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July 31, 2009

ROSES-09 Amendment 10: New Proposal Opportunity in Appendix D.12: Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) Science Investigation Concept Studies

This amendment establishes a new program element in Appendix D.12 entitled "SPICA Science Investigation Concept Studies." This new program element solicits proposals for concept studies of science investigations that would develop and use scientific instrumentation on the JAXA/ISAS Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA). This mission will cover the mid (> 5 micrometers) through far (~400 micrometers) infrared portion of the spectrum to observe many astrophysical phenomena from distant galaxies to star and planet forming systems in our own Galaxy. SPICA will use a cooled telescope (3.5 m diameter primary, ~5 K) to achieve sensitivities currently inaccessible to existing facilities operating over this wavelength range (SOFIA, Herschel). The planned observatory would have a suite of instruments, both imaging and spectroscopic.

Notices of Intent to propose are due September 2, 2009, and proposals are due November 2, 2009. The maximum period of performance for these concept studies is 6 months.

Further information about the SPICA Science Investigation Concept Studies program element is available from Dr. Eric P. Smith, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546; Telephone: (202) 358-2439; E-mail: Eric.P.Smith@nasa.gov

ROSES-09 Amendment 9: New Proposal Opportunity in Appendix A.39 entitled "ESSP Venture-class Science Investigations: Earth Venture-1"

This amendment establishes a new program element in Appendix A.39 entitled "ESSP Venture-class Science Investigations: Earth Venture-1." The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Earth Science Division's Earth Venture (EV) is a new element within the Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Program. Earth Venture consists of a series of regularly solicited, competitively selected Earth Science investigations as recommended by the recent National Research Council's decadal survey in Earth science, Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond.

This Earth Venture-1 program element within the ROSES-09 NASA Research Announcement solicits proposals for complete suborbital science investigations to conduct innovative, integrated, hypothesis or scientific question-driven approaches to Earth system science, involving temporally sustained data acquisition. For the purpose of this solicitation, a suborbital investigation is one that uses airborne data acquisition systems that may be augmented by surface and/or subsurface facilities. Each suborbital Venture-class investigation must have a life cycle of less than or equal to 5 years and total investigation cost not to exceed $30 million. NASA intends that funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 will be utilized to partially fund contracts for selected proposals.

Notices of Intent to propose are due September 2, 2009, and proposals are due November 6, 2009. A preproposal workshop for the Earth Venture-1 proposal opportunity will be held in the Washington, DC area on August 26, 2009. Further details on the EV-1 preproposal workshop will be made available on the index page for this EV-1 program element at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/.

On or about July 10, 2009, this Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2009" (NNH09ZDA001N) will be posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ (select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH09ZDA001N").

Further information about the Earth Venture-1 program element is available from Dr. Hal Maring, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546; Telephone: (202) 358-1679; E-mail: hal.maring@nasa.gov.

Lead Formal Educator Position at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)

The ASP is looking for a creative person with good knowledge of astronomy and experience in K-12 education to work on a number of existing and developing programs in astronomy education. Current duties include coordinating Project ASTRO (a program that links volunteer astronomers with 4th - 9th grade teachers), managing a web-based quarterly newsletter for teachers, conducting training programs for school districts interested in hands-on astronomy, helping with grant writing, and assisting with other initiatives in education.

More detailed information about the position and specific instructions for applying can be found at the Society's web site at: http://www.astrosociety.org/about/career.html

More information about the education programs of the 120-year old international society, headquartered in San Francisco, can be found at: http://www.astrosociety.org/education.html

Lead NASA Astrobiology Civil Servant Position Now Available

The Planetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate is now advertising for the senior Program Scientist for Astrobiology. In general, this civil servant will oversee the science content and execution of the Astrobiology Program. A detailed description of the position and how to apply for this opportunity can be found on http://www.usajobs.gov/ using the announcement number (or search number): HQ09B0156. This position opened on July 10 and will close August 10, 2009. I encourage anyone who is interested to apply.

