ExoPAG News and Announcements - Archive

1. REMINDER: ExoPAG 31: Agenda & Registration (January 11-12, 2025, National Harbor, MD)

ExoPAG 31 is taking place Saturday and Sunday January 11-12 beginning at 9:00am EST = 6:00am PST daily. Presentations will include the latest updates from Habitable World working groups, the Exoplanet Demographics Science Interest Group, Study Analysis Groups on technosignatures, the impact of exo-zodiacal dust on direct imaging surveys, and more. We will also conduct two open mic sessions to take suggestions and feedback from the broader community while also discussing topics such as changes in the proprietary period policy. Hear about the latest results from early career scientists as well as activities and opportunities at NASA from senior representatives.

Please use the following resources to participate in the upcoming meeting, whether attending in person or remotely:

• All-inclusive meeting information can be found on the ExoPAG 31 website: https://go.nasa.gov/3WubK11
• All attendees must abide by the policies and code of conduct: https://go.nasa.gov/404Uv75
• Join remotely via Teams: https://bit.ly/exopag31teams
  Meeting ID: 299 927 557 62
  Passcode: Wc6im3io
  Dail in by Phone: 1-323-813-7400 phone conf ID: 315 254 283#
• Join the ExoPAG slack space to interact with other attendees: https://bit.ly/exopag31slack
• Submit questions for leadership or speakers which will be addressed in real time: https://bit.ly/3BUQKcx pw: exopag31
• Submit suggestions to the ExoPAG executive committee (EC) for consideration: https://bit.ly/exopagsuggestions
• Propose findings to the ExoPAG EC to elevate to NASA: https://bit.ly/exopagfindings
• Read about and/or join a current Science Interest Group (SIG): https://go.nasa.gov/3BVmhem or Study Analysis Group (SAG): https://go.nasa.gov/3DDEa1Y
• Want to join the ExoPAG leadership? Applications are being accepted now! Apply by January 31, 2025: https://go.nasa.gov/40ie3X8

Note that ExoPAG 31 is a splinter session of the AAS, so in-person attendees are required to register for the AAS meeting.

---

2. Joint Program Analysis Group Session at AAS245 (January 12, 2025, 4-6pm EST)

You are invited to attend a joint session of the NASA Program Analysis Groups at the upcoming meeting of the American Astronomical Society. This session will feature question & answer discussion with panelists including NASA Astrophysics Division Director, Mark Clampin, as well as chairs of the three Program Analysis Group Executive Committees. This is a chance to find out what is happening and have your voice be heard.

• WHAT: Joint PAG Session at the AAS, Q&A Panel Discussion featuring Mark Clampin, NASA Astrophysics Division Director and PAG Executive Committee chairs
• WHEN: Sunday, January 12, 2025, 4 - 6 pm ET
• WHERE: American Astronomical Society Meeting #245, Room Potomac 3-4, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center also accessible online as a webinar.

  For meeting connection information see: https://cor.gsfc.nasa.gov/copag/meetings/AAS_Jan2025/AAS2025-Agenda-JointPAG.php

Questions for Mark Clampin or the Executive Committee chairs can be submitted using the upvote tool here: https://nasa.cnf.io/sessions/c4z4/#!/dashboard

Current agenda for Sunday January 12, 2025 (Potomac 3-4):

• 4:00-4:40pm: TDAMM SIG (part of joint PAG)
  • Findings of the 3rd TDAMM Workshop - Eric Burns (LSU)
  • Update on the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) - John Tomsick (UC Berkeley)
  • The Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) - Brian Grefenstette (Caltech)
• 4:40-6:00pm: Joint PAG Session at the AAS, Q&A Panel Discussion with Mark Clampin (NASA APD Director) and PAG Executive Committee chairs

---

3. Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Community Science and Instrument Team (CSIT; Self-nominations due March 17, 2025)

"Dear Colleagues,

NASA is soliciting self-nominations from interested individuals to participate as members of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Community Science and Instrument Team (CSIT). As recommended by the 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics, the HWO large space telescope concept will be designed to search for habitable planets and life outside our solar system as well as perform a wide range of transformative astrophysics.

The CSIT will assist the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office (HTMPO) in taking the next steps to mature the HWO technologies and mission concept, in preparation for the Mission Concept Review (MCR) anticipated by the end of the decade, contingent upon availability of funding. CSIT members will execute scientific studies needed to support definition of a baseline mission concept, analyze potential science instruments, and provide input to HTMPO’s technology maturation plans. Furthermore, the CSIT will play an important role as mission ambassadors to the broader science and technology communities.

The CSIT self-nomination process is detailed in a Dear Colleague Letter that can be found on NASA’s HWO webpage: https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/habitable-worlds-observatory/DCL_HWO_CSIT.pdf.

Self-nomination packages are due by 11:59 PM EST on March 17, 2025.

Questions may be emailed to the HWO Program Scientist, Dr. Megan Ansdell, at megan.c.ansdell@nasa.gov.

