NASA Research Announcement: GALEX GI Program Cycle 3

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GALAXY EVOLUTION EXPLORER (GALEX)  
GUEST INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM - Cycle 3

1.Guest Investigator (GI) Program Description
1.1    Overview
1.2     Program Types
1.2.1        New Observations
1.2.2        Archival Investigations
1.2.3        Unscheduled Observing Time – Targets of Opportunity and Discretionary Time
1.3    Mission Capabilities and Constraints – Cycle 3
1.4    General Guidelines and Policies
1.4.1        Proposal Process
1.4.2        Who May Propose
1.4.3        Late Proposals
1.5    Data Rights and Distribution
1.6    Targets for Observation
1.7    Proposal Evaluation and Selection
1.8    Funding for US Investigators
1.9    Education and Public Outreach
2.  Proposal Preparation and Submission
2.1    General Information on NASA Proposals
2.2    Notice of Intent
2.3    Cover Page
2.4    Proposal Format and Content
2.4.1        Vitae
2.5    Proposal Template, Examples, and Instructions 
2.6    Proposal Submission
3          The GALEX Mission
3.1    Mission Overview
3.2    Instrument Overview
3.3    Satellite Operations and Observation Planning
3.3.1        Observation Modes
3.3.2        Brightness Limits
3.4    Data Processing, Calibration, and Distribution
3.4.1        Pipeline Processing and Calibration
3.4.2        Data distribution
4          Important Dates
5          Contact Information

GALEX GUEST INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM - Cycle 3

1  Guest Investigator (GI) Program Description

1.1  Overview

This program element (D.8 GALEX Guest Investigator Cycle 3) of the 2006 ROSES solicits proposals for the acquisition and analysis of new scientific data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX).   GALEX operates in two broad bands, Far-UV (FUV, 1350-1800 Å) and Near-UV (NUV, 1800-2800 Å), providing wide-field (1.2o) imaging and low resolution (R = 150-300) grism spectroscopy, with sufficient sensitivity to study a wide variety of objects within and outside of our Galaxy.  GALEX was launched on April 28, 2003.  The GALEX primary mission is scheduled for completion in September 2007.  During calendar year 2007, the scientific capabilities of GALEX will be available to the astronomical community for scientific investigations that do not duplicate the GALEX team investigations.  This solicitation is for Cycle 3 of the GALEX Guest Investigator (GI) Program, to be carried out beginning on or after January 1, 2007, and lasting approximately 12 months. Section 2 contains instructions for proposal preparation. A brief description of the GALEX mission is in Section 3; a more detailed description can be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/. Proposals will be accepted for both new observations and for archival research. Proposed scientific investigations should not duplicate GALEX primary science investigations, which are listed on the GALEX GI website (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/science ). GI investigations may be proposed for fields already observed by the GALEX science team, as long as the science investigation is clearly different. Many projects may be best addressed as for Cycle 3 of the GALEX Guest Investigator (GI) Program, to be carried out beginning on or after January 1, 2007, and lasting approximately 12 months. Section 2 contains instructions for proposal preparation. A brief description of the GALEX mission is in Section 3; a more detailed description can be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/. Proposals will be accepted for both new observations and for archival research. Proposed scientific investigations should not duplicate GALEX primary science investigations, which are listed on the GALEX GI website: http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/science . GI investigations may be proposed for fields already observed by the GALEX science team, as long as the science investigation is clearly different. Many projects may be best addressed as archival investigations, using the data already collected for the primary mission; all data in the first two GALEX data releases (GR1 and GR2), and possibly data from GR3, will be available for archival investigations. Potential proposers are strongly encouraged to examine the descriptions of the GALEX primary science investigations and the contents of the GALEX data releases (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/targets ) before proposing..

1.2 Program Types

Proposals submitted in response to this program may be for new observations with GALEX, or for analysis of existing GALEX data.  Approximately 1500 orbital nights (1/3 of the available observing time) will be available to the community for new observations in Cycle 3.  There are four proposal categories:  1) Standard, 2) Legacy, and 3) Snap proposals are for new observations;  4) Archival proposals are for investigations using the rich GALEX archival data set. Mixed proposals may be submitted that include some new observations and some archival work, provided the archival work is not expected to comprise more than ~1/3 of the investigation's effort; these should be submitted as the relevant type of observing proposal. If more than ~1/3 of a combined investigation is expected to comprise work with archival data, and the investigators wish to request funding for the archival work, then two separate proposals (one new observing, one archival) should be submitted and the connection noted in each proposal. More information on the different proposal types may be found in the following sections.

For the first three categories, proposals submitted in response to this NRA constitute the first phase of the GALEX GI proposal process.  The following information is required:  a scientific justification, a description of the observations, a discussion of the technical feasibility, astronomical target data, exposure time estimates, and any special operational requirements (e.g., orientation constraints, timing considerations, etc.).  Section 1.3 describes important capabilities and constraints that affect how GI programs will be evaluated and implemented in Cycle 3.  After selection by NASA, successful GI's will be required to submit a detailed observing plan (Phase 2 proposal) so that safety checks, assessments, feasibility assessment, and observation scheduling can be performed. No Phase 2 submission will be required for successful archival proposals.

There are two types of unscheduled observing time that can be made available with the approval of the GALEX Mission Scientist.  The first deals with major Targets of Opportunity (ToO), such as supernovae, novae, and comets.  The second type, called Mission Scientist's Discretionary Observing Time (DOT), is intended for observations of an urgent nature requiring a small amount of observing time and of sufficiently high scientific priority that they should not be delayed to the next observing cycle (See Section 1.2.3 for more details).

