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Announcements -
1) NASA selects contractor for first Prometheus mission to Jupiter
2) Molecular biologists uproot perspective of ancient ancestry
3) Atacama Rover helps NASA learn to search for life on Mars
4) Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Evolution and Evolutionary Genomics, University of Connecticut
5) Postdoctoral Fellowship: CIPS-BIOMARS
6) Hawaii Astrobiology Winter School “Water on Earth and in Space” January 2005
7) The Vatican Observatory announces the 10th Summer School in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics
8) NASA announces opportunities to participate in the Applied Sciences Program of the Science Mission Directorate
9) Gordon Research Conference on the Origins of Life January 16th – 21st 2005 Ventura, California
10) ISU's 9th Annual International Symposium, Fall 2004
11) AGU's May 23-27, 2005 Joint Assembly
12) Planetary Protection Course: Policies and Practices, Fall 2004
*Events Calendar
NASA selects contractor for first Prometheus mission to Jupiter
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology as the contractor for co-designing the proposed Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft. The contract award is for approximately $400 million, covering work through mid-2008.
The Prometheus JIMO mission is an ambitious mission to orbit and explore three planet-sized moons, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa, of Jupiter. The moons may have vast oceans beneath their icy surfaces. A nuclear reactor would enable the mission, which would launch in the next decade.
JIMO would be the first NASA mission using nuclear electric propulsion, which would enable the spacecraft to orbit each icy world to perform extensive investigations of their composition, history, and potential for sustaining life.
The JIMO mission, integrated with the Vision for Space Exploration, also develops and demonstrates technologies and capabilities in direct support to implement the Vision, including space nuclear electric power systems and nuclear electric propulsion systems.
"We have assembled an exceptional team of professionals to take us into the next phase of the mission. To see the mission evolve is rewarding, and I am confident a good team is in place to move us forward," said John Casani, project manager for the JIMO mission at JPL.
Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will work with a government team to complete the preliminary design for the spacecraft. The work includes developing hardware, software and test activities for the design of the non-nuclear portion of the spacecraft. It also includes developing the interfaces for the spacecraft, space reactor, and science instruments. The contractor is responsible for the integration of government-owned and provided technologies into the spacecraft. They are also responsible for assembly, integration, and testing of the space system in accordance with applicable government requirements.
The government team will co-design the spacecraft with the contractor. NASA will supply the launch vehicle. The Department of Energy's Office of Naval Reactors, Washington, will own and be responsible for the space reactor.
The government team includes JPL, NASA's Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center. Also the Office of Naval Reactors, which includes Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, Bettis Laboratory and supporting Department of Energy national laboratories.
The mission instruments will be procured competitively via a NASA Announcement of Opportunity. Three crosscutting themes, identified by a NASA-chartered science definition team, drive the proposed JIMO investigations.
The themes are: evaluate the degree subsurface oceans are present on these moons; study the chemical composition of the moons, including organic materials, and the surface processes that affect them; and scrutinize the entire Jupiter system, particularly the interactions between Jupiter, the moons' atmospheres and interiors.
JIMO is managed by JPL and is part of NASA's Prometheus Program, a program studying a series of initiatives to develop power systems and technologies for space exploration in support of the Vision for Space Exploration.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the proposed JIMO mission for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Washington.
For more information about the mission or NASA, visit:
http://spacescience.nasa.gov/missions/prometheus.htm
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Molecular biologists uproot perspective of ancient ancestry
A study funded in part by NASA has uprooted the "Tree of Life" metaphor that describes how all organisms are related. The new perspective, reported in the Sept. 9 issue of the journal Nature, has produced significant implications for eukaryotes (cells with nuclei). The group includes all multi-cellular forms of life, including humans, animals and plants.
"It's not a tree; it's actually a ring of life," said Dr. James A. Lake, professor of molecular biology, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). "A ring explains the data far better."
The "Tree of Life," with its evolutionary branches and roots showing groups of bacteria on the bottom and multi-cellular animals on the higher branches, therefore is a misnomer according to Lake.
