1. REMINDER: Call for Nominations to the Executive Committee (Member and Chair) of the Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG) (Deadline for Nominations: January 31, 2025)
"To: Astrophysics and Planetary Science Community
From: Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Date: October 1, 2024
Subject: Call for Nominations to the Executive Committee (Member and Chair) of the Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG)
Dear Colleagues:
The Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is pleased to issue this open call for nominations to serve on the Executive Committee (EC) of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG), both as an EC member and/or as Chair. In the coming months, NASA anticipates making several new appointments to the ExoPAG EC, replacing four current members of the committee who have reached the end of their terms. NASA also anticipates making a new appointment to serve as Chair of the ExoPAG EC. New appointments will start in the Spring of 2025 and will be for a period of three years.
NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP, https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exep/) is the NASA program office that serves as the focal point for exoplanet science and technology, and devises strategies to help NASA achieve its goals in the area of exoplanet science. The ExoPAG is an open, interdisciplinary forum that provides a way for the scientific community to give input to ExEP, and for conducting analyses in support of ExEP science objectives and their implications for planning and prioritization of Program activities. The ExoPAG is led by a Chair who also serves on NASA’s Astrophysics Advisory Committee (APAC). The Chair works with a volunteer Executive Committee, whose membership is chosen to reflect the broad range of scientific disciplines and interests represented in the exoplanet field (e.g. spanning Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Heliophysics, and Earth Science). Together, the ExoPAG Chair and Executive Committee are responsible for capturing and organizing community input, overseeing ExoPAG analyses, reporting ExoPAG findings and inputs to the Astrophysics Division Director, and keeping the scientific community apprised of ongoing activities and opportunities within ExEP. Detailed information about the structure and function of the ExoPAG, including the current and past membership of the EC, can be found at https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exep/exopag.
Nominations for the ExoPAG EC and/or EC Chair should be submitted via email to the address: john.p.wisniewski@nasa.gov . Nominations must include both a cover letter and a one-page CV summarizing the nominee’s relevant background. The cover letter should provide a description of the nominee’s area of expertise, qualifications for service, commitment to NASA’s core value of inclusion, and anticipated contributions to the ExoPAG Executive Committee. Cover letters should indicate whether the applicant is interested in serving on the EC or in chairing the EC (or both). Nominations will only be accepted for scientists who are employed at a U.S. institution for the period of the service. There are no citizenship restrictions. Nominations from individuals at academic institutions—university, college, or non-NASA research laboratory—are strongly encouraged. Self-nominations are welcome and treated equally as external nominations. The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2025, with announcement of selections anticipated in Spring of 2025. Selections will be announced by the ExoPAG mailing list (http://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exep/exopag/announcementList).
We look forward to working with all of our stakeholders to develop a robust and compelling Exoplanet Exploration Program.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Wisniewski, NASA Headquarters
Deputy Exoplanet Exploration Program Scientist, ExoPAG Executive Secretary"
2. NASA Astrobiology Presents: NASA-DARES RFI Hub (Monday, December 9, 2024, 6-8pm ET @AGU24 in DC)
NASA Astrobiology Presents: NASA-DARES RFI Hub
As we approach the February 4, 2025 deadline for RFI response submissions to the NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES), the NASA Astrobiology Program invites AGU attendees to a dedicated space to meet colleagues, form writing teams, and set aside time for focused brainstorming and writing. Whether you’re just starting to shape your response or looking to polish details with collaborators, join us for an engaging evening to help shape the future of astrobiology research and exploration at NASA.
Monday, December 9th, 2024 | 6–8PM ET
Westin Washington D.C. Downtown
Potomac Salon 1
999 9th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
For more information: https://go.nasa.gov/ABStrategyRFI
3. ROSES-24 Amendment 78: D.10 TESS General Investigator Program Final Text and Due Date (Phase-1 Proposals due March 27, 2025)
NASA ROSES-24 D.10 TESS General Investigator - Cycle 8
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) General Investigator (GI) Program solicits proposals for the acquisition and analysis of scientific data from the TESS mission. The primary purpose of the TESS GI Program is to enhance and maximize the science return from TESS.
ROSES-2023 Amendment 78 releases final text and due date for D.10 TESS General Investigator (GI) - Cycle 8, which had been listed as "TBD". Phase-1 proposals are due by 4:30 pm Eastern time on March 27, 2025, via the Astrophysics Research Knowledgebase Remote Proposal System.
