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IJW / Laboratory and Theory Discipline
I want to underline the importance of the announcement made by the National Research Council regarding the formation of the Solar System Exploration Survey Committee and its activities (DPS email #01-16). [included below] We have an unprecedented opportunity to shape the future of solar system exploration. Dr. Ed Weiler (Associate Administrator, NASA Office of Space Science) has contracted the NRC to conduct the first planetary decadal study. It will be overseen by the above committee. Such studies have been conducted in astronomy for more than 40 years, identifying such goals as the creation of the Great Observatories (e.g., Hubble Space Telescope). These studies have had significant impact and carry great political weight with Congress and the White House, because they represent a consensus of the relevant scientific community after much open discussion and broad-based input - from everyone. Your input is vital to the success of this study. I personally encourage every planetary scientist, from those with established careers to post-docs to graduate students, to take the initiative and contribute to the decadal study. Do not think that because you are a younger member of our profession or you are not asked to sit on an NRC panel, that you have nothing of importance to contribute. It is your contribution that will make this survey important. The DPS plans within the next few weeks to make available a central website where you can solicit participation in your own ad hoc working groups to focus on specific areas of solar system exploration, post your resultant white papers for all to read (which will be submitted to the appropriate NRC subpanels), and engage in community-wide online discussions. It will evolve. We want to cast the broadest possible net across the planetary science community. Different groups or individuals may decide to work on the same subjects. Great. All of your voices are needed, individually and collectively. The above white papers will be collected into a single volume and published. This will be an important resource document for the current effort as well as for future decadal studies. A future announcement will detail recommended formats. There will be much discussion and prioritization of science issues and the research programs, missions, and other initiatives needed to address those issues and expand future capabilities. In addition, we hope that some of you will consider how planetary work can play a role in the future of human space activities. We also need to consider and discuss how education and public outreach can be accomplished in the context of our recommendations. More information and announcements will be forthcoming. You are welcome to communicate with me on this matter anytime. Your participation is a priority. On behalf of the DPS Committee, Mark V. Sykes, ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE NRC— A PLANETARY DECADAL STUDY Solar System Exploration Survey Committee Formed The National Research Council's Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) met from January 29–31, 2001 in Tucson, Arizona to begin the organization of a major activity, "A New Strategy for Solar System Exploration." The objectives of the study are to identify the: Key science questions
expected to occupy the planetary-science community for the decade 2003–2013;
The scope of the study is broad and not limited to space-based programs. Moreover, it is expected that the report's science and mission priorities will form the foundation for the construction of the next solar system exploration roadmap. This study and a companion activity to determine science and mission priorities for the fields of solar and space physics were requested by Dr. Edward Weiler, NASA's Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Science. Both of these studies will be analogous to the decadal surveys regularly conducted by the astronomy and astrophysics communities. The study will be undertaken by a 13-member, ad-hoc Solar System Exploration Survey Committee, under the direction of Dr. Michael Belton, National Optical Astronomy Observatories, retired. The Survey Committee will be assisted by subsidiary study panels, which are tasked with producing reports in the following subject areas: Inner Planets - Mercury, Venus, and Earth-Moon system; Primitive Bodies including comets, asteroids, Pluto-Charon, Kuiper Belt, and other small bodies; Giant Planets - the interiors, atmospheres, rings and magnetospheres of the gas giants; and Large Satellites - principally Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Titan. Now that its role
as the organizing committee for the new study is completed, COMPLEX will
devote its full attention to the completion of a separate task requested
by NASA— a study concerning Mars science and mission priorities.
To avoid duplication of effort and to ensure evenhanded treatment, COMPLEX
will act as the Survey Committee's fifth panel. Appointments to the Survey
Committee and the Panels will be made by the leadership of the National
Research Council in late-April and early-May. The vice-chairs of each
panel will serve on the Survey Committee. The remaining members of the
Survey Committee will act as the foci for cross-panel activities relating
to topics such as, planetary astronomy, astrobiology, space physics, and
theoretical A number of different outreach activities are planned to ensure the widest-possible involvement of all interested communities in the study. These include community forums that will be held in conjunction with major community activities. Those interested in hosting such an eventare encouraged to contact the Survey Committee's Study Director, Dr. David H.Smith, at dhsmith@nas.edu. As I am on the Giant Planets Subcommittee, I'd particularly like to recieve your input on what you think are the key science questions that need to be addressed in the next decade with regard to the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. What potential future missions, Earth-based observation strategies, and other projects (including laboratory studies and theoretical modeling) do you think should receive top priority for initiation in the next decade? Please let me know your thoughts! Julie Moses Tvastar Sun Io Newsletter I have released the latest issue of Tvashtar Sun, a newsletter on Io. There are two feature articles. The first is the first part of a two part series on Tvashtar. Its pretty much overviews the history of eruptions at Tvashtar. The other article is a preview of C30 Io observations (of course now it does appear that SSI observations from C30 of Io have been lost). I also have some news articles pertaining to Io from the last two months. As usual, I have about 25 abstracts and citations from articles that have been submitted, accepted, or recently published in peer-reviewed journals. It also has two conference announcements and links to conference abstracts from those two conferences. The newsletter can
be found at There are three formats for the newsletter: HTML, DOC, and PDF. Also on this site you can sign up to get the newsletter via email as well as newsletter news. Jason Perry For questions, comments, or to be added to the subscription list, please notify: Julianne I. Moses moses@lpi.usra.edu
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