"Through the use of genomics, we show the fusion of two microbial groups created the first eukaryote," Lake said. "There have been theories, but we have never known where eukaryotes came from before. Eukaryotes inherited two sets of genomes from very different microbial groups that do not have a cellular nucleus, called prokaryotes," he said.
NASA, the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and the National Institutes of Health funded the research, based on an analysis of more than 30 genomes.
Lake conducted the research with Maria Rivera, a research scientist in UCLA's department of molecular, cell, and developmental biology, and the university's astrobiology program.
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Atacama Rover helps NASA learn to search for life on Mars
A dedicated team of scientists is spending the next four weeks in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. They are studying the scarce life that exists there and, in the process, helping NASA learn more about how primitive life forms could exist on Mars.
The NASA funded researchers are studying the Atacama Desert, described as the most arid region on Earth, to understand the desert as a habitat that represents one of the limits of life on Earth. The project, part of NASA's Astrobiology Science and Technology Program for Exploring Planets, involves technology experiments to test robotic capabilities for mobility, autonomy and science.
"Identifying living microorganisms and/or fossils in environments where life's density is among the lowest on the planet should provide leads to establish detection criteria and strategies for Mars or other planetary bodies," explained
Dr. Nathalie Cabrol of NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC), Moffett Field, Calif. She is the project science lead and co- investigator on the "Life in the Atacama" project.
Scientists from ARC, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn., and the Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile, are participating in the study. Scientists are scheduled to conduct their investigation and field experiments in the Atacama through Oct. 21.
They are using Zoe, an autonomous, solar-powered rover developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. During the mission, Zoe is expected to travel about two kilometers (1.24 miles) daily and provide panoramic and close-up images.
Zoe will employ a variety of other scientific instruments to explore the remote desert. The instruments include a visible-to-near-infrared spectrometer and a fluorescence microscopic imager developed by Carnegie Mellon's Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center.
"Our goal is to make genuine discoveries about life and habitats in the Atacama and to create technologies and methods that can be applied to future NASA missions," said David Wettergreen, an associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. He is leading robotics research for the Life in the Atacama project.
The first phase of the project began in 2003, when a solar- powered robot named Hyperion, also developed at Carnegie Mellon, was taken to the Atacama. Scientists conducted experiments with Hyperion to determine the optimum design, software and instrumentation for a robot for extensive investigations during 2004-05 of desert life. Zoe and its instrument payload are the result of the first year's research.
"The project is going a step further by trying to understand if signatures of microbial life can be unambiguously detected remotely using a robotic platform," Cabrol said. "These robots and science payloads will be a wonderful precursor to human exploration and excellent 'astronaut/astrobiology assistants' when the time comes for human missions," she added.
Scientists also plan to map the habitats of the area, including its morphology, geology, mineralogy, texture, physical and elemental properties of rocks and soils; document how life modifies its environment; characterize the geo- and biosignatures of microbial organisms and draft science protocols to support a discovery of life. ARC scientist Chris McKay is conducting a long-term ecological study of the Atacama as a Mars analog environment.
Scientists using EventScope, a remote experience browser developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Studio for Creative Inquiry, will guide Zoe. EventScope enables scientists to experience the Atacama environment through the eyes and various sensors of the rover. The public can access the same kind of data experienced by scientists by downloading the EventScope interface from the Internet at: http://www.eventscope.org/atacama
For information, images and field reports from the Atacama on the Internet, visit:
http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/atacama
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Evolution and Evolutionary Genomics, University of Connecticut
A NASA-funded postdoctoral fellowship is available starting after January 2005 for a period of up to three years (initial appointment is for one year and renewed based on satisfactory performance) in the laboratory of J. Peter Gogarten, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut. This is a collaborative interdisciplinary project between Gogarten's lab and the lab of Lutz Hamel, Computer Science and Statistics Department, University of Rhode Island to improve and develop new tools for analyses of microbial genomes based on unsupervised machine learning techniques, and to work on deciphering the early evolution of life as provided in the molecular record.