On or about December 3, 2024, this Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2024" (NNH24ZDA001N) will be posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2024 and will appear on SARA's ROSES blog at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/solicitations/roses-2024/
Programmatic questions regarding D.10 TESS GI, may be directed to John Wisniewski at john.p.wisniewski@nasa.gov or to Joshua Pepper at joshua.a.pepper@nasa.gov. Technical questions concerning this program element may be directed to the TESS General Investigator Program Lead Christina Hedges at christina.l.hedges@nasa.gov.
4. AWESOM SAG Community Survey
From the Astrophysics With Equity: Surmounting Obstacles to Membership Science Analysis Group (AWESOM SAG): https://pcos.gsfc.nasa.gov/sags/awesom.php
"The Astro2020 Decadal Survey illustrated the continuing challenges in structural inequities in astronomy and astrophysics and noted that “inequities in career advancement and access to the tools of the Profession must be addressed so that the entire workforce is engaged.”
With this challenge in mind, a NASA Science Analysis Group (SAG) was formed to undertake a careful study of how to expand the range of institutions and backgrounds for members of the community contributing to NASA astronomy and astrophysics.
A central goal of this study is to understand the landscape of astronomy and astrophysics research at institutions across the country, and the aim of this survey is to collect information about whether and how research is done at your institution. We particularly encourage people at Minority Serving Institutions, Community Colleges, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, and any places that are not currently involved in NASA research to respond.
This information will be used to help the SAG analyze how existing NASA programs and potential new initiatives can increase engagement with research and training programs, and to make available opportunities clearer, more consistent, and easier to access."
"We have developed an anonymous survey to collect information about whether and how research is done at institutions across the country.
Please take the survey and encourage your colleagues to do so, especially those at Minority Serving Institutions, Community Colleges, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, and any places not currently involved in NASA research.
The survey will close in late January, and a report will be prepared in the spring."
AWESOM SAG anonymous survey form
5. Exoplanet Modeling and Analysis Center (EMAC) Curator Program and Virtual Kick-off Meeting (January 22, 2025, 1pm EST)
"NASA Goddard’s Exoplanet Modeling and Analysis Center (EMAC) is excited to introduce you to the EMAC Community Curator Program and invite you to join the initiative today! Becoming an EMAC Curator will give you the chance to work with our team to improve our exoplanet community’s ability to discover, link and share information about open-access exoplanet software — and also join the growing team of open-access enthusiasts helping to make EMAC a more useful and valuable tool for everyone.
Learn More about EMAC’s Curator Program | Become a Curator
Save the Date: Kick-off & Info Session January 22, 2025 at 1pm US Eastern (18:00 UTC)
What is EMAC? EMAC is a repository, search engine, and discovery platform for finding software, databases, and workflows related to exoplanet science. Its science category and mission-based collections offer a variety of ways to filter the over 300 resources hosted on the site. Once you find the tool that best fits your project’s needs, EMAC provides links to its documentation, tutorials, and code. EMAC further supports the community through its free email service, which notifies users when new resources are posted or updated. Learn more about EMAC by checking out the website: emac.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Who are EMAC curators, and why do they exist? EMAC is run by a small team of scientists and developers at NASA Goddard. Our limited bandwidth and scientific expertise can hinder what resources make it on to the site, as well as what information about the resources are recorded. This is where we need your help! Curators are volunteer experts in a variety of exoplanet subfields who spend a small amount of time each quarter notifying EMAC when a new resource is found in the literature. Curators can also edit entries to correct errors or provide updates to published resources. Learn more about how curation works on EMAC’s curator page and in this video.
Why should I become a curator? Curators ensure that EMAC remains a useful tool to the wider exoplanet community, particularly for early career scientists who are unfamiliar with what tools are available to them. Curating will also help you stay up-to-date on the latest resources in your field and help you spot overlaps and gaps. The EMAC team can advise in future publications that explore inter-model comparisons between software you help curate. We will recognize your contributions by listing your name and bio on our Teams page, as well as on each collection page you help curate.
I am sold, how do I sign up? What’s next? Please use this google form to show your interest in the program. We will be sending out calendar invites for a virtual kick-off meeting where we will go over how to curator and answer your questions. Please save the date: January 22nd at 1pm US Eastern (18:00 UTC).
If you have any questions, please get in touch! We would appreciate your help in getting this message to anyone you think may be interested.
Thank you,
The EMAC Team"
Email: GSFC-EMAC@mail.nasa.gov.com