James L. Green
Director Planetary Science Division

Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Astrobiology White Papers Posted for Comment

Comments are being solicited from members of the astrobiology community on the following paper(s) that will be submitted to the 2009-2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Papers will be revised based on community feedback. Additonal papers will be posted as they become available.

* Astrobiology Research Priorities for Exoplanets (Last Updated: May 28, 2009)
* Astrobiology Research Priorities for Mercury, Venus, and the Moon (Added: June 8, 2009)
* Astrobiology Research Priorities for Mars (Added: June 10, 2009)
* Astrobiology Research Priorities for the Outer Solar System (Added June 15, 2009)
* Astrobiology Research Priorities for Primitive Asteroids (Added July 22, 2009)
* Limits of Terrestrial Life in Space (Added July 24, 2009)
* An Astrobiological Lens on Planetary System Science (Added July 24, 2009)
* Astrobiology Priorities for Planetary Science Flight Missions (Added July 24, 2009)

Please send comments on the first 5 papers (the last added July 22) to ps_decadal@nx.arc.nasa.gov no later than July 31, 2009. Please send comments on papers posted subsequently to the same address by August 17, 2009.

For more information and to download the papers, click here.

Students Monitor Hydrothermal Features in Lassen Volcanic National Park

The Lassen Astrobiology Student Internship Program, a collaboration between NAI's Ames team, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and Red Bluff High School, will wrap up its first year of activity in August. Nine high school students and their chemistry teacher, with training from NAI scientists and under the supervision of a park ranger, have made eight field trips to various sites within the park throughout the course of the school year. They monitored field sites and made seasonal measurements of temperature, pH, and water chemistry of the hydrothermal features. PBS station KNPB, Reno, NV, interviewed the students while sample collections were underway. A feature presentation about the program was aired in June.

The year culminated in a special event at Red Bluff High School where Ames team PI Dave Des Marais gave a public lecture entitled, "Astrobiology Program: Environment, Life, Lassen, and Students." The student interns were awarded certificates of achievement and then described their field work in a lively presentation to an audience of 100 parents, school board, and community members. A reporter from Red Bluff's newspaper, the Daily News, covered this event and a story ran the following day.

The Astrobiology Internship Program will continue next year, expanding to include more frequent communication between the students and their NAI mentors via videoconferencing. The end product of the intern's research will be an online, relational database including hydrothermal feature physical characteristics: pH, temperature, GPS coordinates, digital photos, and water analysis. This database, as it builds over the years, will be a valuable resource for extreme environment analogue research.

Summer Camp: The Quest for Life

This summer, NAI's new team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (also known as "The New York Center for Astrobiology") played a major role in hosting the 2009 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. The camp is a free, academic program of The Harris Foundation, named for Bernard A. Harris, MD, an accomplished NASA astronaut, physician and entrepreneur, and the first African American to walk in space.

The theme of this year's camp, held from June 14-26th, was The Quest for Life, and 50 middle school students participated. During the two exciting weeks, students went on several field trips to the Albany Pine Bush, New York State Museum, Herkimer Diamond Mine, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. After hearing about NASA's upcoming missions to the Moon, the students enjoyed watching together the LRO/LCROSS launch on NASA TV. Students also took several classes and completed many activities dealing with topics such as life, astronomy, space exploration, the cosmic calendar, the Drake Equation, and satellites and geocaching.

The main activity for the students was to propose a mission to search for life on either Mars, Europa, or Titan; there were eight proposals developed in all. The proposal judged to be the best outlined a mission to Europa. The students from that team will be interviewed at WAMC Northeast Public Radio studios in Albany, NY, through which they'll share their experience with the local community, inspiring others to participate next year.

Josep Comas i Sola International Astrobiology Summer School

The Josep Comas i Sola International Astrobiology Summer School, held annually in Santander, Spain, has become a tradition in the astrobiology community, as this summer marked its seventh year. The week-long program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows provides lectures from international experts, round-table discussions, student projects, night-sky observations, and a half-day field trip to a nearby site of astrobiological interest.