The successful candidate should be a highly motivated individual with a Ph.D. in molecular evolution, computational biology, bioinformatics, or a related area, with programming experience, experience with phylogenetic analyses and at least working knowledge of the UNIX operating system and databases. Some background in mathematics and/or statistics is a plus.
Salary is $35,000 plus benefits.
Send CV, key publications, a brief statement of research interests and career goals, and the names of at least two referees (or two letters of reference) to:
Prof. J. Peter Gogarten
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of Connecticut Unit 3125,
91 North Eagleville Road
Storrs CT 06269-3125 USA
Phone: (860) 486-4061
Email: bioinf@carrot.mcb.uconn.edu
Gogarten Lab Web: http://gogarten.uconn.edu
University of Connecticut is an equal opportunity employer. This position will remain opened until filled.
Postdoctoral Fellowship: CIPS-BIOMARS
The Center for Integrative Planetary Science (CIPS) and the Berkeley-hosted Astrobiology Institute (BIOMARS) are seeking a postdoc with a strong background in planetary science and expertise on Mars. The ideal candidate will both complement existing research efforts, and establish new research programs. Applicants should submit a statement of research interests, a CV, the names and contact information for 3 references, and a copy of all publications by December 1, 2004 to:
CIPS-BIOMARS postdoc
Center of Integrative Planetary Science (CIPS)
University of California, Berkeley
601 Campbell Hall, MS 3411
Berkeley CA 94720-3411
Applicants are encouraged to explain how their expertise is different from, but still complementary to, that of current Berkeley investigators. The initial appointment will be for 2 years. Please see the CIPS and BIOMARS web sites (http://cips.berkeley.edu and http://cips.berkeley.edu/biomars/) for current research projects and investigators.
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Hawaii Astrobiology Winter School “Water on Earth and in Space” January 2005
We are initiating a graduate "Astrobiology Winter School", which will be held in Hawaii in January 2005 and 2007. The theme for the 2005 Winter School is "Water on Earth and in Space". The format will incorporate 4 lecture series in the mornings. During the afternoons students will work in groups, engaging in discussions with the lecturers and working toward writing up the content from the morning sessions. The resulting documents will then be published on the UH NASA Astrobiology Institute website as the proceedings of the winter school.
* Water Ice and Chemistry in Circumstellar Disks and the Interstellar Medium
* Geochemical Processes and Microbiosphers in Hydrothermal Systems
* Glaciers on Earth, Mars, and Europa
* Icy Bodies in the Solar System and the Origin of the Earth's Oceans
The first UH NAI astrobiology winter school will for the first week be held in Honolulu (Jan 10 - 14), with a field trip to Mauna Kea on Saturday 1/15. The second week (Jan 17 - 21) will be held in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii. On January 16 and 17 there will be the opportunity to participate in real-time remote observing from a control room in Hilo using the UH 2.2m telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea.
Course Credit: Our winter school will have 30 hours of instruction (lecture), and 30 hours of instructor lead discussion / writing. We are working with the Outreach College to set this up as a credit course, Astronomy 698, which will receive graduate level credits through the University of Hawaii. Students from other universities will need to get approval from their institutions for this graduate credit to count toward degree fulfillment. We will provide information to our participants about the process at the time of selection.
Application and Deadlines: The Hawaii Astrobiology Winter School is open to all graduate students, including students outside the United States. International students should note, however, that unless they already have a visa to visit the United States, the present long visa processing times are not likely to allow getting a visa in time. Also, for financial reasons, we are not able to offer international students a larger travel stipend than American students. Preference will be given to students who have demonstrated previous interests or activities in astrobiology or related fields. Applications should be sent by e-mail to haws05@ifa.hawaii.edu no later than Oct 20, 2004. Decisions will be circulated by Oct 30. The following information should be included in your application:
* Name and your year of birth
* Contact information (email, mail address, telephone, fax)
* Current school and expected year of PhD
* Area of Study
* Write a page about your previous contact with astrobiology or related fields, and what you hope to achieve by taking part in this Winter School.