1.2.1   New Observations: Program Categories and Time Allocation

GALEX observing time is allocated in orbital nights (orbits). Proposals should request only the time needed for scientific exposures. Observing Program Categories - Each GALEX observing proposal must be designated in one of three proposal categories at the time of submission - Standard, Legacy, or Snap - and this category must apply to all targets in the proposal. Approximately 1/2 of the available observing time during Cycle 3 (~ 2250 orbits) will be available to the community for new observations.

1. Standard proposals provide the opportunity to observe targets specified by the proposer. These may include shallow or deep imaging, shallow or deep grism observations, repeated visits to observe time-variable phenomena, or mapping of regions of the sky not observed by the GALEX primary science surveys. NASA intends to execute all observations associated with accepted proposals.
2. Legacy proposals provide the opportunity for large, coherent projects of general and lasting importance to a wide astrophysical audience. These proposals are expected to request a minimum of 100 orbits. Legacy proposals are expected to use GALEX to perform major observing programs that will enhance significantly the overall scientific contribution of the mission. NASA intends to execute all observations associated with the allocated observing time for accepted proposals.
3. Snap proposals are intended to maximize the science return of GALEX and to provide scheduling flexibility by providing a large pool of targets to the mission schedulers; they will receive lower priority in target scheduling. Snap programs provide the opportunity for observations of a class of objects to be undertaken without the requiring that any specific object in the class be observed. It is unlikely that all targets in an accepted Snap program will be observed.

NASA anticipates that at least 25% of the GI observing time in Cycle 3 will be allocated to Legacy proposals. Although there is no assurance that any specific target in a Snap program will be observed, NASA expects that data will be obtained for many targets in this category. Following the evaluation of submitted proposals, some proposals submitted but not accepted by NASA under the Standard category may be recommended for inclusion in the Snap category. It will be the proposer's option to accept or reject such reprogramming of a submitted Standard proposal.

Observing Program Constraints – Standard and Snap proposals may only request observations using GALEX standard observing modes. These are described briefly in Section 3.3.1 and in more detail in the GALEX Observers Guide. In Cycle 3, Legacy proposals will be accepted for programs using non-standard GALEX observing or data-processing modes, IF the GI proposal team includes one or more GALEX team experts to be responsible for the non-standard operations as part of the proposed investigation.

Program Execution and Carryover - NASA intends that all observations for non-ToO Standard and Legacy observing programs will be performed. If necessary, observations not executed during the current cycle will be carried over into the following cyle. GIs do not need to repropose for these observations, and any such programs will be given priority for execution in the next cycle. ToO programs will not be carried over into the next Cycle. ToO programs that are not activated and executed within the nominal one-year observing cycle must be reproposed in order to be considered in the next observing year. Unobserved targets in Snap programs must also be reproposed each Cycle.
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1.2.2  Archival Investigations

Proposals will be accepted for scientific investigations based on any data in the GALEX public archive at MAST (http://galex.stsci.edu).  The second GALEX data release (GR2)  is becoming publicly available in spring 2006, and contains ~33% of the data for the GALEX primary mission surveys.  A third GALEX data release (GR3) may occur in spring 2007, but that is not and will not be certain before the Cycle 3 proposal deadline.  Details may be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/targets.  Investigators considering an Archival proposal should pay close attention to the GALEX primary science investigations.   Although Archival proposals may be based on any public GALEX data, they should not duplicate the science goals of type 1 PI science team investigations. 

1.2.3  Unscheduled Observing Time

Targets of Opportunity -- The GALEX mission is poorly suited for Targets of Opportunity (ToO).  However, because of the potential scientific impact of ToO observations (for targets such as supernovae, novae, cataclysmic variables in outburst, comets, etc.), limited ToO observations will be supported in Cycle 3.  Scientists wishing to observe such targets should prepare and submit proposals according to the same procedures used for a Standard program (i.e., as described in Section 2.  A proposal may not contain a mixture of ToO targets and non-ToO targets.  Target of Opportunity status should be noted in the Special Requirements section of the proposal.  ToO proposals will be reviewed in the regular review cycle, and successful proposals will be approved and will be allocated specific amounts of provisional observing time.  (However, the review panels may recommend a maximum amount of observing time that should be allocated to a given ToO program.)  Up to four ToO programs requiring a response time between one week and one month will be approved for Cycle 3.

The lack of a real-time observing capability constrains the speed with which a ToO observation can be implemented.  The GALEX  ToO response time is expected to be no less than 7 days during Cycle 3.  ToO proposals must clearly state the required response time.   An accepted ToO proposal must submit a “dummy” Phase 2 proposal, and must negotiate an agreement on what will constitute a “trigger” for the TOO with the Caltech GALEX Science Operations Center and the GALEX Mission Scientist.  It will be the GI's responsibility to notify the GALEX Mission Scientist and the GALEX Science Operations Center at Caltech when any approved opportunity has occurred.  The Mission Scientist will consult with the GALEX PI and other members of the GALEX operations team to determine the feasibility of observing the particular event and the impact of disrupting ongoing observations, before deciding whether or not to activate the ToO program and approve the observation.

