengths of 80 km. I will compare the long-runout landslides on icy satellites to their rocky cousins found on Earth and Mars, and discuss a possible friction reduction mechanism through flash heating. |
|
15-16 |
IPPW-10 Short Course on Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems,
San Jose, California
This 10th workshop will build upon the IPPW tradition by encouraging international cooperation in planetary probe missions, new technologies, and scientific discoveries. In addition, students from around the world will have a unique opportunity to present their work and to interact with the leaders in their discipline areas. |
|
15-19 |
11th International GeoRaman Conference,
St. Louis, Missouri
The 11th International GeoRaman conference in St. Louis will focus on two major aspects of laser Raman spectroscopy: (1) The most advanced technologies and instrumentation, from laboratories to a wide variety of field applications, e.g., industrial and security monitoring, geo-fields, deep ocean, and on other planets; (2) The newest applications in studying inorganic, organic, and bio-genetic materials in Earth Sciences, Planetary Sciences, Environmental Science, Forensic Science, Archaeology and Archaeometry, Gemmology, and Astrobiology. |
|
17-21 |
10th International Planetary Probe Workshop (IPPW-10),
San Jose, California
The 10th Probe Workshop brings together engineers, technologists, scientists, mission designers, space agency leaders, and students from around the world for a compelling, week-long collaboration focused on exploration of Solar System atmospheres and surfaces using atmospheric entry and descent probes and aerial vehicles. |
|
17-21 |
14th International Conference on Electromagnetic and Light Scattering (ELS-XIV),
Lille, France
The main objective of the conference is to bring together scientists and engineers studying various aspects of light scattering and to provide a relaxed atmosphere for in-depth discussions of theoretical advances, measurements, and applications. |
|
18-20 | 10th IAA Low-Cost Planetary Missions Conference (LCPM-10), Pasadena, California | |
18-21 |
From Exoplanets to Distant Galaxies: SPICA's New Window on the Cool Universe,
Kanagawa, Japan
The primary aims of the conference are to introduce the scientific capabilities of the SPICA mission to the international community, and to foster interactions in the IR community on how to optimally utilise this new facility to further explore the physical processes in formation and evolution of planets, stars and galaxies. |
|
20-21 |
Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference,
Pasadena, California
This year the scope of the 1st Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference has been broadened to include interplanetary small satellite missions that do not fit into the CubeSat standard. We believe that with this change we will be able to incorporate an important segment of the community as well as encourage the “outside the box” thinking that will be critical to future interplanetary small satellite missions. |
|
21 |
Magmatic Volatiles in the Inner Solar System: Constraints from Apatite in Planetary Materials and Apatite-Melt Partitioning Experiments
TBD (Francis McCubbin, University of New Mexico),
Lecture Hall
Magmatic volatiles like water, C-species, S- species, N-species, and the halides play many important roles in geologic processes on Earth, from magma genesis to climate change. Furthermore, these components are the basis of organic chemistry and they are required for life. However, little is known about the origin, abundances, and roles of magmatic volatiles among the other terrestrial bodies in our Solar System. In the present study, we attempt to gain a first-order understanding of the magmatic volatiles H2O, F, and Cl through analyses and experimental work centered around the calcium-phosphate mineral apatite. The mineral apatite contains F, Cl, and OH as essential structural constituents, and it is ubiquitous in planetary materials. Consequently, we have analyzed apatites from Earth, Moon, Mars, 4-Vesta, and ordinary chondrites to gain a better understanding of the magmatic volatile inventories and distributions within those bodies. Importantly, apatite does not mirror the magmatic volatile load of a fluid or melt from which it formed; therefore, we have conducted petrologic experiments to investigate the partitioning behavior of H2O, F, and Cl between apatite and silicate melts. These experiments allow one to develop quantitative models to to infer concentrations of volatiles in magmatic liquids and source regions. Our work has shown that the inner Solar System is looking much wetter than it has in the past, raising important questions about the origin of volatiles in the terrestrial planets. |
|
23-25 |
2013 Space Cryogenics Workshop,
Girdwood, Alaska
The 25th Space Cryogenics Workshop will be held Sunday, June 23 through Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at the Alyeska Resort near Girdwood, Alaska. Sponsors are NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Cryogenic Society of America. Join us as we explore Space Cryogenics at Earth’s Last Frontier. The Workshop is an opportunity for all those engaged in low temperature work to exchange research results and knowledge, to inform the world about accomplishments and breakthroughs, and to network and share information with peers from around the world. All aspects of space cryogenics will be represented, with an emphasis on work related to previous missions as well as future research. |
|
23-28 | Gordon Conference on Origins of Solar Systems, South Hadley, Massachusetts | |
24-26 |
AGU Science Policy Conference,
Washington, DC
Join hundreds of Earth and space scientists, students, policymakers, and industry professionals as they discuss key Earth and space science topics that address challenges to our economy, national security, environment, and public safety. This meeting will focus on the science that helps inform policymakers’ decisions related to energy, natural hazards, technology and infrastructure, climate, oceans, and the Arctic. |
|
24-27 |
8th Workshop on Catastrophic Disruption in the Solar System (CD8),
Hapuna Beach, Hawaii
This workshop will provide a valuable opportunity for scientists specializing in theory, numerical modeling, laboratory experiments and telescopic observations to share their recent results and discuss new ideas in a focused, yet relaxed environment. Topics will include the internal structures of small bodies, their disruption through collisions, tidal or rotational forces, the outcomes of catastrophic breakup, including asteroid families, their size-frequency distributions and spin properties, collisional evolution, and the formation of dust. We particularly welcome young scientists – graduate students and postdocs who can contribute fresh ideas and will carry this important field of research into the future. |
|
24-27 |
Herschel Data Processing for Newcomers,
Villanueva de la Canada, Spain
Successfully launched together with Planck on 14 May 2009, Herschel recently reached the end of its operational lifetime on 29 April 2013, after the exhaustion of its supply of liquid helium coolant, completing almost 4 years of pioneering observations of the cool universe. Indeed, Herschel has made over 35,000 scientific observations, amassing more than 25,000 hours' worth of science data from about 600 observing programs, most of which is already publicly available from the Herschel Science Archive. Although Herschel observing is now finished, the data collected by this wonderful mission will enable a vast amount of exciting science to be done for many years to come. We expect that it will provide even more discoveries that have been made during the lifetime of the Herschel mission. Our task is now to make the treasure trove of Herschel data as valuable as possible. This workshop, organized by the Herschel Science Centre, in collaboration with the Instrument Control Centres and the NASA Herschel Science Centre, is targeted at an audience of novice users interested in accessing and interpreting Herschel data for the first time, with little or no previous experience in the analysis of Herschel observations using HIPE (Herschel Interactive Processing Environment). We invite preferentially Ph.D. students and young post-docs who have recently started working on projects based on the analysis of Herschel observations, but we also accept more advanced users who may want to get a deeper knowledge of certain aspects of the interactive processing of Herschel data with which they may not be sufficiently familiar. The workshop, which can be attended online or in person, will consist of a mixture of tutorials in the format of presentations that will be broadcast live to online participants, and hands-on sessions customized for those participants attending the workshop in person. |
|
24-28 | 10th Annual Meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), Brisbane, Australia | |