Graduate participants will receive an airfare allowance up to $1000 for the lowest roundtrip airfare from their home to Hawaii in addition to their expenses at the workshop.
For more information visit: www.ifa.hawaii.edu/UHNAI/ws.html
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The Vatican Observatory announces the 10th Summer School in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics
To be held at Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italy – 12 June to 8 July, 2005
Faculty: Jonathan I. Lunine (Chair), University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; Christopher J. Corbally, S.J. (Dean), Vatican Observatory; George V. Coyne, S.J. (Director) Vatican Observatory; John Baross, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Chris D. Impey, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; Woodruff T. Sullivan, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Neville J. Woolf, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Description: The Vatican Observatory is pleased to announce the 2005 Summer School in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics, on Astrobiology: The Search for our Origins and Life Elsewhere. Two lectures will be given each morning, with evening seminars by the Vatican staff and visiting astronomers. During the course of the school, students will also present a short paper on their research or the research of their home institution. Other activities will include laboratory exercises, use of the Observatory computers for data reduction and image processing, and use of astronomical databases.
There will also be opportunities for observations with on-site 40 cm refractor and 60 cm reflector telescopes. Field trips to visit sites of historical interest to astronomy will be included. In addition to the principal topics presented by the invited faculty, students will have the opportunity to discuss their own research with members of the faculty and with the observatory staff. No formal course credits will be given, but certification of satisfactory completion of the course will be supplied.
Topics: Basic tour of the solar system and known extrasolar planets; scale of the cosmos; introduction to chemistry and chemical bonding; introduction to spectroscopy from the UV through the radio; the discovery of past salty seas on Mars; the discovery of an ocean under Jupiter’s moon Europa; the search for pre-biotic molecules on Titan; search for life on Mars and Europa; bioethics and planetary protection; the microwave background and models for the Big Bang; origin of the elements; search for extrasolar habitable planets with optical telescopes; search for extraterrestrial civilizations with radio telescopes; introduction to biology for astronomers; models of the origin of life; origin of metabolisms; extremophiles; the tree of life; evolution of life and Earth’s climate through time; the future of life on and off the Earth.
Participation: Students in upper level university classes or in their beginning years of graduate studies who have mastered the fundamentals of astrophysics and are considering the possibility of future careers in astronomy or astrophysics are invited to apply. Students must have a working knowledge of English, which will be the official language of the school; faculty and staff members can assist students, as required, in other languages. Proven skill in mathematics or physics at the university level plus demonstrable signs of genuine interest in research are the prime qualities sought for in candidates. Twenty-five students will be selected; it is planned that at least one-third would come from non-industrialized countries, with a limit of no more than three students from any given country. Otherwise, selection will be made without reference to race, religion, national origin, gender, or physical handicap.
Finances: Students from non-industrialized countries will receive scholarships to cover at least 75% of all costs including travel. Other students will be expected to pay their travel and living costs but economical living and meal arrangements will be made. Lunch each day will be offered gratis to all. There are no other costs associated with the school.
Apply with: 1. Your name, address and nationality. 2. Your year and stage of academic studies. 3. Your reasons for wishing to attend this school (200 words or less) and your self evaluation of your competence (indicate “fair, good, very good, or excellent”) in mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry. The selection process gives great importance to this item. 4. The names and addresses, including e mail address, of two persons whom you have asked to send a recommendation on your behalf. Please tell these two persons to send their recommendations by e mail (see address below) as soon as possible. 5. Mail separately a college or university transcript (or equivalent documents) listing grades achieved in all college level courses to date. Please communicate by e mail except for item 5. It would be helpful if, in addition to mailing your transcript, you scanned it and sent it by e mail. Be sure to write “Vatican Summer School” on all correspondence.