Discretionary Observing Time -- Mission Scientist's Discretionary Observing Time (DOT) is intended for observations of an urgent nature for which no approved observing program exists, and that are of sufficiently high scientific merit and priority that they should not be delayed to the next observing cycle.  The total amount of DOT available during Cycle 3 is extremely limited.  The GALEX Mission Scientist may approve DOT in those cases where the scientific timeliness of the project is such that it should be done quickly, the need for the observation could not have been foreseen and proposed for in the current observing cycle, and the observation does not duplicate or infringe on PI or approved GI programs.  A proposal for DOT may be submitted to the Mission Scientist in the form of a letter (printed or electronic) and should describe the scientific objectives, reason(s) for requiring GALEX, the proposed observations and their feasibility, and should explain why DOT should be granted in lieu of consideration during the next proposal cycle.  All requests for DOT will be reviewed for scientific merit and technical feasibility.
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1.3   Mission Capabilities and Constraints During Cycle 3

This section summarizes GALEX capabilities that should be considered by all GALEX proposers. Complete information on the GALEX instrument and other topics is available from the GALEX Observer’s Guide and the Mission and Instrument Overview (both available from http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Documents/).

Sensitivity Limits – There are fundamental detector performance limitations which preclude observations of individual bright targets, of target fields containing bright stars, and of bright or crowded fields (section 3.3.2). Proposers should pay particular attention to this issue in the “Feasibility” section of their proposal. New observing techniques are being tested that may permit limited (FUV only) observations of objects at or near the bright limits cited here, if the observation poses no risk to the instrument (as determined in technical review by the GALEX operations team). Updated information about this option will be posted on the GALEX GI web site (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/), as it becomes available. Further information on brightness limits may be found in Section 3.3.2 and in the detector section of the GALEX Observers Guide. Further information on the detectors may be found in the GALEX Detector Operations Guide.

Observing Modes - GALEX has two observing modes, broad-band imaging and grism spectroscopy. The exposure time alone defines the achievable signal-to-noise ratio for a given image or spectrum. Imaging observations are typically done either in “single-visit” (“stare/dither” mode - observe one field for one orbital night) or in “All-sky Imaging Survey (AIS)” mode (observe several contiguous or overlapping fields, each for the same exposure time, in one orbital night). Grism spectroscopy is done only in “single visit” mode, with a different grism orientation used for each orbital night. Observations are generally obtained in both FUV and NUV bands simultaneously. Further information on observing modes may be found in Section 3.3.1 and in the GALEX Observers Guide.

Targets of Opportunity - The GALEX ToO response time for prompt events is expected to be no less than 7 days during Cycle 3, and is likely to be 2 weeks or more (Section 1.2.3).
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1.4  General Guidelines and Policies

1.4.1  Proposal Process

Proposers are requested to submit a Notice of Intent to Propose in order to facilitate the timely selection of peer review panels. (Notices of Intent are strongly encouraged, but are not required.) Proposals should provide a strong scientific justification and careful feasibility analysis, which will form the basis for selection by NASA, and an overview of planned observations and targets. Proposals that are awarded observing time based on the evaluation process described in Section 1.7 subsequently will be required to submit more detailed observation specifications (Phase 2 proposals) following guidelines provided by the GALEX Project. These data will provide the GALEX Science Operations Center (SOC) with the detailed definition of each observation to be executed for the program. In addition, successful U.S. proposers will be invited to submit a budget based on funding guidelines provided by NASA (Section 1.8) when the proposal is accepted. Proposal submission steps are summarized in Section 2.6. The most up-to-date proposal submission checklist may be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms/ProposalChecklist.html; this list may be updated during the proposal period.

1.4.2  Who May Propose

Participation in the GALEX GI Program is open to individuals associated with all categories of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations, including educational institutions, industry, nonprofit institutions, NASA Centers, and other Government agencies. Each GALEX GI proposal must identify a single Principal Investigator (PI) who assumes full responsibility for the conduct of the scientific investigation. Proposal Co-Investigators must have well-defined roles in the investigation, which will be evaluated as part of the proposal review process. Following selection by NASA, the various participants in the GALEX GI program (GALEX GI Center at GSFC, the GALEX SOC at CIT, and the Multimission Archive at Space Telescope (MAST) ) will communicate formally only with the PI (or her/his designee) of each proposal. It is this person's responsibility to provide the GSC at CIT with the necessary data that defines each observation in a timely manner and to respond promptly to any questions concerning observational constraints or configurations.

1.4.3  Late Proposals

Consistent with NASA policy, a late proposal may be considered only if it is judged to be in the best interests of the Government. However, a proposal submitted after the published deadline is unlikely to be considered of uniquely greater value to NASA than proposals submitted on time. A proposal is considered “on time” only if all necessary components, (proposal pdf file, xml target list). Finally, please note that processing delays due to (but not limited only to) network failures, denial-of-service attacks, hard disk crashes, power outages, Internet delays, or hungry dogs, do not excuse late submission of a proposal.
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1.5  Data Rights and Distribution

Data rights for GALEX GI observations (Legacy, Standard and Snap programs) reside solely with each observing program's Principal Investigator for a period of six months following availability of the processed data at the GALEX data archive in MAST (http://archive.stsci.edu/galex).  GIs will be notified electronically when their data are available from the archive.  After this period, the data become available for public access through MAST.  Investigators, particularly for Legacy Proposals, are encouraged to consider waiving the proprietary period for their data.
Observations of calibration targets/fields generally have no proprietary period and will be released through the GALEX archive as soon as the processed data products are available. The GALEX Project reserves the right to use any GALEX observation to assist in assessing the performance of the instrument, but the confidentiality of data obtained for scientific programs will be maintained.