24-28 | Crossing the Boundaries in Planetary Atmospheres: From Earth to Exoplanets, Annapolis, Maryland | |
25-28 |
5th Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS),
Gainesville, Florida
WHISPERS is the premier meeting of IEEE for hyperspectral image processing. The international annual meeting will be held this year in Gainesville, Florida, June 25-28, 2013, on the campus of the University of Florida. We invite members of the planetary science community to join colleagues from the terrestrial remote sensing and signal processing communities. This year we are proposing a special section devoted to exploring cutting-edge techniques in planetary image processing (described below) with a data users workshop. |
|
25-Jul 2 |
Summer Course "Molecules in Space",
Onsala, Sweden
The summer course "Molecules in space" aims to give participants a thorough high-level introduction into the role of molecules in many astronomical environments such as the early universe, dark and diffuse interstellar clouds, star-forming regions and protoplanetary disks, atmospheres of plants and their satellites, cometary comae, circumstellar envelopes, and supernova remnants. |
|
28 |
The Si isotopic Composition of Meteorites and Lunar Rocks –Insights into Building the Earth and Moon (Rosalind Armytage, University of Houston),
Lecture Hall
Silicon is a major element in most of the rock-forming phases, and recent developments in mass spectrometry techniques, in particular MC-ICP-MS, make Si isotopes an attractive tool to understand events during the earliest stages of formation of terrestrial planets. High precision Si isotopic measurements on meteorites and lunar rocks can provide important constraints on the light element in the Earth’s core and the formation of the Moon. |
|
30-Jul 2 |
3rd Workshop on Binaries in the Solar System,
Kohala Coast, Hawaii
The goal of the 3rd Workshop on Binaries in the Solar System is to bring together various ideas on the detection, characterization, formation, and implications of binary and multiple objects among the NEO, main-belt, Trojan, Centaur, TNO populations. |
|
30-Jul 2 | Australian Astrobiology Meeting, Sydney, Australia |
July 2013
1-3 |
Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) Open Science Workshop,
Noordwijk, The Netherlands
The international Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) Open Science Workshop will provide an update on the status of EChO. The conference will be open to all the scientific, technical and industrial community, to encourage feedback in advance of the ESA Cosmic Vision review process. |
|
1-4 |
International Symposium on Planetary Sciences (IAPS2013),
Shanghai, China
The International Symposium on Planetary Sciences (IAPS2013) will be held at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, July 1-4, 2013, Shanghai, China, which brings together international scientists to present the latest results of research and development in planetary exploration and science. Topics include planetary geodesy, navigation, remote sensing, atmosphere, ionosphere/plasma physics, magnetic and gravity field, geomorphology, geophysics, geology, petrology, geochemistry, interior physics, Life & Astrobiology, Giant & Extrasolar Planets, etc. |
|
7-12 |
19th IAA Humans in Space Symposium,
Cologne, Germany
The organizers of the 19th IAA Humans in Space Conference will organize a program that focuses on basic major questions and challenges and will try to attract respective specialists, regardless of whether they are from the space research community or not. |
|
7-14 |
Davos Atmosphere and Cryosphere Assembly 2013
(DACA-13),
Davos Switzerland
The conference will bring together some 1’200 scientists from both fields to present and discuss the latest research in separate or joint sessions. A large variety of topics will be covered, from ice-sheet modelling to extreme climate events, from solar UV radiation to avalanche formation and permafrost – be sure to contribute and benefit from the possibility to extend your network and meet excellent scientists from a wide range of fields. |
|
8-12 | Magnetospheres of the Outer Planets 2013, Athens, Greece | |
8-13 | European Week of Astronomy and Space Science, Turku, Finland | |
9 |
Target NEO 2 Workshop,
Washington, D.C.
Support the development of a robust human exploration program by ensuring that the technical viewpoints of experts in fields pertinent to robotic and human NEO exploration are provided and documented. Key questions: What are the technical challenges involved and what new capabilities are needed for the newly proposed Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM)? Are there any alternative approaches? What technical information is still needed to support and sustain a robust human exploration program to a NEO? |
|
9-11 |
Comets as Tracers of Solar System Formation and Evolution,
Toulouse, France
The workshop will cover topics ranging from the dynamical and chemical evolution of the solar nebula during formation, to the techniques for measuring the composition of comets. Invited speakers include some of the community leaders in cometary science, measurements and technology development. We will discuss the role that Rosetta measurements will play in understanding the origin of Solar System bodies, and what future missions to comets are being planned. There will be a special issue of the journal Planetary and Space Science devoted to the works presented at this meeting. |
|
10 |
4th Annual Lunar Graduate Conference (LunGradCon 2013),
Moffett Field, California
LunGradCon 2013 will address the three main research areas of the NASA Lunar Science Institute: • Of the Moon: Investigations of the nature and history of the Moon (including research on lunar samples) to learn about this specific object and thereby provide insights into the evolution of our solar system. • On the Moon: Investigations of the effects of the lunar environment on terrestrial life and the equipment that supports lunar inhabitants, and the effects of robotic and human presence on the lunar environment. • From the Moon: Use of the Moon as a platform for performing scientific investigations, including observations of the Earth and other celestial phenomena that are uniquely enabled by being on the lunar surface. |
|
10-11 | Ninth Meeting of the Small Bodies Assessment Group, Pasadena, California | |
12 |
Rocks in our Solar System — Bridging the Gap Between Meteor, Meteorite and Asteroid Studies (European Week of Astronomy and Space Science EWASS 2013 Special Session Sp11),
Turku, Finland
The session will bring together scientists working on all aspects of solar system rocky material properties. The topic includes laboratory analysis of meteorites and cosmic dust as well as observations and modeling of both meteoroids and asteroids. The contributions bridging the gap between properties of meteors, meteorites, and asteroids are highly welcome. The session will also focus on the recent Chelyabinsk fireball/Chebarkul meteorite fall event in order to put together knowledge acquired from studies of fireball trajectory, orbital analysis, and recovered meteorites. |
|
13-14 |
LunGradCon 2013,
Virtual Meeting
LunGradCon provides an opportunity for grad students and early-career postdocs to present their research in a low-stress, friendly environment, being critiqued only by their peers. In addition to oral presentations, the conference presents opportunities for professional development and networking with fellow grad students and postdocs, as well as senior members of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI). In keeping with the future direction of the NLSI, we encourage participation from all students and postdocs investigating the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, Phobos and Deimos, and the near-space environments of these target bodies. |
|
15-16 | Outer Planets Analysis Group (OPAG) Meeting, Washington, DC area | |
15-20 | Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, Germany | |
16-18 |
NASA Lunar Science Forum,
Virtual Meeting
The conference consists of invited and contributed oral and poster presentations, together with breakout sessions to plan for the future of lunar science. The session summaries, along with the abstracts, list of organizers, and participants, will be included in a final report to be posted on the NASA Lunar Science Institute website. |
|
17-19 |
Dusty Visions 2013,
Stuttgart, Germany
In a workshop style we want to discuss the present state and new venues in cosmic dust research. There are exciting new results from Cassini, Stardust, Spitzer, Herschel, Stereo, as well as other missions. Major topics of the workshop will cover new ideas and theories. We will also discuss observational results and the outcome of laboratory experiments, for they give implications for future space missions. Of special emphasis is cosmochemistry and compositional analysis of dust, also in view of upcoming space missions presently under way or in preparation (e.g. Juice, Lunar Lander, Rosetta, Ladee). |
|
22-25 |
