The Astrobiology Network

Astrobiology Science News 5 February 2010

An a priori investigation of astrophysical false positives in ground-based transiting planet surveys, astro-ph
An ingress and a complete transit of HD 80606 b, astro-ph
The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets XIX. Characterization and dynamics of the GJ876 planetary system, astro-ph
Dead Zones as Thermal Barriers to Rapid Planetary Migration in Protoplanetary Disks, astro-ph
Debris discs and comet populations around Sun-like stars: the Solar System in context, astro-ph
Atmospheric dynamics of Earth-like tidally locked aquaplanets, astro-ph

Astrobiology Summer Institute for High School Teachers

The Astrobiology Summer Science Experience for Teachers, or ASSET, is being held July 18-24, 2010, at San Francisco State University. ASSET will feature presentations by leading astrobiology researchers from the SETI Institute, NASA and the California Academy of Sciences. Scientists will share the latest in astrobiology research on the origin of life on Earth, the extreme conditions in which life exists, Mars exploration, the formation of planetary systems around sun-like stars, and the search for life in the universe.

The 6-day workshop features a combination of cutting-edge science, inquiry-based teaching and learning, and leadership skills development to support teachers and teacher trainers.

Participants receive the entire Voyages Through Time curriculum and complementary astrobiology materials, developed by NASA's Astrobiology Institute, for use in their classrooms.

Applications are due Feb. 12, 2010.

For more information, visit http://www.seti.org/epo/ASSET.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Pamela Harman at 650-960-4523 or pharman@seti.org.

Astrobiology Science News 18 January 2010

Astrobiology Science News 10 January 2010

Hubble Space Telescope Cycle 18 Call for Proposals

Proposal Deadline: February 26, 2010

NASA and The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) are pleased to announce the Cycle 18 Call for Proposals for Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Observations and funding for Archival Research and Theoretical Research programs. Participation in this program is open to all categories of organizations, both domestic and foreign, including educational institutions, profit and nonprofit organizations, NASA Centers, and other Government agencies.

This solicitation for proposals will be open through February 26, 2010 8:00pm EST. The Astronomer's Proposal Tools (APT), which is required for Phase I Proposal Submission will be made available/released for Cycle 18 Phase I use during the 1st week of January 2010. Results of the selection will be announced in early June 2010.

]]> All programmatic and technical information, as well as specific guidelines for proposal preparation, are available electronically from the STScI World-Wide Web site at the Announcement Web Page at http://www.stsci.edu/hst/proposing/documents/cp/cp_cover.html

Questions can be addressed to the STScI Help Desk (email: help@stsci.edu; phone: 410-338-1082). [Source NAI Newsletter]

SALMON AO Amendment 4: Release of a Solicitation for ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Instruments Investigations

Release Date: January 15, 2010
Notice of Intent to propose Due: February 12, 2010
Proposals Due: April 15, 2010

With this amendment, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Announcement of Opportunity (AO) NNH08ZDA009O, "Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity Notice (SALMON)," is amended to establish a new Program Element Appendix (PEA) as Appendix H6, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Instruments Investigations. This PEA solicits Principal Investigator (PI)-led instrument science investigations for the ExoMars 2016 Orbiter mission. The ExoMars 2016 Orbiter mission is a joint ESA-NASA mission. Together, NASA and ESA expect to select sufficient instrument science investigations to address the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission science objectives. All proposed investigations must describe a science investigation with goals and objectives that address the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission science objectives. Further information on the ExoMars 2016 Orbiter mission is available at http://salmon.larc.nasa.gov/SALMONreflib.html#ExoMars.

]]> Upon the release date, the full text of the AO and all appendices will be available electronically at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ (select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH08ZDA009O"). A preproposal tele-conference will be held; details will be posted at http://salmon.larc.nasa.gov/ when available.

Direct questions specifically regarding the NASA solicitation to Dr. Philippe Crane, NASA ExoMars 2016 Program Scientist, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546; Tel.: (202) 358-0716; E-mail: Philippe.Crane@nasa.gov (subject line to read " ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter AO"). Questions regarding the ESA policies should be directed to: Dr. Jorge L. Vago, ExoMars Project Scientist, ESA/ESTEC (SRE-SM), Noordwijk, The Netherlands; Tel: +31 71 565 5211; E-mail: jorge.vago@esa.int (subject line to read "ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter AO"). [Source NAI Newsletter]

ROSES-09 Amendment 29: Appendix D.9: Kepler Guest Observer - Cycle 2

The Guest Observer target policy has been amended. Guest Observers may propose science using any target within the Kepler field of view, subject to the caveats and restrictions provided in Section 2.2 of this appendix.

