OPAG TOWN HALL MEETING AT EPSC 2024, Sept 11, 2024, Berlin, Germany, 12:00-13:30 CEST
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NASA’s Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) will hold a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with the Europlanet Science Congress 2024 (EPSC 2024) taking place in Berlin, Germany from September 8-13, 2024.
The OPAG meeting is on September 11 from 12:00-13:30 Central European Summer Time.
The meeting is not listed on the OPAG website as of August 31, but in an emailed OPAG newsletter from OPAG Chair Amanda Hendrix received August 30, 2024. The entire emailed newsletter (also not on the OPAG website as of today) is as follows:
OPAG Community: some items of note ahead of the US holiday weekend
- OPAG-VEXAG Statement of Concern Regarding the VIPER Cancellation
- OPAG townhall at EPSC
- KRIMIGIS POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT APL
- RFI for Science Payloads: SpinSat
Sincerely, Amanda
OPAG Chair, on behalf of the OPAG Steering Committee
- OPAG-VEXAG Statement of Concern Regarding the VIPER Cancellation
The steering committees of the Outer Planets and Venus Exploration Assessment Groups are disappointed by the cancellation of the VIPER mission. The VIPER cancellation appears to be an unfortunate consequence of cost increases associated with growing pains of the CLPS program, and we urge NASA to find another path to implement VIPER. The impacts of the cancellation are potentially devastating both for the VIPER team and for lunar science. VIPER planned to provide ground truth and mapping of lunar polar volatiles, which are foundational for the viability of the Artemis program and cannot easily be reproduced by other missions. Given that the entire planetary community shares a constrained budget and supports the priorities of the decadal survey, we all feel this loss. The OPAG and VEXAG steering committees support an outcome for VIPER that retains accessible science and supports the VIPER science team.
- OPAG Townhall at EPSC
The NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) will hold a town hall during the upcoming EPSC meeting on Wed, Sept 11, 12:00-13:30 in the Mercury room (Konferenzraum III). This is an opportunity to discuss issues of interest to the outer planets community and provide your input and feedback. *Lunch will be provided*
Hope to see you there!
- KRIMIGIS POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT APL
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) introduces our
Krimigis Postdoctoral Scholars (KPS) Program. This program is named
after Dr. Stamatios “Tom” Krimigis who participated in spaceflight
investigations spanning the entire Solar System over 50 years. Krimigis
Scholars will be hosted by one of the space science groups at APL. Key
features of this program include a research mentor; cutting-edge
research; travel support; a peer network; training in “soft”
professional skills; grant proposal writing support; competitive
salary; and generous benefits. We encourage students from historically
underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Positions are for a 2-year term,
with a possibility of extension to a third year.
The topics of the currently available opportunities are:
– Lunar In Situ Resource Utilization
– Europa Ice Shell
– Jovian Moon Weathering
– Exoplanet Atmospheres
– Space Weather
– IMAP
– Solar Coronal Mass Ejections
Interested individuals should refer to the eligibility requirements and
submit their application to KPS online at:
Application due date: October 15, 2024
Notifications: February 2025
- SpinSat Request for Information
SpinSat is a Class-D space platform that enables long-duration exposure to deep-space radiation environments under controlled gravity levels from micro-g to Earth g (as a control) and higher. Easy integration and late payload access are key features; modification of payload radiation environments to mimic those of the moon and Mars are key objectives.
SpinSat Overview Presentation (PDF)
The SpinSat Team at NASA Ames Research Center is seeking input for requirements of potential payloads to enable a spacecraft design that meets the needs of as large a group of researchers as possible.
Requesting Input from Investigators: If you have a payload/experiment concept that could be accommodated on SpinSat, we would like to know your overall objectives and science requirements, and if you are able, the requirements that your experiment will place on the platform. We ask that your response represent a specific experiment concept (i.e. not general envelope requirements); however, there is no need to provide precise experimental details, science aims, or any other competition-sensitive information. We are primarily seeking information relevant to interfaces and capabilities of the SpinSat platform.
Requesting Input from Hardware Providers: SpinSat is also interested in learning of interest and capabilities of hardware providers who could provide payload systems to accommodate the various types of experiments that are anticipated as part of the SpinSat capability suite. Payload providers should also provide rationale and justification for why their organization can meet the intent of the SpinSat architecture.
Providing us information on your requirements now will help us better ensure that SpinSat will ultimately meet the needs of your payload!
Those interested in submitting information, follow the instructions in the RFI posted on SAM.gov
Sent on behalf of Amanda Hendrix, OPAG Chair, and the OPAG Steering Committee