DEADLINE: Apply by 15 December 2004 to:
Dr. George V. Coyne, S.J.
Vatican Summer School
Specola Vaticana
V-00120 Vatican City
Rome, Italy
TEL: 39 06 69885266; FAX: 39 06 69884671
e-mail: gcoyne@specola.va
with a copy to:
Dr. Christopher J. Corbally, S.J.
Dean, Vatican Observatory Summer School
Vatican Observatory Research Group
Steward Observatory
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85721
USA
TEL: USA (520) 621 3225
e mail: corbally@as.arizona.edu
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NASA announces opportunities to participate in the Applied Sciences Program of the Science Mission Directorate
The Program requests innovative solutions to evaluate, verify and validate, and benchmark solutions that integrate NASA Earth and Space science results into decision-support tools of partnering organizations. Proposals are invited in two main areas: 1) Integrated Systems Solutions to integrate NASA Earth and Space science results into applications of national priority, demonstrate prototypes, and benchmark performance, and 2) Solutions Networks to improve the collective ability of Earth science organizations to interact and harness the results of NASA Earth and Space science research.
Participation in the CAN is open to all categories of domestic and foreign organizations, including educational institutions, industry, non-profit institutions, NASA research centers, and other government agencies and laboratories. This solicitation will be available electronically on the release date via the Internet at the Science Mission Directorate Destination Earth Home Page: http://www.earth.nasa.gov/ under “Research Opportunity.” Paper copies of the announcement will be available to those who do not have Internet access by calling (202) 358-3552 and leaving a voice-mail message. The following dates apply to this announcement:
CAN Release Date: September 17, 2004
Step 1 (Pre-Proposals) Due: October 22, 2004
Step 2 (Final) Proposals Due: December 17, 2004
POC: Lawrence Friedl
Program Manager, Science Applications Applied Sciences Program
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
Phone: (202) 358-1599
Fax: (202) 358-3098
E-mail: Lawrence.A.Friedl@nasa.gov
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Gordon Research Conference on the Origins of Life January 16th – 21st 2005 Ventura, California
Research on the Origin of Life takes place in a wide variety of disciplines ranging from Astronomy, Astrochemistry, and Prebiotic Chemistry via in vitro Evolution and Microbial Geobiology, to Molecular Phylogenetics and Comparative Genomics. The Origin of Life GRC conferences provide an excellent opportunity for scientist new to this area of interdisciplinary research to get an update on new and exciting developments that recently occurred in these different areas.
In planning the 2005 conference we relied heavily on your suggestions to provide pertinent information on the latest most interesting developments from the different disciplines. Thanks to all of you who sent in their suggestion for topics and speakers; we could cover all of the suggested topics in oral presentations (see the preliminary program), there are only so many topics that can be covered in oral presentations during one week. As is customary for GRC conferences, there will be no events scheduled in the afternoon, thus the poster area will provide ample opportunity for additional formal and informal discussions and presentations.
If you are a grad student or postdoctoral fellow and would like to apply for travel funds, please apply to Janet Siefert (siefert@rice.edu). Deadline for travel fund application is December 24, 2004. Successful applicants will be notified shortly thereafter.
For the complete schedule and to apply visit: www.GRC.org
We look forward to hearing from you and to see you in Ventura in 2005.
Sincerely,
George D. Cody (Chair) and Janet L. Siefert (Vice Chair)
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ISU's 9th Annual International Symposium
The symposium entitled "Civil, Commercial and Security Space: What Will Drive the Next Decade?" will be held in Strasbourg from Tuesday 30 November to Friday 3 December 2004. The Preliminary Program can now be viewed via links from ISU's home page at http://www.isunet.edu. There you will also find information on registration, accommodation and other logistical details as well as abstracts of the papers selected for presentation and for the Poster Session. The program is shaping up very well, offering a good range of interesting and topical titles, and further updates will appear in coming weeks as we confirm Keynote and other Invited Speakers.