13th European Workshop on Astrobiology,
Szczecin, Poland
The list of main topics that will be the subject of EANA 13 is given below: • Astrochemistry, interstellar medium; • Astrophysics, protoplanetary discs and planets; • Planetary habitability and exploration; • Macromolecules and models of prebiotic molecules; • Origin and evolution of life, extremophiles; • Rocks, fossils and meteorites; • Space technology, medicine and industry; • Miscellaneous subjects in astrobiolog |
|
22-26 |
The Pluto System on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: Perspectives and Predictions,
Columbia, Maryland
NASA’s New Horizons mission is now over 22 AU from the Sun en route to a reconnaissance flyby of the Pluto system at 32 AU in July, 2015. In advance of that historic flyby, the New Horizons mission is sponsoring a scientific meeting to review knowledge of the Pluto System, to inform the planetary science community about the flyby and collaboration/DAP funding opportunities, to discuss and begin to prepare groundbased and spacebased observing proposals, and to provide a venue for scientific predictions. |
|
22-Aug 9 |
The University of California International Summer School on AstroComputing 2013: Star and Planet Formation,
Santa Cruz, California
The objective of the 2013 UC-HiPACC AstroComputing Summer School is to train the next generation of researchers in the use of large-scale simulations in star and planet formation problems. The school will cover many of the major public codes in use today, including tutorials and hands-on experience running and analyzing simulations. Students will receive accounts on the new 3,000-core supercomputer Hyades on the UCSC campus for the duration of the school. |
|
26 |
Crater Relaxation on the Saturnian Mid-Sized Icy Satellites and its Relation to their Thermal Histories (Oliver White, Lunar and Planetary Institute),
Lecture Hall
Evidence for relaxation of impact crater topography has been observed on many icy satellites, including those of Saturn, and the magnitude of relaxation can be related to past heat flow. Earlier surveys of crater morphologies using shadow lengths and photoclinometry (shape-from-shading) processing of Voyager imagery have yielded depth/diameter measurements for only a limited number of craters across a fairly narrow size range. We have used new stereo- and photoclinometry-derived global digital elevation models (DEMs) of the surfaces of these satellites that we have generated from Cassini data to obtain measurements for many more craters across a much wider size range than was previously possible. For the satellites Rhea, Iapetus and Dione, we have obtained enough measurements to define a scale of relaxation for the craters. We have performed relaxation simulations to determine what heat flow magnitudes and durations are necessary in order to achieve the current morphologies of certain relaxed and unrelaxed craters. When combined with age estimates based on crater counting, these results contain strong implications for the thermal histories and heating mechanisms of these satellites, and aid in constraining models for their origins. |
|
29-31 |
PLATO 2.0 Science Workshop,
Noordwijk, The Netherlands
PLATO 2.0 is an ESA M3 candidate mission and has been designed and optimized from the outset specifically to detect habitable zone rocky sized planets around bright solar type stars. Not only are these host stars suitable for planetary confirmation and follow-up studies, but they are ideal for asteroseismology studies whose impact has been proven from the CoRoT and Kepler missions. Thus PLATO 2.0 will produce catalogues of accurate parameters of terrestrial planets and planetary systems. It will be the first large-scale survey determining the ages of its detected planetary systems from their host stars. PLATO 2.0 data will be vital to test and develop planetary formation and evolution models and to address planetary science questions via its large numbers of accurate bulk planet parameters in systems of all kinds. As a result of the many hundred thousands of stars observed, PLATO 2.0 has furthermore a large complementary and legacy science program, from stellar to galactic science. |
|
29-Aug 2 |
2013 Sagan Exoplanet Summer Workshop (CANCELED),
Pasadena, California
The 2013 workshop will explore current techniques and technology used to detect exoplanets and debris disks, as well as the underlying science driving the modeling of exoplanetary atmospheres and disk structure. Leaders in the field will summarize the current state of the art in science, hardware, and software. Prospects for future space instruments will also be discussed. Attendees will participate in hands-on exercises to gain experience working with imaging data, astrophysical models, and instrument design. Attendees will also have the opportunity to present their own work through short presentations (research POPs) and posters. |
|
29-Aug 2 |
25th Annual NASA Planetary Science Summer School (Session I),
Pasadena, California
An intensive one-week team exercise, preceded by several weekly webinars and assignments, to learn the process of developing a robotic mission concept into reality through concurrent engineering. |
|
29-Aug 2 | 76th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society *, Edmonton, Canada |
August 2013
1-2 |
Comet ISON Observer's Workshop,
Laurel, MD
The meeting's overarching goal is to maximize the scientific return from ISON's 2013 apparition. |
|
5-7 |
Analog Sites for Mars Missions II: Past, Present and Future Missions to Mars *,
Washington, DC
The Analog Sites Workshop is planned as an interactive process that consists of online discussions that will take place in advance of the in-person meeting and breakout sessions during the workshop with assessment of proposed analog sites against the science objectives. The open online forum will be used to discuss and identify outstanding Mars science questions that might be answered through previous, ongoing, or future missions, including the 2020 rover mission. The discussion will then turn to how our ability to address these questions could be augmented with analog research on Earth. The online discussion will be open in May and will remain open until the end of the workshop. On June 5 the topics discussed will be summarized and identified as science objectives to be addressed through abstracts on analog research. |
|
5-8 | Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution V *, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | |
5-9 |
The 6th Meeting on Cosmic Dust,
Kobe, Japan
This series of Cosmic Dust meetings aims at finding a consensus among experts on the formation and evolution of cosmic dust: where it comes from and where it goes. The meeting is organized by dust freaks who are very enthusiastic not only to make the goal achievable but also to establish a dust community across every scientifically relevant discipline for the development of cosmic dust research. For this reason, the primary objectives of the meeting are to bring together professionals who deal with cosmic dust and to provide an opportunity for participants to develop human relations and interactions between the participants. |
|
12-16 |
25th Annual NASA Planetary Science Summer School (Session II),
Pasadena, California
An intensive one-week team exercise, preceded by several weekly webinars and assignments, to learn the process of developing a robotic mission concept into reality through concurrent engineering. |
|
14-16 | 4th Planetary Crater Consortium Meeting, Flagstaff, Arizona | |
14-16 |
International Conference on Astronomy and Cosmology,
Chicago-North Shore, Illinois
OMICS Group invites all the participants across the globe to attend the International Conference on Astronomy & Cosmology during August 14-16, 2013 at Chicago-North shore, USA. Astronomy-2013 is a remarkable event which facilitate the education, development, and participation of atmospheric scientists from developing countries as a conference. It initiates, encourages, facilitates and coordinates international cooperation in scientific research and stimulates discussion, presentation and publication of scientific results. To promote public education and awareness of the role and importance of the atmosphere and atmospheric sciences. |
|
15-18 | 2013 International Mars Society Convention, Boulder, Colorado | |
16-25 | Summer Course: "Impacts and their Role in the Evolution of Life", Kuressaare, Estonia | |
19-22 |
The Annual Conference on Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing,
Logan, Utah
The Annual Conference on Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing provides a forum for scientists, engineers, and managers to present, discuss, and learn. Experts in the calibration community offer relevant knowledge and suggestions about calibration, characterization, and radiometric issues within the microwave, IR, visible, and UV spectral ranges. |
|
22-25 |
International Meteor Conference,
Poznan, Poland