1.6  Targets

The Cycle 3 observing opportunity primarily seeks to identify new targets for observation with the GALEX satellite or to obtain significantly deeper exposures of already-observed targets. Lists of all targets planned for observation in the GALEX Prime Mission may be found at (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/targets ). Each target's name and celestial coordinates (right ascension and declination, epoch J2000) will be considered when judging any potential target duplications.

Target Duplication – By design, the GALEX prime mission will obtain moderate exposures of a large fraction of the sky in the All-Sky Imaging Survey (AIS). Many GI projects may be well suited to archival investigations using the data collected for the primary mission. Any target duplication between Cycle 3 GI observing programs and those observed (or expected to be observed) by the GALEX primary mission, or by Cycle 1 or 2 GIs, must be strongly justified in the proposal (e.g., expected variability, need for deeper exposures, etc.) Review panels will receive a summary of any perceived duplications between pending and existing observations and those proposed for Cycle 3. The panels will also receive a summary of target duplications between different Cycle 3 proposals, and between Cycle 1 and 2 accepted programs and Cycle 3 proposals. In general, a given target (pointing center) will be allocated to only one observing program. Failure to provide accurate target data in the proposal may result in disallowing a target if a conflict with another program is discovered after proposal acceptance and the target conflict was missed as a result of the inaccurate target data.

Target List Modifications - After selection of Cycle 3 programs, changes to a program's target list may be made only with the approval of the GALEX Mission Scientist. Any new target must be consistent with the program's scientific objectives and must not already be allocated to another program.

Calibration Targets - Astronomical targets are used for photometric and wavelength calibration. Most of the calibration objects (Appendix, In-Flight Calibration Guide) will be observed for calibration purposes. GI's are allowed to include calibration targets as scientific targets in their programs. The GALEX Project may continue to use these objects for calibration, even if the target is allocated to a GI program.

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1.7  Proposal Evaluation and Selection Process

Proposals submitted to NASA in response to this opportunity will be evaluated in a competitive peer review conducted by NASA Headquarters, using review panels organized by scientific research area. Upon completion of the review by the individual panels, a final cross-discipline panel review chaired by a NASA HQ representative will synthesize the results of the individual panels. Legacy proposals will be reviewed with other GALEX proposals in the same scientific discipline as well as in other disciplines (e.g., stellar evolution, ISM, large scale structure, etc). Each scientific panel will have the option to forward a small number of Legacy proposals for final evaluation by the chairs of the GALEX peer panels; this panel of chairs will formulate the final recommendations to NASA for the Cycle 3 observing program. Based on these results, the GALEX Program Scientist will then develop a recommendation for the total program to be submitted to the Selection Official. The final proposal selection will be made by the director of the Universe Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The following factors, listed in descending order of importance, will be used in evaluating proposals for their scientific merit and technical feasibility for the GALEX Guest Investigator Program:

1. The overall scientific merit of the proposed investigation;
2. The suitability and feasibility of using the GALEX observatory or GALEX data for the proposed investigation;
3. The feasibility of accomplishing the objectives of the investigation;
4. The degree to which the investigation uses the unique capabilities of GALEX;
5. The feasibility and scope of the data analysis plans;
6. The relevance to NASA’s goals.

Legacy proposals will also be evaluated on:

7. Provisions to provide legacy data to the community in a timely fashion (possibly waiving the proprietary period) and/or plans to provide enhanced data products to the community

Scientific review panels will be given an assessment of the technical feasibility of each proposal, determined by the GALEX operations team. After acceptance of an observing program by NASA, successful proposers must prepare detailed (Phase 2) observing plans for submission to the GSC at Caltech. These Phase 2 plans are required for scheduling purposes, and will be assessed again for feasibility. Should there be any question regarding the safety or feasibility of individual observations, the GALEX PI, in consultation with the GALEX Mission Scientist, will make the final decision as to whether or not to attempt or postpone a particular observation, based on the latest information available regarding the satellite’s on-orbit performance. NASA reserves the right to select only a portion of a proposed investigation, or to recommend in which case the investigator will be given the opportunity to accept or decline such partial selection.
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1.8   Funding for U.S. Investigators

Limited funds for awards under this NRA are expected to be available to investigators at U.S. institutions, subject to the annual NASA budget cycle. Approximately $3M is expected to be available, and is expected to support approximately 50 investigations. Successful proposers at U.S. institutions, including U.S. Co-Investigators on successful non-U.S. proposals, will be eligible for funding. Funding will be available for both new observations and for archival investigations. Budgets should not be submitted with research proposals in response to this NRA. Selected investigators will receive a funding guideline from NASA based on the scope of the approved observing program and the available budget for the GALEX GI program. The primary guideline for funding new observations will be a program’s total time allocation. Secondary factors include proposal ranking, scope of data analysis plans, and the number of targets/observations, and expected difficulty of data analysis. The primary guideline for archival proposals will be scope of data analysis. A budget summary and narrative description of how these funds will be used must be submitted after receipt of the guideline. An institutional signature will be required when a budget is submitted. Budgets will be submitted through the NSPIRES proposal system at NASA Headquarters. US co-investigators on proposals by foreign GIs may receive funding; the GI will need to appoint a US “administrative PI” who will submit the budget through NSPIRES and be responsible for managing funding to US investigators.