This summer's program, held from 22-26 June, was devoted to an understanding of the characteristics and diversity of organisms that inhabit Earth's extreme environments and the implications for the habitability of environments beyond Earth. About 40 students participated, most from the US and Europe, but including one each from Canada and Mexico. The Directors of both NAI and Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB) organize the school, together with former NAI Director Bruce Runnegar at UCLA. This year's lecturers included noted oceanographer and astrobiologist John Baross of the University of Washington; Michael Madigan of Southern Illinois University, principal author of Brock Biology of Microorganisms,and one of the world's leading experts on anoxygenic photosynthesis; Ricardo Amils of CAB, chemist and microbiologist specializing in the ecology of highly acidic environments such as Spain's Rio Tinto, an analogue to Mars; Felipe Gomez of CAB, whose research focuses on life in permafrost; and Petra Rettberg, radiation biologist from the German Aerospace Center.

This year's field trips included examination of fossil-rich cretaceous sedimentary formations on the Magdalena peninsula in Santander and a hike deep into the carbonate-dominated El Soplao cave in the Sierra de Arnero Mountains, known for the abundance, quality, and preservation of its mineral formations.

GSFC Summer Student Presentations

August 5, 2009 11:00 AM Pacific - Please join us as this year's students present the results of their summer's research. The 2009 Summer Undergraduate Internship in Astrobiology is a ten-week internship in astrobiology held each year at Goddard Space Flight Center.

Presenters:

Joseph Angelo - Drexel University - "Investigating the Autocatalytic Mechanisms Producing Homochirality"

William Herlands - Princeton University - "Empirical Model for Methanol in Comets"

Nadya Radeva - Connecticut College - "Mapping the D/H of water on Mars: Searching for active vents"

Renuka Ramanathan - Massachusetts Inst of Technology - "Laser Desorption ToF-MS for In Situ Analysis of Organics"

Karen Whelley - Penn State University - "Derivatization of Dicarboxylic and Hydroxy Acids with IPA/TFAA"

Keara Wright - University of Missouri - "H2O in Comet C/2001 LINEAR A2 and C/2007 W1 Boattini" Participation Instructions

TO JOIN USING A VIDEOCONFERENCING SYSTEM:

Please RSVP to Marco Boldt (Marco.Boldt@nasa.gov) if you will be joining by Polycom.

To view the slides, connect to http://nasa-nai.acrobat.com/gsfcstudent/

Do not connect to the teleconference if you will be joining by Polycom.

TO JOIN USING PHONE and WEB BROWSER:

The slides for this meeting will be presented using Adobe Connect. To join the meeting, connect to:

http://nasa-nai.acrobat.com/gsfcstudent/

The teleconference number will be displayed when joining the meeting. http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/seminars/detail/157

July 30, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 29 July 2009

July 28, 2009

AGU Session P13: "Organics in Meteorites and Dust Particles: Composition, Distribution, Formation and Isotopic Anomalies"

Members of the NAI community are cordially invited to submit abstracts to Session P13 of the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco in December. Conveners are seeking recent measurements, or experimental or theoretical results, relating to the relationship between structure and isotopic anomalies of the organic matter in extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites, IDPs, and Stardust samples.

For more information see http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm09/program/scientific_session_search.php?show=detail&sessid=401 Abstract Submissions will be open by July 30 and close September 3.

Astrobiology Science News 27 July 2009

July 15, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 15 July 2009

NASA Astrobiology Institute Reminder re Planetary Science Decadal Survey White Papers

Dear astrobiology community member:

I'm writing to remind you, on behalf of Mary Voytek at NASA Headquarters and myself, that several draft white papers on astrobiology topics have been posted for public comment on the Astrobiology Program website at http://astrobiology.nasa.gov (link in the "Spotlight" box to the upper right).

When finalized later this summer, these white papers will be submitted to the Planetary Science Decadal Survey currently being conducted by the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council. Comments are requested by July 31. Additional papers will be posted as they become available, so please check the site periodically during the rest of July.