The 2013 International Meteor Conference will be held in Poznań, the capital of the western Poland. This conference will be organized by the Polish Comets and Meteors Workshop (CMW/PKiM) and will take place from 2013 August 22–25. This IMC will be closely connected with Meteoroids 2013 Conference organized a few days later in the same city. Such location of the IMC will help both amateurs and professionals to meet and exchange their scientific results. There are many traveling possibilities to reach Poznań; the city is very easy reachable for all European participants. |
|
23 |
A Chemist’s Perspective on Modern Lunar Water from Laboratory Experiments and Modeling (Michael Poston, Georgia Tech),
Lecture Hall
Recent, unexpected detections of infrared absorptions consistent with hydroxyl and possibly water (Clark 2009, Pieters et al 2009, Sunshine et al 2009) on the sunlit lunar surface provoke questions about the origins and retention mechanisms of volatile species in the harsh lunar environment. Additionally, hints of significant diurnal variation in hydroxyl/water content by IR spectroscopy (Sunshine et al 2009) and neutron depletion (Livengood et al 2012) remote sensing support the likelihood of a dynamic cycle of hydroxyl/water loss, migration, and replenishment each lunar day. Monte Carlo models (e.g. Crider and Vondrak 2000) show that a significant portion of any migrating water will likely end up sequestered in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles. However, an array of remote detection techniques has shown evidence for only small amounts of water-ice in some PSRs, and little or no evidence for water-ice in others. What is the source of this apparent discrepancy? Experiments and modeling in the Orlando research group are underway to provide critical details to improve our understanding of both thermal and non-thermal processes occurring at the surfaces of lunar grains. This seminar will discuss: 1) laboratory experiments measuring the desorption activation energy of water molecules from lunar surrogates and returned Apollo soils, 2) computer modeling of the chemical and physical processes expected to occur when the solar wind interacts with lunar grains, and 3) laboratory experiments measuring the photon-induced loss mechanisms of thin layers of solid water on lunar rock surfaces. The results of these examinations will be related back to recent lunar observations and the possible implications for modern lunar water. ------------ Michael J. Poston1, A. B. Aleksandrov1, G. A. Grieves1, A. J. DeSimon1, C. A. Hibbitts2, M. D. Dyar3, T. M. Orlando1, 1School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, [email protected]. 2Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, 20723. 3Mount Holyoke College, Dept. of Astronomy, South Hadley, MA, 01075. |
|
25-30 | Goldschmidt 2013 Conference, Florence, Italy | |
26-30 |
Exploiting the Herschel Science Archive: A Data Processing Workshop,
Pasadena, California
The goal of this workshop is to showcase the contents and capabilities of the Herschel Archive, and to provide information and training about how to best exploit it. This workshop is directed to astronomers new to Herschel, interested in exploiting the Herschel archive; beginner Herschel users who want to learn how to reduce their data; and intermediate Herschel users who want to learn about the latest software capabilities. Workshop topics will include an introduction to the Herschel Space Observatory, the contents of the Herschel Archive, and how to reduce Herschel data. |
|
26-30 | Meteoroids 2013, Poznan, Poland | |
27-31 |
IAG/AIG International Conference on Geomorphology,
Paris, France
The main topic of this 8th Conference is “Geomorphology and Sustainability”. |
|
28 |
Mercury: Global Tectonics on a Contracting Planet (Paul Byrne),
Lecture Hall
The surface of Mercury is replete with tectonic landforms interpreted to be products of horizontal shortening that accompanied planetary cooling and contraction, but the number and distribution of such structures and their relation to large-scale variations in topography have not been well understood. Additionally, prior estimates of the amount of global contraction from photogeological studies of shortening structures were far less than predicted by interior thermal history models. In this talk I present a global synthesis of deformational structures on Mercury derived from orbital imaging and topographic measurements by the MESSENGER spacecraft. Lithospheric shortening on Mercury has been accommodated by a substantially greater number and variety of landforms than previously recognized, including by long fold-and-thrust belts as on Earth. These new observations show that Mercury contracted radially by as much as 7 km, well in excess of the 0.8–3 km previously reported from photogeology. This new measure of Mercury's planetary radius change provides a critical constraint for future studies of the planet's thermal history, bulk silicate abundances of heat-producing elements, mantle convection, and the structure of its large metallic core, and our observations offer fresh insight for investigating the Mercury's tectonic and volcanic development. |
September 2013
2-5 |
Exoplanets and Brown Dwarfs: Mind the Gap,
Hatfield, UK
The aim of this meeting is to bring the exoplanet and brown dwarf communities together to explore common science questions, share exciting results, and foster collaboration to overcome shared challenges. |
|
6 |
Conditions of Basalt Genesis in Mars from Basalts in Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum, Compared with the Martian Meteorites (Justin Filiberto, Southern Illinois University),
Lecture Hall
Until recently, the SNC meteorites represented the only source of information about martian igneous chemistry. This changed with the Mars Exploration Rovers and Mars Science Laboratory, which have analyzed basalts on the surface of Mars in Gusev Crater, Meridiani Planum, and Gale Crater. Compared to the Martian meteorite basalts, the analyzed surface basalts are thought to be much older (~3.65 vs. 1.0-0.17 Ga) and have distinctly different chemistries. Because of the differences in basalt chemistry, we can constrain how the Martian mantle may have changed through time |
|
8-13 | European Planetary Science Conference (EPSC 2013), London, United Kingdom | |
9-12 |
LSST @ Europe: The Path to Science,
Cambridge, United Kingdom
The meeting will provide an opportunity to review the current status of the LSST, and the key science programmes which are underpinning its development. The conference will include presentations identifying current science challenges where a combination of LSST and major new European facilities and expertise will result in major leaps in understanding. These topics will range from studies of our Solar System and the Milky Way, to the Universe at the largest scales. |
|
9-12 |
The 11th Hellenic Astronomical Conference,
Athens, Greece
The Hellenic Astronomical Conference, organized by the Hellenic Astronomical Society (Hel.A.S.), is the major scientific event of the greek astronomical community. The Conference, which takes place every two years in a different part of Greece, typically brings together over 100 scientists with research interests in Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Space Physics. |
|
9-21 |
The 2013 VLTI School: High Angular Resolution for Stellar Astrophysics,
Bercelonnette, France
The aim of the school is to offer Ph.D. students, post-doctoral and permanent researchers an introduction to the technique of long-baseline optical/infrared interferometry and data reduction in astrophysics, namely, stellar physics including the hot topics of stellar activity, evolution, hydrodynamics, planet-hosting stars, determination of fundamental parameters, circumstellar envelopes, young stellar objects, as well as the role of binaries. |
|
13 |
Time-Lapse Photography of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: What the Coldest and Driest Place on Earth tells us about the Potential for Liquid Water on the Surface of Present-Day Mars. (James Dickson, Brown University),
Lecture Hall
This talk will give an overview of our current understanding of the role of ice and liquid water on and near the surface of Mars in its most recent history. This will provide the context for a discussion of fluvial processes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the coldest and driest terrain on Earth where water can still flow across the surface and support ecosystems. Long-duration, high-frequency, high-resolution time-lapse photography, synchronized with meteorological measurements, allows us to determine how small changes in atmospheric conditions result in significant changes in surface albedo and morphology that are observable from orbit. When Antarctica and Late Amazonian Mars are viewed together, it appears that the regions of contemporary Mars most conducive to liquid water and the regions of Earth least conducive to liquid water behave in much the same way. |
|
16-18 |
Uranus Beyond Voyager 2: From Recent Advances to Future Missions,