1.9   Education and Public Outreach

The policy of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) continues to encourage the participation by the space science community in education and public outreach activities, with the goal of enhancing the Nation’s formal education system and contributing to the broad public understanding of science, mathematics, and technology. A significant national program in space science education and outreach is now underway, and SMD’s demonstrated contributions to education and outreach have now become an important part of the broader justification for the public support of space science (for further details see the SMD’s “Education and Public Outreach” page (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/research/epo.htm). Guest Investigators selected for GALEX Cycle 3 will have an opportunity to submit a supplemental E/PO element to their research proposal in conjunction with the budget phase of the proposal process. E/PO proposals will be due 60 days after the date of the selection letter for the Cycle 3 science proposal. Information about and instructions for preparing and submitting E/PO proposals is available in Section (c-iii) of the ROSES-2006 NRA Summary of Solicitation.

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2.    Proposal Preparation and Submission

2.1    Proposal Preparation

General information on the preparation and submission of research proposals to NASA may be found in the 2006 NASA HQ NRA Proposers Guidebook (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/).  If you have questions about the general nature of NASA NRAs, or questions or problems with submitting NOIs or Phase 2 Budget proposals, please consult the NASA HQ Proposal Submission FAQ page, or send technical support questions to proposals at hq.nasa.gov.

Questions about the GALEX Guest Investigator Program, or about the GALEX Cycle 3 GI proposal submission process should be directed to the GALEX GI help desk.

2.2    Notice of Intent

In order to expedite the proposal review process and the timely selection of scientific peer review panels, investigators intending to submit proposals for participation in this program should submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to propose by:

        May 12, 2006

The NOI Web site will request the tentative title of the investigation, name and affiliation of the PI and any Co-I's, and a brief summary of the proposed investigation.  
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2.3     Proposal Number
To request a proposal number, proposers should enter information at: http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Cycle3/GetPropID.html
An automated reply should come back right away.    Proposers should use this proposal number in their proposal text, target list, and (if selected) in their Phase 2 submission and Budgets.
 
2.4     Proposal Format and Content
Proposals must be written concisely, in English.  The length of each section of the proposal should not exceed the page limits indicated below.  Proposals must be printed with a font size no smaller than 11 points (about 6 characters per cm) throughout (References and figure captions may be 10pt).  Margins should be 1 inch (2.54cm).  Proposals should be single spaced on 8.5x11 or A4 paper.  Reviewers will be instructed to base their review only on the portion of each proposal that complies with the page limits given below in this NRA; excess pages will be rejected before being sent to the reviewers.   Illustrations contained in the printed proposal may be in black and white or color.  Proposals will be sent to reviewers as .pdf files, and may be printed out on the reviewer’s printer, so proposers would be prudent to verify that any color entries are also legible in black and white.

A GALEX proposal requires the following sections, which should be included in the order indicated.    Page limits for each section are indicated below.  Total page limits are: 7 pages for Standard/Snap/Archival proposals and 9 pages for Legacy proposals (including figures, tables and references; not including cover page or target list). 

1. Summary Information – Proposal summary information, as listed in the proposal xml files and below, must be supplied with the all proposals. 

Proposal number

Title

PI name, affiliation, and contact information

Co-I names and affiliations

Proposal type (Legacy, Standard, Snap, Archival)

Observing time requested (not for Archival)

Orbits required

Research area: Each proposal must identify one of the primary research areas listed below that will be used to guide assignment of the proposal to the appropriate scientific review panel.   

• Deep fields / cosmology
  
  
• Intergalactic Medium
  
  
• Galaxy Clusters  
  
  
• Galaxy Groups 

• Galaxy Interactions
  
  
• Abnormal galaxies
  
  
• Normal Galaxies
  
  
• Galactic Structure
  
  
• Stellar populations (clusters, statistics, evolution, enviroment)
  
  
• Interstellar Medium
  
  
• Young Stars
  
  
• Mid-life Stars
  
  
• Old Stars
  
  
• Solar System objects

 2. Scientific Justification  (not to exceed 3 pages for Standard, Survey or Archival proposals, or 5 pages for Legacy proposals) –  Fully describe the scientific objectives of the proposed investigation, clearly stating its goals, its significance to astronomy, why GALEX data are essential to the investigation, and the relevance to NASA goals.  The page limit includes all text, figures, tables, and references for this Section.  The proposed scientific investigation should not duplicate GALEX primary science investigations or accepted GI programs (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/science); any cases where overlap might be perceived should be clearly justified.  GI investigations may be proposed for targets or fields observed by the GALEX science team, as long as the science goals of the investigation are clearly different.  In Cycle 3, guest investigators will have access to PI-team-observed data included in GR2 (approximately 33% of the eventual GALEX primary mission dataset). 

3.  Description of Observations (no more than 1 page, not required for archival proposals) –  Describe the desired observations.  All special requirements (e.g., Target of Opportunity, monitoring program, specific grism orientation, low zodiacal light, fuv-only, timing constraint, etc.) must be summarized and justified.  These requirements encompass any information affecting the scheduling of the target, such as pointing constraints (e.g., targets offset from field centers), scheduling constraints (e.g., observations at specific times, coordinated observations, phase coverage, contiguous observations, etc.), Targets of Opportunity, and information on moving targets (Actual ephemeris data for Solar System targets are not required for this phase of the proposal process.  Proposers wishing to observe moving targets should be aware that they will receive time-tagged photon data and will need to reconstruct these into images themselves.

4. Feasibility (not to exceed 1 page, not required for archival proposals) –  Feasibility: The proposed program must justify the need for the requested exposure time for each target, noting the required signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and spectral resolution, expected flux, and any other information relevant to the observation (e.g., wavelength, region of interest, spectral flux distribution, emission line intensities).  This section forms the basis for technical assessment of the feasibility of the proposed observations.  Safety:  Although a safety check is not required for Cycle 3 Phase 1, proposers are strongly advised to verify that their targets are observable and to explain any questionable cases in the Feasibility discussion. Safety concerns, as well as target visibility through the year, proximity to overbright objects, zodiacal light background, etc. may be checked using several tools available at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/tools; an exposure simulator is at the same site.