No change has been made in the due date for this program element. Proposals are due January 15, 2010.

]]> This Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2009" (NNH09ZDA001N) is posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ (select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH09ZDA001N"). You can now subscribe to an RSS feed for amendments, clarifications and corrections to ROSES at http://nasascience.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses-2009/RSS.

Questions concerning the Kepler Guest Observer program may be addressed to Dr. Padi Boyd, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546-0001; Telephone: (202) 358-2368; E-mail: padi.boyd@nasa.gov. [Source NAI Newsletter]

ROSES-09 Amendment 26: New proposal opportunity in Appendix A.5: Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite failed to reach orbit during its launch in February 2009. This mission was designed to obtain highly precise and accurate column average abundances of atmospheric CO2 on a global basis with a 16-day repeat cycle. The goal for these data was to make much improved inferences of the sources and sinks of atmospheric CO2 compared to what is available with the currently existing data sets. NASA is committed to the advancing the science behind the design of OCO in order to be prepared to maximize the use of data from a potential OCO reflight.

]]> To that end, NASA is soliciting a call for proposals to improve our understanding of how global atmospheric observations of atmospheric CO2 can be used to quantify fluxes of CO2 between the atmosphere and biosphere. While observations of total atmospheric column CO2 from OCO do not exist, numerous other satellite and ground based observations of total column CO2 do exist. Observations of the thermal infrared bands of CO2 from instruments like TES on Aura, AIRS on Aqua, and IASI on MetOp-1 have maximized sensitivity to CO2 in the middle and upper troposphere. Observations of CO2 over land from the SCIAMACHY instrument on EnviSAT and globally on the GOSAT satellite have more sensitivity to CO2 near the surface. Plus, the ground based validation network set up for OCO and GOSAT (the TCCON network) provide very precise total column CO2 at specified locations around the globe. NASA envisions studies using all of these data sources to improve the modeling of CO2 fluxes.

No Notices of Intent to propose are requested. Proposals are due March 1, 2010.

This Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2009" (NNH09ZDA001N) is posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ (select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH09ZDA001N"). You can now subscribe to an RSS feed for amendments, clarifications and corrections to ROSES at http://nasascience.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses-2009/RSS

Questions concerning the Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space program may be addressed to Kenneth Jucks, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546-0001; Telephone: (202) 358-0476; E-mail: Kenneth.W.Jucks@nasa.gov.

NASA Notice of Intent to Release Cooperative Agreement Notice Entitled Summer of Innovation Pilot

NASA has launched an initiative to use its out-of-this-world missions and technology programs to boost summer learning programs. NASA's Summer of Innovation supports President Obama's Educate to Innovate campaign for excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

The Summer of Innovation program will work with thousands of middle school teachers and students during multi-week programs in the summer of 2010 to engage students in stimulating math and science-based education programs. NASA's goal is to increase the number of future scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, with an emphasis on broadening participation of underrepresented groups.

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NASA plans to release a Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) entitled Summer of Innovation Pilot Program to consortia of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant). NASA has determined that submitters for this opportunity must be the Lead Institution of the state's Space Grant Consortium. The Space Grant national network includes more than 850 affiliates from universities, colleges, industry, museums, science centers, and state and local agencies supporting and enhancing science and engineering education, research and public outreach efforts for NASA's aeronautics and space projects. These affiliates belong to one of 52 consortia in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. There may only be one proposal per state.

Representatives of interested public/private entities including other federal agencies, non-profit and for-profit entities, and organizations/associations with relevant experience, are encouraged to contact the state Space Grant Director in the state(s) of particular interest. www.nasa.gov/spacegrant

Contingent upon the availability of funding, NASA intends to competitively select up to seven states to pilot the Summer of Innovation during 2010. Awards may range from $1 million - $5 million dollars each will have a period of performance of 36 months. Local programs will be required to develop ways to keep students and teachers engaged during the school year and to track student participants' performance through 2012. Awardees will be expected to leverage the unique capabilities and resources of program partners to ensure a sustainable effort following the period of performance.