Meudon, France
The purpose of the meeting will be to review our current knowledge of Uranus from past measurements, to highlight recent advances and ongoing studies on this planetary environment, and summarize the important unsolved scientific questions together with the key measurements required to address them. The meeting will culminate in discussing the status of future international mission concepts in Europe and in the United States to explore the Uranus System, including updates on feasibility studies and available technologies, together with next Earth-based observing campaigns. |
|
18 |
Reduction of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides: Mechanisms and Environmental Impact (Tanya Peretyazhko, Rice University),
Lecture Hall
Iron (Fe), one of the most common elements on Earth, is frequently found in Fe(III) and Fe(II) oxidation states. Reduction from Fe(III) to Fe(II) has key impact on fate of various contaminants. In soils, sediments and subsurface materials Fe mainly exists in the oxidized form as insoluble Fe(III) (hydr)oxides but under anoxic conditions the reduced Fe(II) is present. The reduction of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides in the near-surface environment in driven by the activity of iron-reducing bacteria. These bacteria can reduce Fe(III) either by direct contact with the oxide surface or by indirect mechanisms not involving contacts. Depending on the conditions ferrous iron, Fe(II), produced by microbial reduction of Fe(III) is present in various forms including dissolved, adsorbed and secondary Fe(II) phases (e.g., vivianite, siderite, magnetite, green rust). Ferrous iron has been shown to provide an effective means for remediation a variety of pollutants including nitrite, nitrate, chromium, selenite, uranium, vanadate, pertechnetate, mercury and nitrobenzene from aqueous solution. In this presentation I’ll discuss mechanisms of microbial indirect reduction of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides. Our studies revealed production of Fe(II) that formed vivianite of complex morphology. I’ll further discuss the role that adsorbed and structural Fe(II) plays in reduction of contaminants such as pertechnetate and mercury. |
|
20 |
Hunting Intraterrestrials in the Deep Subsurface: Earth’s Last Great Biosphere Frontier (Heath Mills, UHCL),
Lecture Hall
Life on planet Earth was viewed very differently during the days of the Apollo missions. As the mission’s namesake would suggest, life was thought to be linked to the sun. However, shortly after the sun set on the Apollo program, this binding connection between life and light was shattered. Researchers aboard a deep-sea submersible in the late 1970’s rewrote our understanding of life on Earth by exposing vast amounts of biological diversity at the bottom of the cold, dark ocean. As many researchers aim to continue looking outward for life, a community of intraterrestrial explorers focus inward, to examine the limits of life in the deep ocean and the marine subsurface. These environments can be as alien as many of the environments being considered for astrobiological analysis. Over the last decade, descriptions of the subseafloor microbial biosphere suggest that it is one of the largest biomes on the planet in spite of low concentrations of carbon and energy, reduced fluid flow, and isolation on the order geologic time-scales. My lab group has been able to identify not only the presence of microbial populations within the subsurface, but also metabolically active lineages capable of altering the surrounding strata and porewater chemistry. Recent efforts have extended our search beyond sediments to crustal materials. Characterizations of active populations within different forms of basalt represent a significant advancement in our understanding of the subsurface biosphere as previous estimates of biomass were limited to sediments alone. In addition, we have been able to isolate and characterize fungal populations from some of the most energy-limited environments on Earth and thus expanding subsurface diversity into the third domain of life. Moving forward, I would like to explore the opportunities to use our tools and techniques developed for nucleic acid-based characterizations of subsurface populations to build collaborations at JSC to foster new understandings of both life on Earth and the potential for life elsewhere. It is our belief that exploration of the deep marine subsurface can unlock many answers about the habitability of Earth while providing clues to possibility for life elsewhere. |
|
21 |
Bob Lin Memorial Symposium,
Berkeley, California
The Robert P. Lin Graduate Fellowship will be used to support outstanding graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley who pursue research related to space sciences, including, but not limited to, students with training in Physics, Astronomy or Engineering. |
|
23-24 |
Origin of the Moon,
London, United Kingdom
Despite widespread acceptance of the giant impact hypothesis for lunar origin, our understanding continues to be challenged by remarkable new geochemical data, improved simulations and theory, and spacecraft exploration. This will be a timely consideration of our current understanding, how this relates to our Earth and planetary systems and an opportunity to identify the directions of future research. |
|
23-26 |
Polarimetry of Planetary Systems,
Florence, Italy
The purpose of the meeting will be to review our current knowledge of Uranus from past measurements, to highlight recent advances and ongoing studies on this planetary environment, and summarize the important unsolved scientific questions together with the key measurements required to address them. The meeting will culminate in discussing the status of future international mission concepts in Europe and in the United States to explore the Uranus System, including updates on feasibility studies and available technologies, together with next Earth-based observing campaigns. |
|
23-27 |
Improving the Performances of Current Optical Interferometers and Future Designs,
Haute-Provence Observatory, France
This workshop is partly dedicated to the technologies that could improve the performances of interferometers: optimized telescope array geometries, solutions with and without delay-lines, fringe tracking optimizations, and « Adaptive Optics » for diluted telescopes, progress in the field of optical fibers and integrated optics, focal recombiner, etc. Experiment reports, new optical designs to improve the sensitivity and the quality of interferometer observables (accuracy on the visibilities, and closure phases), and any new theoretical ideas are particularly welcome. Presentations on new telemetry techniques for very accurate delay-line positioning, in particular for astrometry, are encouraged. Progress in the field of nulling interferometry are also welcome. We plan to discuss the best optical design for a post-VLTI facility. In this context, several talks on astrophysical goals achievable with such an interferometer will be selected. |
|
24-28 | Second International Congress of Astrobiology in Columbia, Medellin, Columbia | |
25-26 |
Origin of the Moon — Challenges and Prospects,
Chicheley, United Kingdom
Our understanding of the origin of Earth’s moon is challenged by recent isotopic data, simulations of physical processes for giant impacts and evolution of the resulting disk, and new spacecraft studies. This meeting follows on from a Royal Society meeting in London on the same topic by focusing on the unsolved problems and assessing the prospects for future directions of research. |
|
25 |
Geological Impact Crater Chronology (David Page, Oxford University),
Lecture Hall
Impact crater chronology is a dating technique unique in geochronology – that surfaces can be dated visually is a powerful tool, quite unlike anything in terrestrial geology (try dating a random, unfossiliferous geological formation on Earth by visual means, and see how far you get!). Yet this chronology usually lacks stratigraphical constraint (in both horizontal and vertical dimensions), and can be more an exercise in physics than the geology of the surfaces that it seeks to date. Stratigraphically-controlled impact crater counts reveal that there is a great deal more information to be had from this chronology when we look with geological eyes, no more so than when dealing with the volatile-rich surfaces that are the focus of much contemporary planetary scientific inquiry. |
|
27 |
Probing the Pre-Noachian of Mars (J.R. Skok, Louisiana State University),
Hess Room
On a geologically active, single plate planet like Mars, the earliest crust would be well preserved at depth but obscured by later processes. Impact craters provide one of the few, and only globally significant, windows into this deep crust. High-resolution spectral analysis of crater central peaks allows an investigation into the composition of this ancient crust and a way to test and refine models for planetary formation and crustal evolution. Spectral investigation suggests an ancient crust dominated by highly differentiated olivine and pyroxene cumulates. We consider this result in context with previous understanding of planetary formation and the probability of an early mantle overturn. This ancient cumulate crust would have important implications for early planetary habitability and the surface environment. |