5.  Additional Information (up to 1 page, required for archival proposals) – This Section may be used to provide any relevant information concerning data analysis plans, modeling capabilities, corollary data from other telescopes, etc.  A data analysis plan is required for Archival proposals or for mixed new observation & archival proposals.

6. Proposed Target List (Not included in page count) – In all cases, including Archival Proposals, a target list must be submitted separately, as part of the proposal submission.  The target list is an xml file, which the proposer fills in with target information. Blank forms, examples, and instructions can all be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms.  XML target lists should be verified using the xml validation tool located at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Cycle3/Ph1Validation.html, and should be submitted through the target submission tool at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms.
 
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2.4.1 Vitae (up to 1 page) - Information about the PI and/or Co-I's *relevant to this proposal* (e.g., status of already-awarded GALEX programs or complementary grants).

2.5    Templates,  Examples, and Instructions
GALEX proposals must be submitted as pdf files (Free acrobat downloadable here).   Proposals may be prepared using the proposer’s choice of word processor, so long as they follow the guidelines given in Section 2.4.   GALEX proposal templates (LaTeX or Word) may be used to format the final printed proposal in the desired format.   A LaTeX proposal form and style file, a Word proposal form, more detailed instructions for preparing the proposal,  a sample filled-in form, and sample proposals may be found at (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms).  If a proposer does not wish to use the templates provided, s/he may use a text-editor of choice to provide a similarly formatted proposal (i. e. page limits, font sizes, required sections and summary information must be provided as shown in the sample proposals).
Submission procedures are described in Section 2.6.
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2.6    Proposal Submission

For GALEX Cycle 3, proposal submission is all-electronic.

A proposal submission checklist can be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms/. A complete proposal submission consists of the following three steps.

1. Obtain a proposal number from the GALEX GI helpdesk, by entering information at: http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Cycle3/GetPropID.html

2. Submit target information electronically to the GALEX GI website. You can submit the xml file through the tool at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms, or download the form from that site, fill it in, and e-mail the filled-in XML template to 'galexprop' at galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov. An acknowledgment of receipt will be sent to the proposal submitter by return e-mail. A template file is available for large samples of archival targets, where a "typical target" is listed instead of each expected individual target.

3. Submit your science proposal electronically, as a pdf file, to the GALEX GI helpdesk using the tool at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/propforms . An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to the proposal submitter by return e-mail.

Both proposal pdf file and target list xml file must be received by the GALEX GI helpdesk by

4:30 pm EDT on 7 July, 2006

in order to be included in the proposal review for this cycle of the GALEX Guest Investigator program.
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3  The GALEX Mission

3.1  Mission Overview

GALEX is a PI-class mission, developed in collaboration by  Caltech in Pasadena, California, the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique Spatiale (LAS) in Marseilles, France, the University of California at Berkeley, the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland, and the Yonsei University, South Korea. The GALEX Principal Investigator, Dr. Christopher Martin of Caltech, is responsible to NASA for the mission design, development, and operations.  The GALEX Science Operations Center is located on the Caltech campus in Pasadena, California.

The GALEX PI is responsible for achieving the scientific objectives of the primary mission.  GALEX’s primary objectives are to map the global history and probe the causes of star formation over the redshift range 0 < z < 2.  This timespan traces 80% of the life of the universe, the period over which galaxies have evolved dramatically, and the time that most stars, elements, and galaxy disks had their origins. GALEX uses the space ultraviolet (l < 3000 Å) to simultaneously measure redshift (using emission lines and the Lyman Break), extinction (using the UV spectral slope), and star formation rate (using the UV luminosity, which is proportional to the instantaneous star formation rate).  Other scientific objectives supporting this overarching goal are: 1) Determining the UV properties of local galaxies and how their rest-UV properties, measured at high redshift by other missions, relate to star formation rate, extinction, metallicity, and burst history;  2) Measuring the star formation and metal production history of galaxies over the redshift range 0 < z < 2;  3) Determining the time and location of  the origins of  the stars and elements we see today, and connecting this to the evolution between 0 < z < 2; and  4) Identifying the global (galaxy-wide) factors that drive star formation and evolution in galaxies.

The GALEX prime mission is addressing these objectives by performing omplementary imaging and spectroscopic surveys.  Approximately 2000 orbits will be devoted to each survey.  Details of the GALEX primary science plan, and how it will use these surveys, can be found on the GALEX GI Website.  Approximately 33% of the survey data will be available for GI archival proposals in Cycle 3.  (A third GALEX data release, GR3, may occur in spring 2007 but this is not yet certain).

Five imaging surveys are being done in two bands (FUV (1350-1800 Å) and NUV (1800-2800 Å) ), with ~5 arcsec\ resolution, a 1.2 degree field-of-view, and <1 arcsec astrometric accuracy.   These surveys will detect millions of galaxies in the local universe and many thousands in the more distant universe over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 2.  More detailed information may be found in Table 1, or at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/surveys/.

• AIS - All-sky Imaging Survey:  ~80% of the sky, Galactic caps first, avoiding Galactic plane, typical exposure time 100 sec.
  
  
• MIS - Medium Imaging Survey:  SDSS and 2df overlap, 1000 deg^2, typical exposure 1500sec.