Thank you in advance for your help in ensuring that the views of the astrobiology community are well represented in the material submitted to the Survey.
Sincerely,

Carl
Carl B. Pilcher, Director
NASA Astrobiology Institute
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA 94035

July 14, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 14 July 2009

July 13, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 13 July 2009

July 10, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 10 July 2009

July 9, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 9 July 2009

July 8, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 8 July 2009

July 7, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 7 July 2009

July 6, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 6 July 2009

July 4, 2009

Submit your abstract: 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology

Greetings!

Amid the turmoil of new grant solicitations plus the coming holiday, you may have set aside your ASGSB abstract. This is a reminder that the deadline is imminent. Even with some leniency from beneficent organizers, you should get set to submit. The official deadline is Monday, July 6.

Submit your abstract(s) for the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology. The meeting roster already contains a range of excellent symposia and paper sessions. To submit an abstract, go to the ASGSB website: http://www.asgsb.org

July 3, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 3 July 2009

July 2, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 2 July 2009

July 1, 2009

Astrobiology Science News 1 July 2009

NASA Solicitation: Exploration Systems Mission: Radiation Standards for Lunar Sortie Missions

NASA/HQ is hereby soliciting information about potential sources to provide support for study and report on radiation standards for lunar sortie missions. This will consist of an Ad Hoc committee to perform an independent assessment of the program's technical quality, relevance to exploration objectives, and effectiveness in maturing and infusing technologies. This work will assist the Government in overseeing the Constellation, human research, exploration technology development and lunar precursor robotic programs as well as the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Project.

Synopsis - Jun 30, 2009
General Information

Solicitation Number: N/A
Reference Number: NNH09EXPLORATIONMISSION
Posted Date: Jun 30, 2009
FedBizOpps Posted Date: Jun 30, 2009
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No
Original Response Date: Jul 14, 2009
Current Response Date: Jul 14, 2009
Classification Code: B -- Special studies and analysis - not R and D
NAICS Code: 541330 - Engineering Services

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

NASA/HQ is hereby soliciting information about potential sources to provide support for study and report on radiation standards for lunar sortie missions. This will consist of an Ad Hoc committee to perform an independent assessment of the program's technical quality, relevance to exploration objectives, and effectiveness in maturing and infusing technologies. This work will assist the Government in overseeing the Constellation, human research, exploration technology development and lunar precursor robotic programs as well as the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Project. The Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) is organized into two programmatic themes to carry out its mission. Projects in the Constellation Theme are structured to develop, demonstrate, and deploy flight systems that will enable sustained human exploration. The Advanced Capabilities Theme is structured into three major programs that provide critical products to reduce operational and technical risk for Constellation projects. The major programs are: the Human Research Program (HRP), which carries out investigations and risk mitigation related to astronaut health and performance; the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program (LPRP) which will launch the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, and the Exploration and Technology Development Program (ETDP), which addresses high priority technology needs for lunar exploration. The Government has a significant investment in this Program and has made commitments to internal and external entities that hinge on successful completion of this project. The efforts of this requirement are in direct support of NASA's exploration missions and strategies.

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

Interested offerors/vendors having the required specialized capabilities to meet the above requirement should submit a capability statement of 10 pages or less indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort described herein.

Responses must include the following: name and address of firm, size of business; average annual revenue for past 3 years and number of employees; ownership; whether they are large, small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, and/or woman-owned; number of years in business; affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential sub) or subcontractors (if potential prime); list of customers covering the past five years (highlight relevant work performed, contract numbers, contract type, dollar value of each procurement; and point of contact - address and phone number). All questions concerning this requirement should be emailed directly to Danit Rainey at 301.286.6717 or via email, Danit.Rainey@nasa.gov.

Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement.

The Government reserves the right to consider a small business or 8(a) set-aside based on responses hereto. All responses shall be submitted to Danit Rainey no later than July 14, 2009. Please reference NNH09EXPLORATIONMISSION in any response. Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.

Point of Contact

Name: Danit P Rainey
Title: Contract Specialist
Phone: 301-286-6717
Fax: 301-286-0356
Email: Danit.Rainey@nasa.gov


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