|
29-Oct 4 |
Sudbury Field Camp,
Sudbury, Canada
The Short Course and Field School at the Sudbury Impact Structure is a week long classroom and field training program based in Sudbury, Ontario. The goal of the program will be to introduce students to impact cratering processes and observe, in the field, the attributes of an immense basin-size impact structure. |
October 2013
3-4 |
Workshop on Golden Spike Lunar Human Expeditions: Opportunities for Intensive Lunar Scientific Exploration *,
Houston, Texas
Commercial spaceflight is rapidly beginning to impact capabilities for scientific research in numerous ways, including commercial suborbital spaceflight, commercial robotic lunar missions, and commercial near-Earth asteroid (NEA) exploration. In late 2012, the Golden Spike Company, consisting of space professionals and numerous veteran NASA engineers and executives, announced plans to mount a series of commercial human lunar expeditions in the 2020s, primarily for space and science agencies in countries around the world. The goals of this workshop are to provide a detailed overview of Golden Spike expedition capabilities to the worldwide lunar science community, and to seek feedback and input on science and exploration priorities and associated landing sites, surface experiment packages, and sample return requirements. The meeting will also explore desired future capabilities for more advanced Golden Spike missions, and the synergistic roles of Golden Spike human expeditions and robotic exploration missions. |
|
6-11 | 45th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS 2013), Denver, Colorado | |
7-11 |
Astrophysical Turbulence: From Galaxies to Planets,
Dresden, Germany
In astrophysics and cosmology, fluid flow occurs on a large range of scales and under very different conditions, from the dense interior of stars and planets to the highly rarefied intergalactic medium. These flows share the fact that they are generally turbulent, i.e. highly disordered both in space and time. Turbulence is one of the key processes for the structure and evolution of a large variety of geo- and astrophysical systems. The universality of astrophysical turbulence interlinks the physics of the interior of planets or stars with proto-planetary or galactic disks, as well as the intergalactic gas outside of galaxies. For example, angular momentum transport by turbulence is a central question that must beanswered to understand how galaxies or stars form, how proto-planetary disks evolve, how metals are mixed in the interstellar and intergalactic medium, or how differential rotation is established in stars and planets. Magnetic field amplification through turbulent dynamo processes is ubiquitous in planets, stars, and galaxies. The onset of instabilities due to dust particles or newly formed planets in proto-planetary disks controls the properties of the evolving structures. We can observe a variety of interactions between stars, planets and galaxies with their environment leading to the exchange of energy and (angular-) momentum. This compilation highlights the enormous potential and perspective of a combined workshop/school to discuss and deepen our knowledge in this very rapidly moving field of research. |
|
7-11 |
ESO/NUVA/IAG Workshop on Challenges in UV Astronomy,
Garching, Germany
The network for UV astronomy (NUVA) has been organizing interdisciplinary meetings every three years where scientists and instrumentalists working in the UV can obtain updated information on the current status of the field. The third meeting of the NUVA will come at a crucial time in UV astronomy. The ESA/NASA programs that created the community are reaching completion and future missions, apart from WSO-UV, are small-class, some operating from balloons. The purpose of this ESO/NUVA/IAG workshop is to bring together the international community interested in UV astronomy to discuss the present and future of the field and in particular to examine and broaden the scientific case of CUBES, the joint ESO-Brazil high-resolution UV spectrograph. Invited talks and reviews will cover the topics of UV astronomy of the solar system, exoplanets, abundances of stars at various stages of evolution, resolved stellar populations in the galaxy and beyond, the star-formation history of the universe, and the properties of the diffuse interstellar and intergalactic medium near and far. |
|
7-11 |
Third Workshop on Robotic Autonomous Observatories,
Torremolinos, Spain
The main focus of the workshop will be on the new and existing astronomical facilities whose goal is to observe a wide variety of astrophysical targets with no (or very little) human interaction. The workshop will become an international forum for researchers to summarise the most recent developments and ideas in the field, with a special emphasis given to the technical and observational results and public outreach (including Citizen Science) and educational applications achieved within the last five years as well as the future strategies foreseen. |
|
12 |
Io Workshop 2013,
Boulder, Colorado
We warmly welcome talks for the 2013 Io Workshop to discuss the newest discoveries concerning Io. Topics include observations and modeling of surface geology and evolution, volcanic plumes and sources, the atmosphere and it’s surface coupling and plasma science. |
|
14-16 | Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group *, Laurel, Maryland | |
14-18 |
Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2013 (CAP 2013),
Warsaw, Poland
CAP2013 will consider challenges in communication of astronomy and space exploration, as well as the influence of these activities on science outreach and education. The meeting will include unconference and workshops sessions as well as interactive planetarium shows and special events. |
|
14-18 |
Fourth Moscow international Solar System Symposium (4M-S3),
Moscow, Russia
Starting in 2010, the Space Research Institute has held annual international symposia on solar system exploration. Main topics of these symposia include a wide range of problems related to formation and evolution of the solar system; planetary systems of other stars; exploration of solar system planets, their moons, and small bodies; study of the Sun, interplanetary environment, exobiology problems. Experimental planetary studies and preparation for space missions are also considered at these symposia. The fourth Moscow international Solar System Symposium (4M-S3) will covers many problems of solar system science with the central topic “Moon and Mars Exploration.” This topic relates to scientific problems of several projects, which are under development in Russia: “Luna-Glob”, “Luna-Resource,” and “ExoMars,” a project that is developed under cooperation between Roscosmos and ESA. |
|
15-18 |
The (F)IR Universe Three Years Later — The Contributions by Herschel,
Noordwijk, The Netherlands
The overall objective of the meeting will be to present and take stock of what has been learned to date based on Herschel observations. The symposium will feature invited and contributed talks, and poster sessions. More information and the formal first announcement will be issued about a year ahead of the meeting date. |
|
16-18 |
Hayabusa 2013: Symposium of Solar System Materials,
Sagamihara, Japan
Since the return of samples from Itokawa by Hayabusa in 2010, the preliminary examinations followed by studies selected in the 1st International Announcement of Oppotunity (A/O) have been performed. Now is the right time to review these results as a whole. Furthermore, multiple asteroid sample return missions are in progress, implying that science of returned samples is becoming one of the key components of planetary science. Now is the right time to set a perspective on the driving force that returned samples will give to the future of solar system science. It in these spirits that the workshop"HAYABUSA 2013: Symposium of Solar System Materials" is designed. |
|
18 |
Looking inside moons using gravity, topography and tides (Francis Nimmo, University of California, Santa Cruz),
Lecture Hall
The satellites of the outer solar system show great present-day diversity and have experienced wildly different histories. How did these differences arise? In this talk I will use spacecraft observations of gravity, topography and tides to investigate the cases of Enceladus and Titan, moons of Saturn with very different characteristics. |
|
20-25 | Planet Mars 4, Les Houches, France | |
21-23 |
Solar System Formation and Observation Conference (SFO),
Bern, Switzerland