• DIS - Deep Imaging Survey:  Overlaps other deep surveys (see list of surveys included), total of 80 deg^2, typical exposure 30 ksec
  
  
• UDIS - Ultra Deep Imaging Survey:  4 degrees2, includes e.g., CDFS, Groth, NOAO Deep-Wide, others.


• NGS - Nearby Galaxy Survey: 150 nearby galaxies, with exposures of 1 or 2 orbits per galaxy (1500-3000sec) and mosaics of the nearest galaxies (LMC, SMC, M31).  

Two spectroscopic surveys are using a slitless grism  with spectral resolution of  R=150-300.  These surveys will measure approximately 100,000 galaxies over a wide range of luminosities and star formation rates, over the redshift range of 0 < z < 2.

• MSS - Medium-deep Spectroscopic Survey:  Centers of DIS fields
• DSS - Deep Spectroscopic Survey:  Chandra DFS, NOAO Deep-Wide Fields     

Table 1 – Survey Summary – see also Survey Summary  
SF History
Å  ®Local Universe

* m_AB = m₀ – 2.5 log (Flux / U), where

U_FUV = 2.05 x 10^-16 ergs cm^-2 Å^-1 s^-1,    U_NUV =  1.40 x 10^-15 ergs cm^-2 Å^-1 s^-1

m_{0_FUV} = 18.82 ,     m_{0_NUV} = 20.18

**Flux limits are given for the NUV band, and are in ergs cm^-2 Å^-1 sec^-1

Approximately 1/2 of the observing time during Cycle 3 will be used by the PI Team to complete these surveys.

More information on GALEX science objectives and further information on GALEX survey content and strategy may be found at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/science . 

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3.2  Instrument Overview 

GALEX is a 50cm UV-optimized telescope that obtains images simultaneously in two bands: 1350-1800Å (far-UV, FUV) and 1800-2800Å (near-UV, NUV).  The field of view is 1.2 degrees and the angular resolution is ~4.5 arcsec.  GALEX can also obtain slitless spectroscopy (same field of view and spatial resolution) with spectral resolution of R=200-350 (FUV) and 80-150 (NUV).   The telescope has one primary 50 cm mirror, which feeds light through either an imaging window or an imaging grism, to a dichroic beamsplitter, and into two sealed-tube  microchannel-plate photon-counting detectors.     The effective area is ~35 cm² for the FUV channel and  ~65 cm² for the NUV channel.   The high throughput results from an optical design utilizing a high-efficiency beam splitter, a high–efficiency CaF² grism, and multilayer reflective coatings optimized for wavelength coverage in the GALEX range.  Further details on the GALEX instrument can be found in the Instrument Status paper , the GALEX Mission and Instrument Summary, the GALEX Observer’s Guide, and the GALEX Detector Handbook.   

3.3  Satellite Operations and Observation Planning 

GALEX is in a nearly circular orbit with a mean altitude of 690 km, an orbital inclination of 29°, and an orbital period of 98 minutes with ~2100 sec orbital nights.  The plane of the orbit precesses with a period of 60 days.  Typically, GALEX is in contact with the ground station for 8-12 minutes per orbit for 10 consecutive orbits, followed by five orbits with no contact. All GALEX scientific observations are conducted autonomously by the onboard instrument data system, from week-long observing plans. Science observations are made only during orbital nights, with a maximum possible time of ~1700 sec/orbit available for science observations. Proposers should assume 1 orbit = 1500sec for the purpose of determining the number of orbits required.

3.3.1 Observation modes 

All science data collection uses a spiral dither, to prevent bright-star-induced fatigue of localized regions on the detectors and to improve image flat-fielding.  In “single-visit” (or “stare/dither”) mode, only one field center is observed for the entire eclipse.  In “sub-visit observations” (or “AIS mode”), several (typically 10-12) contiguous field centers are observed during one orbital night.  Grism observations are always done in “single visit” mode at a single grism orientation; multiple observations (typically ~20 for WSS) are made at different grism orientations.  Grism images require a “pre-image”, which may be an existing GALEX image (if the field centers are within 10 arcmin).   In Cycle 3, all new pre-images require a full orbit.  All GALEX science data is sent down as time-tagged photon lists, allowing ex-post-facto aspect determination and image reconstruction. GI observations may use only these standard GALEX observing modes.  We hope in future cycles to offer a “short pre-image + long grism in a single orbit” option but the Caltech team cannot support  this option in Cycle 3.

3.3.2 Brightness Limits

There are bright star detector limits that, because of the wide field of view, significantly affect flexibility of mission planning when choosing targets. Fundamental detector safety requirements limit observations of bright targets.  Currently, point sources, with flat spectra, may not be observed (imaging or grism) that are brighter than:  

 FUV:      5,000cps   or     m_AB =  9.5     or    F_λ = 7 x 10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1 Å^-1

 NUV:   30,000cps   or     m_AB = 8.9    or    F_λ = 6 x 10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1 Å^-1

 Bright and / or crowded fields may not be observed if they exceed total brightness levels of:

 FUV:   15,000cps   or     F_λ =    2.0 x 10^-11 erg cm^-2 s^-1 Å^-1  

 NUV:   50,000cps   or    F_λ = 1.0 x 10^-11 erg cm^-2 s^-1 Å^-1

Pointing centers must be separated from bright stars by :

    0.75°    for an object with    F_{λ_NUV} = 1 x 10^-12,  or m_AB  = 10.8          (5,000 cps)   

    0.88°    for an object with    F_{λ_NUV} = 1 x 10^-11,  or m_AB  =   8.3        (50,000 cps)