The Symposium will bring together representatives from around the world in the civil, commercial and security space sectors to identify those issues and demands that will drive policy and programs in the coming decade. If you are interested in attending you are encouraged to register before 18 October to benefit from the 'early-bird' fee. Please also note that this year the Symposium overlaps the early stage of Strasbourg's Marché de Noël, the biggest Christmas Market in Europe, and you are strongly encouraged to book your accommodation early.
We look forward to seeing you here in Strasbourg later this year.
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AGU's May 23-27, 2005 Joint Assembly
Formerly the Spring Meeting, the AGU’s Joint Assembly is being held 23-27 May 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a joint event with the annual meeting of the North American Benthological Society (NABS), one of the premier international societies in aquatic ecology. (www.benthos.com) The NABS annual meeting normally has around 1,000 attendees, so this will be a tremendous opportunity to interact with our colleagues in ecology and related environmental sciences. Other co-sponsoring societies are: the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) at www.seg.org and the Solar Physics Division - American Astronomical Society (SPD/AAS) at www.aas.org
To facilitate interactions with NABS, I would encourage you to consider
proposing additional crosscutting special sessions with an ecological flavor. This joint meeting provides a particularly good opportunity to explore the coupling of physical, chemical, and biological processes, to hold comprehensive sessions on particular environmental system(s), and to address problems or applications that involve a combination of geological, hydrological, and ecological aspects. I am certain that a bit of creative effort on our part will produce a diverse spectrum of sessions and contribute to a very successful meeting.
The Joint Assembly also requires coordination of sessions between the participating societies. NABS is in the process of preparing its own proposals for general and special sessions. The meeting program committee, including both AGU and NABS representatives, will have to synthesize the sessions proposed independently through the two organizations. We should all be aware that session proposals are in fact proposals, and there will be a particular need to coordinate and synthesize sessions at this meeting. The AGU members of the program committee will work with our NABS counterparts to ensure that this synthesis is as smooth, equitable, and efficient as possible.
The deadline for submitting session proposals for the Joint Assembly is
Oct. 14. You can easily submit your proposal through the AGU website at
(http://www.agu.org/meetings/sm05/).
I look forward to a plethora of interesting sessions, and I hope to see you in New Orleans in May!
Yours truly,
Aaron Packman
Biogeosciences Section Representative, Spring Meeting Program Committee
Dr. Aaron I. Packman
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Road
Evanston IL 60208-3109
phone: 847-491-9902
fax: 847-491-4011
email: a-packman@northwestern.edu
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Planetary Protection Course: Policies and Practices
The purpose of this NASA-developed course is to familiarize current and future planetary protection practitioners with the NASA and COSPAR Planetary Protection Programs. The course will review all applicable policies, practices and procedures necessary to implement a successful planetary protection program and will emphasize integration of the managerial, administrative and laboratory components of planetary protection.
This course is designed for managers, engineers, designers and lab technicians interested in learning about the theory and application of the principles of planetary protection. It provides a comprehensive understanding of planetary protection policies and procedures and demonstrates how personnel with diverse skills and responsibilities are coordinated to implement a successful planetary protection program.
Participants will be provided with a complete overview of all facets of planetary protection; from governing policies and reporting requirements to hands-on laboratory training in microbial sampling and data management. The course is taught by recognized experts in the field with years of practical experience in all aspects of planetary protection.
Locations: This course will be offered at various U.S. locations twice a year and once a year in Europe. Cost includes all course materials, lunches and a reception for participants on the first night. Course Location for Fall, 2004:
Pikes Peak Community College
5675 S. Academy Boulevard
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Dates: October 27-29, 2004 Cost: $550 per person
For more information or to register, contact:
Technical Administrative Services
P.O. Box 620433
Littleton, CO 80162 USA
Phone: 303-972-4849 Fax: 303-972-4993 Email: tasalb@attglobal.net
Supported by: NASA Planetary Protection Office and the NASA Astrobiology Institute
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