The conference is divided in five sessions, covering the topics of planetary interaction with the space plasma, investigating planet atmospheres and exospheres and planetary surfaces. Invited review speakers (see webpage and poster) will open each session. By abstract submission participants can contribute to the program with oral or poster presentations. Abstracts about simulations, observations, investigations, instrumentation and data analysis are welcome. |
|
21-24 |
Venus Express VIRTIS and VMC Data Workshop,
Madrid, Spain
The overall goal of the workshop is to introduce users to the Planetary Science Archive on which data from ESA planetary missions are archived. This workshop will focus on the VIRTIS and VMC instruments of the Venus Express orbiter. |
|
27-29 |
Workshop on Planetesimal Formation and Differentiation *,
Washington, DC
Evidence from meteorites and, increasingly, from asteroids indicates that some early-forming bodies had sufficient heat to melt and differentiate into a core and mantle. Partial or complete melting can allow core formation and silicate differentiation, and can also remove volatiles. Other small bodies are apparently primitive (i.e., undifferentiated). We are now at a point where targeted interdisciplinary work can create a leap in our understanding. What bulk compositions and time frames of accretion would have allowed differentiation? Where in the solar system did these bodies originate? What can we observe of differentiated bodies in the asteroid belt today? Can we link asteroid observations to meteorites from differentiated parent bodies? What was the history and large-scale structure of meteorite parent bodies? These questions bear on the critical transition from a protoplanetary disk to a solar system with rocky planets, on the habitability of those planets, and on resources in our solar system today for future space exploration. Progress in understanding these processes will depend upon communication among the fields of meteorite and asteroid/icy body observations including space missions, theory, and modeling. The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers on all these subjects as they pertain to differentiation, asteroid observations, and meteorite compositions. |
|
27-30 | 2013 GSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, Denver, Colorado | |
30-31 | International Space Exploration Symposium in Japan: Space Exploration for Humanity and the Future, Tokyo, Japan | |
30 |
Mimas: Strong forced longitudinal librations and constraints to its internal structure with Cassini ISS observations. (Radwan Tajeddine, IMCCE-Paris Observatory),
Lecture Hall
The origin and the evolution of Saturn's satellites are being debated. For a long time, it has been thought that they were formed in Saturn's sub-nebula 4.5 billion years ago, when another model has recently appeared, forming the small and mid sized moons in the rings. At the same moment, another result concerning Saturn's dissipation factor Q appeared implying a fast expansion of the moons, except for Mimas, which is having a secular acceleration, starting a new debate about the Saturn's system dynamics. We used Cassini ISS NAC images to constrain, by photogrammetry, Mimas’ internal structure and origin. A topographic map of 260 surface chosen points has been built. A photogrammetric reconstruction method has been applied using colinearity equations to compute 3-D positions of control points, with a mean uncertainty of about 580 metres. A tri-axial shape of Mimas was built with these points, confirming that this satellite is not in the state of hydrostatic equilibrium. The control point network was also used to measure indirectly the amplitudes of the longitudinal physical librations of Mimas, confirming all the computed theoretical values, except the internal structure depending one, which almost doubles the theoretically predicted amplitude, resulting in a value of (B-A)/C = 0.091. A further analysis shows that Mimas' core was formed in the rings near the Roche limit and moved away keeping its initial shape until today causing the observed strong libration amplitude. |
November 2013
4-8 | Second Kepler Science Conference, Moffett Field, California | |
5-7 |
Optical Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols Workshop,
Smolenice, Slovak Republic
The main goal of the workshop is to present an opportunity for scientist in different fields to meet and form efficient collaborations in the research of atmospheric aerosols. |
|
11-14 | Second Exobiology Workshop, Frejus, France | |
11-15 |
First COSPAR Symposium: Planetary Systems of Our Sun and Other Stars, and the Future of Space Astronomy,
Bangkok, Thailand
This first Symposium will address the theme “Planetary Systems of our Sun and other Stars, and the Future of Space Astronomy”. It is open to participants from all regions, but scientists, young professionals and students in the Asian region are particularly encouraged to participate. The Symposium will feature plenary lectures as well as parallel and poster sessions. |
|
13-15 |
International Workshop on LunarCubes (LCW),
Mountain View, California
Flexure Engineering is creating the LunarCubes Working Group and LunarCube workshops to promote the creation of a standard to facilitate the development of low cost, rapid development payloads that could be easily added to the many lunar opportunities that will exist in the coming decades. |
|
15 |
Getting Under Europa’s Skin (Britney Schmidt, Georgia Tech),
Lecture Hall
Europa is one of the most enticing targets in the search for life beyond Earth,. With an icy outer shell hiding a global ocean, Europa exists in a dynamic environment, where immense tides from Jupiter potentially power an active deeper interior. Intense irradiation and impacts bathe the top of the ice shell. These processes are sources of energy that could sustain a biosphere. Why is all of this important? It’s simple: the search for extant life is more complicated than the search for water or an oxygen atmosphere. Earth’s biosphere is strongly coupled to activity—plate tectonics, weathering, glaciation; geologic processes are crucial to this living planet. In the past few decades the debate about habitability of Europa has been focused strongly on the thickness of its ice shell. However an arguably more critical question is: how does the ice shell really work? Galileo data indicated that Europa has undergone recent resurfacing, and implied that near-surface water was likely involved. New analysis of Europa's enigmatic "chaos terrains" indicates that chaos features may be actively forming today in the presence of a great deal of liquid water--above large liquid water bodies within 3km of Europa's surface. The detection of shallow subsurface "lakes" implies that rapid ice shell recycling could create a conveyor belt between the ice and ocean. Exchange between Europa's surface and subsurface could allow ocean material to one day be detected by spacecraft and will be mediated by melting, accretion, and redistribution at the base of the ice shell, processes not well understood even on Earth. And while microbial life within ice and below glaciers has been studied for decades, one of the most relevant terrestrial analog environments, the ice-ocean interface beneath ice shelves, has remained largely uncharacterized…until now. In this presentation, we will explore environments on Europa and their analogs on Earth. While we wait for the opportunity to send a new mission to Europa, looking to our own cosmic backyard, Antarctica, allows us to better understand Europa’s habitability and to develop techniques to explore this ice covered world not so unlike our own. |
|
19-21 | 11th Meeting of the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG 11), Washington, DC | |
19-21 |
Young Researchers Exobiology Conference (EJC'13),
Paris, France
It will bring together and support exchanges between young researchers, astrophysicists, chemists, biologists, geologists and historians of science together to show their latest work. All topics related to astrobiology will be discussed, the first exoplanets living organisms, divided into three themes: (1) Astrobiology and Space Exploration, (2) Primitive Earth and the first traces of life, and (3) Prebiotic chemistry and early life. |
|
20-22 | Asteroid Initiative Idea Synthesis Workshop (RESCHEDULED) *, Houston, Texas | |
22 |
Hydrogen Isotopes in Lunar Volcanic Glasses implications of their Terrestrial heritage. (Alberto E. Saal, Brown University),
Lecture Hall
Since the Apollo mission 1969-1972 until 2008 the Moon was believed to be bone dry, consistent with the model for its formation by a giant impact ~ 4.5 billion years ago. All the Hydrogen was believed to be lost from the molten material that finally accreted to form the Moon. Since 2008 there has been clear evidences for the presence of H (most likely as OH-) in the lunar interior. Using the volatile contents and Hydrogen isotopes in lunar lavas, and comparing them with those of melts from Earth's upper mantle, we concluded that inside the Moon there are reservoirs with equivalent amount of H to the Earth's depleted upper mantle, and the H of the Moon-Earth system originated from primitive meteorites (chondrites), rather than comets. The simplest explanation is that the H was in Earth at the time of the giant impact and it was not significantly lost during the formation of the Moon; the H arrived very early during the main stages of accretion of the Terrestrial planets (consistent with dynamic models of planetary formation). Our data suggest that the H budget and isotopic composition for Earth did not change much since the formation of the Moon. |