    1.00°    for an object with    F_{λ_NUV} = 4 x 10^-11,  or m_AB  =   6.8      (200,000 cps)  

    1.50°    for an object with    F_{λ_NUV} = 1 x 10^-10,  or m_AB  =   5.8      (500,000 cps)  

    2.00°    for an object with    F_{λ_NUV} = 2 x 10^-10,  or m_AB  =   5.0   (1,000,000 cps)

        (Fluxes and magnitudes in NUV band (~ 2300 Å),    F_λ  in   ergs cm^-2 s^-1 Å^-1 )

A Quick Safety Check will check for all of these and let the proposer know if a field can be observed.  The Safety Checking Tool will give more detailed information on fields that fail the Quick Check.   Proposers are strongly encouraged to check fields of interest before submitting targets.   A bright star finder, star catalogue (listing observed TD-1 UV fluxes), an astrographic catalogue (AC2000 combined with Tycho), an exposure simulator, and other tools may also be found at the Tools page of the GALEXGI site (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/tools.  

New observing techniques are being tested that may permit limited observations (FUV only) of objects at/near the bright limits cited here, if the observation poses no risk to the instrument (as determined in technical review by the GALEX operations team).  Updated information about this option will be posted on the GALEX GI web site (http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/) as it becomes available.

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3.4  Data Processing, Calibration, and Distribution 

3.4.1 Pipeline Processing  

 Data pipeline processing is done at the GALEX SOC, including image construction from time-tag photon lists, flat-fielding, background subtraction, photometric calibration, image rectifying, astrometric solution, and transformation into North-up FITS images.   Multiple visits to the same target are stacked.   In the case of imaging observations (both single visit and stacked images), the pipeline detects objects in the field, extracts object properties, and collects the objects and their properties into catalogues.  In the case of grism observations, for each object in the field, a subimage of the spectrum is cut out, the subimages are rotated and stacked, and individual source spectra are extracted, wavelength calibrated, corrected for spectral response, and collected into catalogues.   In GR2 and in future GI data, the astrometric accuracy of the resulting images is ~0.8 arcsec (slightly worse at the edge of the field).  The photometric accuracy is currently routinely ~3%  (and continues to improve as more in-flight calibration is obtained), and the wavelength accuracy of the spectral ranges is 1-2 Å relative, 2-4 Å absolute.   More details may be found in the GALEX Observer’s Guide, the Early Release Data Description, the GALEX Pipeline Data Guide, and the GALEX In-Flight Calibration Guide  (all available, with several others, at http://galexgi.gsfc.nasa.gov/Documents). 

The GALEX pipeline produces a series of image and spectroscopic products in addition to the images and spectra.  These are delivered, with the images and spectra, in GALEX Data Releases (GRs).  The second public data release (GR2) is occurring in spring 2006; it will contain approximately 33% of the data for the GALEX primary mission surveys (GR1 data is reprocessed and included in GR2 with improved calibration, processing, etc.).  All data in the GALEX archive may be used in GALEX Cycle 3 archival proposals.   
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3.4.2        Data Distribution

 The GALEX data is permanently archived at the Multimission Archive at Space Telescope (MAST) at: (http://galex.stsci.edu/).   GR2 delivery should be complete in May 2006.  Guest Investigators access their data through MAST, and MAST provides selective access to proprietary data.  Access procedures for public and proprietary data are similar to those for Hubble Space Telescope data.  Only the PI of each GI program (and their designees) can access that program's data during the proprietary period.  GALEX data distribution is by electronic file transfer from the MAST.  Observations of calibration targets generally have no proprietary period.  See Section 1.5 for additional information about GALEX data rights.

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4.0 Important Dates  

Primary Science Mission:

The GALEX primary mission is expected to be completed during 2007.  During GI Cycle 3 approximately one half of the observing time will be available for Guest Investigators.    

GALEX Cycle 3 Guest Investigator Proposals:

NRA Release – 27 January 2006

Notices of Intent  –-  4:30pm, EST, 12 May 2006.  
            (NOIs are encouraged but not required.)

Proposal Deadline --  4:30pm, EDT, 7 July  2006.

Cycle 3 Observations:      1 January 2007   through     31 December 2007.

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5.0 Contact Information

Scientific and technical questions concerning the GALEX GI Program should be directed to:

Dr. Susan Neff

GALEX Mission Scientist

Laboratory for Observational Cosmology, Code 665

Goddard Space Flight Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Greenbelt, MD 20771

USA

Telephone: 301-286-5137

Facsimile: 301-286-1753

E-mail: Susan.G.Neff@nasa.gov



Programmatic information may be obtained from:

Dr. Zlatan Tsvetanov

GALEX Program Officer

Universe Division, Code SZ

Science Mission Directorate

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Washington, DC 20546-0001

USA

Telephone: 202-358-0810

Facsimile: 202-358-3096

E-mail: Zlatan Tsvetanov

Technical information about the GALEX mission, the proposal template, and electronic form submission should be obtained, starting in April 2006, from:

GALEX Help Desk

Laboratory for Observational Cosmology, Code 665

Goddard Space Flight Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Greenbelt, MD 20771

USA

Telephone: 301-286-0850

Facsimile: 301-286-1753

Email : GALEX Helpdesk



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Responsible NASA Official: Susan G. Neff

Curators: Joan E. Hollis and Joel D. Offenberg

Responsible NASA Official: Susan G. Neff
Curators: Joan E. Hollis and Joel D. Offenberg

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