The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled for launch in October 2018, and the first call for proposals will be released in 2017. The Space Telescope Science Institute, following the recommendations of the JWST Advisory Committee is now defining the parameters for an Early Release Science (ERS) program.

See: http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/advisory-committee/JSTAC-Recommendations _ERS_CF.pdf

The primary objective of the ERS program is to provide community access to a broad suite of JWST science observations as early as possible in Cycle 1. The observing programs will be chosen by peer review to provide representative datasets and to address technical challenges related to the major instrumental modes available on JWST. ERS observations are expected to seed initial discovery and to inform Cycle 2 proposals, which will be submitted just months after the start of Cycle 1.

We are gathering input to inform our preparations for the program through a brief survey at: http://goo.gl/forms/lR0rHG4H4o

The survey will be open until 15 January 2016. It takes 10-15 minutes to complete. More information on the general framework and timeline for the ERS program can be found on the ERS webpage: http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science/ers

Questions are welcome via email: [email protected]