|
28-30 |
International Astrobiology Workshop,
Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
“Astrobiology” has been created as a new interdisciplinary academic field that integrates astronomy, solar system science, geochemistry, microbiology, and other disciplines. One of the most profound themes of modern science is to judge if “terrestrial” biology can be “universal” outside the Earth and even outside the Solar System just like physics and chemistry both of which are applicable at anywhere in this Universe. It is expected to derive great contributions for astrobiology from space science, such as space astronomy, Solar System exploration, and planetary science including space environment experiments. Now, a number of international refereed journals in the astrobiology field have been publishes while NASA has established virtual institutes to invest research grants in this field the most effectively. In Japan, there have been also recent publications of both professional and public books in astrobiology and new organizations to support this research area have been founded. This workshop is the 6th of the Japan Astrobiology Network (JABN) annual workshop series founded since 2008. It aims to promote interdisciplinary interactions among astrobiology researchers and advancement of this field in Japan. At this time, we will hold this workshop as a 3-days-long international workshop with English as the working language, for the first time of this series; thus we encourage inviting both astrobiology experts from overseas as well as young researchers in Japan. In addition, there will be public lectures in the last day of the event. |
December 2013
4 |
Microstructural Constraints on Complex Thermal Histories of Refractory Inclusions from CO3 Chondrites: A FIB/TEM Study. (Jangmi Han, University of New Mexico),
Lecture Hall
I will present new micro to nano-scale textural and mineralogical observations obtained using a variety of microbeam techniques (field emission scanning electron microscope, electron microprobe, and focused ion beam/transmission electron microscope) from refractory inclusions (calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions and amoeboid olivine aggregates) in CO3 chondrites. The microstructural observations from ALH A77307 CO3.0 chondrite provide additional constraints on the formational and subsequent thermal histories of refractory inclusions in the context of the early solar nebula. In addition, new SEM and TEM observations from Kainsaz CO3.2 chondrite have the potential to develop a more comprehensive understanding of metamorphic and metasomatic effects on refractory inclusions on the parent body |
|
8-12 |
Exoplanets and Disks: Their Formation and Diversity,
Keauhou Kona, Hawaii
Major topics include (1) Direct imaging of disks/exoplanets; (2) Spectroscopy of disks/exoplanets; (3) Various approaches toward earth-like planet detection; (4) Theory for planet formation; (5) Theory and simulation of exoplanet atmospheres; (6) Dust formation and evolution in disks; (7) Current/future instrumentation for direct observations. |
|
9-13 | AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California | |
9-13 |
ASTROBIO 2013: An International Workshop on Astrobiology,
Santiago, Chile
Topics include (1) Life on Earth: Origin of Life, Evolution, Climate Change; (2) Extremophiles in Local Environments: Antarctica, Atacama, and the Deep Ocean; (3) Exploration of the Solar System: Life searches on Mars, Europa, Titan, and elsewhere; (4) Beyond our Solar System: Search and Study of Extrasolar Planets, Biomarkers; (5) Molecules of life: first observations with ALMA, astrochemistry; (6) Stellar Habitable Zones and Galactic Habitable Zone, Artificial life, Communication; (7) Future Perspectives on Astrobiology: the role of JWST, E-ELT and GMT |
January 2014
5-9 | 223rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Washington, DC | |
8-9 | Small Bodies Assessment Group Meeting, Washington, DC | |
10 | Ionising Processes in Atmospheric Environments of Planets, Brown Dwarfs, and M-Dwarfs, London, United Kingdom | |
10 |
Spectroscopic Classification and Investigation of Terrain Units of Saturn's Icy Moons (Francesca Scipioni - Italian Space Agency),
Lecture Hall
In my PhD work, I have focused on the study of Saturn's icy satellites Dione and Rhea using data acquired in the infrared spectral range by the Cassini/VIMS imaging spectrometer. The surfaces of the main Saturnian icy moons are composed primarily by water ice, with a minor percentage of non-water-ice material whose composition is still debated and whose distribution is not uniform across the satellites’ surface. The differences in contaminants’ composition, water-ice abundance and regolith grain size are revealed by variations in spectral profiles, which are bounded both to exogenic (micrometeoroids and particles coming from rings or interplanetary dust) and endogenic (cry-volcanism, tectonic activity) processes. The only way to discern between them and, in turn, to understand how each satellite evolved, is to investigate the distribution of contaminants and water-ice on the moons’ surfaces. In order to identify different terrain units on the two satellites’ surface we applied the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) classification technique to Dione’s and Rhea’s hyperspectral images acquired by VIMS in the infrared range. On a relatively limited portion of the surface of Dione and Rhea we first identified nine and eight spectral endmembers respectively, corresponding to as many terrain units, which mostly distinguish for water ice abundance and ice grain size. We then used these endmembers in SAM to achieve a comprehensive classification of the entire surface. The analysis of the infrared spectra returned by VIMS shows that different regions of Dione and Rhea have variations in water ice bands depths, in average ice grain size, and in the concentration of contaminants, such as CO2 and hydrocarbons, which are clearly connected to morphological and geological structures. Generally, the spectral units that classify optically dark terrains are those showing suppressed water ice bands, a finer ice grain size and a higher concentration of carbon dioxide. Conversely, spectral units labeling brighter regions have deeper water ice absorption bands, higher albedo and a smaller concentration of contaminants. Finally, we performed a comparison between Rhea and Dione, to highlight different magnitudes of space weathering effects in the icy satellites as a function of the distance. |
|
13-14 | Outer Planets Analysis Group (OPAG) Meeting, Tucson, Arizona | |
13-16 |
Fifth International Workshop on the Mars Atmosphere: Modelling and Observations,
Oxford, United Kingdom
The scope of the workshop is to bring together experts in observations and modelling of the present and past Mars climate systems and discuss the nature of the atmospheric circulation and the photochemistry (up to the exobase), the dust cycle, the water cycle (vapor, clouds and frost) and the carbon dioxide cycle (polar caps). |
|
19-22 | Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), Rottach-Egern, Germany | |
20-24 |
18th International Conference on Microlensing,
Santa Barbara, California
Topics will include: Microlensing Discoveries; Microlensing Results in the Wider Context, including planet frequency, free-floating planets, implications for planetary formation/evolution, galactic structure and stellar mass function; Observing Microlensing Phenomenon, including the status & developments of ground-based survey and follow-up teams, strategies, instrumentation, space-based missions and future opportunities; and Lensing Theory, Modeling and Computation. |
|
24 |
The Big Picture for the Geologic History of Venus - Where Things Stand and Future Exploration (Robert Herrick, University of Alaska Fairbanks),
Lecture Hall
2014 marks 25 years since NASA last launched a mission to the planet Venus. Analysis of the geologic history of the planet has progressed since the initial post-Magellan flurry, and a couple of relatively mature world views of the planet's geologic history have developed. I will discuss a handful of key observations that constrain the big picture, and I will evaluate how compatible each observation is with the existing world views. I will argue that we cannot rule out either viewpoint with existing data, and I will discuss what new data would be most effective for distinguishing between existing hypotheses. |