The Summer of Innovation Notice of Intent is available online: http://nspires.nasaprs.com and http://www.grants.gov

Summer Workshops for Teachers in Astrobiology

Every summer, NAI teams and others host hands-on, in-the-field, in-the-lab workshops for educators. The workshops feature cutting edge astrobiology research delivered by astrobiology scientists and education professionals, as well as inquiry- and standards-based activities ready for your classroom. Below is the list of offerings for Summer 2010.

ASTROBIOLOGY SUMMER SCIENCE EXPERIENCE for TEACHERS (ASSET)
Dates: July 18 -24, 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA
Applications due: February 12, 2010
URL: http://www.seti.org/epo/ASSET
The ASSET experience will be intense and exciting, interactive and content rich, with presentations by leading astrobiology researchers from the SETI Institute, NASA, and the California Academy of Sciences. Participants receive the Voyages Through Time curriculum. All expenses covered by grant funds.

TELESCOPES: TOOLS FOR ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY AND THE SEARCH FOR LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS

Dates: July 26-30, 2010
Location: Pennsylvania State University
URL: http://teachscience.psu.edu/workshops/telescopes.html
Educators will build a simple telescope, utilize telescopes in distant object observations, and learn how modern telescope technology allows us to probe the most distant objects in the universe and may help us discover other habitable planets. [Source NAI Newsletter]

The Marine Biological Laboratory Offers Summer Course on the Earth's Microbial Diversity

The Microbial Diversity Summer Course of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) welcomes applications from members of the Astrobiology community who are seeking to understand the microbial basis of life. The MBL Microbial Diversity course, offered in Woods Hole, MA, since 1971, provides graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and established investigators with an unequaled opportunity to explore the diversity of the microbial world. The course is immersive, integrative, inter-disciplinary, and international in nature. The curriculum consists of lectures by foremost investigators, laboratory exercises, advanced technical training, field work, and substantial participant directed original research. Participants in the course traditionally represent a diversity of backgrounds and the course is open to all scientists who have a strong interest in microbes and their activities. This year's course is made possible, in part, by support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Dates: June 12 - July 28, 2010
Application Deadline: February 1, 2010
More info at: http://www.mbl.edu/education/courses/summer/course_micro_div.html [Source NAI Newsletter]

Age of the Solar System Needs to Be Recalculated

A new paper in Science from NAI's Arizona State University team indicates that a trusted equation for calculating the age of the solar system may need rewriting. The team's measurements show that one of the equation's assumptions -- that certain kinds of uranium always appear in the same relative quantities in meteorites -- is wrong.

The differences in the quantities of uranium could mean that current estimates of the age of the solar system overshoot that age by 1 million years or more. Historical estimates place the age at about 4.5 billion years--a number that is not precise enough to show a difference of one million--but more finely honed recent calculations place the age at more like 4.5672 billion years. One million years is still an eyeblink at this scale, representing the difference between 4.566 and 4.567, but this difference is important in understanding the infant solar system. [Source NAI Newsletter]

Astrobiology Science News 8 January 2010

First Super-Earths Discovered Around Sun-like Stars

Two nearby stars have been found to harbor "super-Earths" rocky planets larger than the Earth but smaller than ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune. Unlike previously discovered stars with super-Earths, both of the stars are similar to the Sun, suggesting to scientists that low-mass planets may be common around nearby stars. "Over the last 12 years or so nearly 400 planets have been found, and the vast majority of them have been very largeJupiter mass or even larger," says researcher Paul Butler of NAI's team at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "These latest planets are part of a new trend of finding much smaller planets - planets that are more comparable to Earth." For more information: http://www.ciw.edu/news/first_super_earths_discovered_around_sun_stars [Source NAI Newsletter]

The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology

Application Deadline: February 1, 2010

Since 2006 the American Philosophical Society and the NASA Astrobiology Institute have partnered to promote the continued exploration of the world around us through a program of research grants in support of astrobiological field studies undertaken by graduate students, postdoctoral students, and junior scientists and scholars affiliated with a U.S.-based institution. We welcome applications by February 1, 2010 for field studies in all areas of research in astrobiology. For more information please see http://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/astrobiology [Source NAI Newsletter]