Sincerely,
Eric Smith
Astrophysics Division Director, Acting
NASA Headquarters"

NASA Habitable Worlds Observatory website: https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/programs/habitable-worlds-observatory/

---

4. REMINDER: ExoPAG Invites Community Coordination on White Papers Responding to the NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES 2025) RFI

NASA is requesting input to the NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES 2025) via community white papers due on February 4, 2025. More information can be found at https://go.nasa.gov/ABStrategyRFI

ExoPAG is inviting community members to coordinate white paper preparation for responding to the NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES) at a spreadsheet linked to the website https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exep/exopag/NASA-DARES/.

For more information contact exopag-info@jpl.nasa.gov.

---

5. CALL FOR EXPERTS: Review of Progress Toward the Decadal Survey Vision in Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s (Submit nominations by February 21, 2025)

Review of Progress Toward the Decadal Survey Vision in Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s

The National Academies is seeking suggestions for experts to participate in an upcoming study to review federal agency responses to the previous National Academies' decadal survey in astronomy and astrophysics (Astro2020).

In the context of funding circumstances that are substantially below those assumed in Astro2020, the committee will describe the significant discoveries, advances, and changes in astronomy and astrophysics since the publication of the decadal survey; assess how well the Agencies' programs address the strategies, goals, and priorities outlined in the decadal survey and other relevant National Academies reports; assess the progress toward realizing these strategies, goals, and priorities; and recommend any actions that could be taken to maximize the science return of the Agencies' programs.

Using these suggestions, National Academies will be looking to build a committee of approximately 12 volunteer experts in addition to collecting information for potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers. Based on the Statement of Task, we are particularly looking for expertise in the following areas:

• Compact Objects and Energetic Phenomena
• Cosmology
• Galaxies
• Exoplanets, Astrobiology, and the Solar System
• Interstellar Medium and Star and Planet Formation
• Stars, the Sun, and Stellar Populations
• An Enabling Foundation for Research
• Electromagnetic Observations from Space
• Optical and Infrared Observations from the Ground
• Particle Astrophysics and Gravitation
• Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter Observations from the Ground
• State of the Profession and Societal Impacts

Please submit nominations using this form by February 21, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.

Submit a nomination: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8132927/Review-of-Progress-Toward-the-Decadal-Survey-Vision-in-Pathways-to-Discovery-in-Astronomy-and-Astrophysics-for-the-2020s-Call-for-Experts

---

6. SAVE THE DATE: The Sixth Spirit of Lyot Conference (February 2-6, 2026, Caltech, Pasadena)

Save the Date: Spirit of Lyot 2026
February 2-6, 2026
Caltech, Pasadena, CA
https://conference.ipac.caltech.edu/SpiritofLyot6

The Sixth Spirit of Lyot Conference, focusing on the science and technology of high contrast imaging, will take place February 2-6. 2026 on the Caltech campus in Pasadena CA. Please visit https://conference.ipac.caltech.edu/SpiritofLyot6 for more information and to join the mailing list"

---

7. Call for Abstracts: "Chemistry of Exoplanets" Session, Goldschmidt 2025 (July 6-11, 2025; Prague; Session Abstract Deadline: February 26, 2025)

"We are excited to announce our session at Goldschmidt 2025 in Prague entitled “Chemistry of Exoplanets”. This session is in Theme 2, session 02k.

• Abstract deadline: February 26, 2025 at 2:59 pm Pacific (23:59 CET/UTC +1)
• Submit an abstract & browse sessions: https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldschmidt/2025/cfp.cgi
• Grant info: https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldschmidt/2025/meetingapp.cgi/ModuleMeetingInfo/GrantProgram

We invite all abstracts aimed at understanding exoplanets. We strongly encourage submissions from early career researchers and underrepresented groups.

Conveners:
Kara Brugman (Arizona State University)
Maggie Thompson (Carnegie Institution for Science)

Full session description:

We are at the beginning of an observational revolution in exoplanet science. The advanced capabilities of JWST, ALMA, and upcoming large ground-based observatories will allow us to better characterize physical properties of exoplanets, their atmospheres, and their host stars. This information will allow us to place Earth and our solar system’s other rocky bodies in the wider context of planet formation and evolution in the universe. Based on our current understanding, the most common types of planets are sub-Neptunes and super-Earth (planets with masses in between those of Earth and Neptune) for which we have no analog in our Solar System. The chemical properties of exoplanets are expected to be diverse, from their interior structures to their atmospheric compositions, all of which are shaped by the chemical environment in protoplanetary disks and subsequently modified by processes throughout a planet’s evolution. A comprehensive understanding of exoplanet demographics and of what exoplanets are likely to be habitable requires interdisciplinary knowledge across geochemistry, meteoritics and cosmochemistry, astronomy, planetary science, mineral physics, biogeochemistry, and extremophile biology. In this session, we invite contributions spanning theoretical, experimental and observational research that seeks to improve our understanding of the chemical properties of exoplanets and protoplanetary disks.

Kara Brugman, Ph.D. (pronunciation; s/h)
FORCE, Arizona State University
kara.brugman@asu.edu // karabrugman.com"

---

8. 2nd Biennial European Astrobiology Conference (BEACON) (July 1-5, 2025, Reykjavik)

The Second Biennial European Astrobiology Conference: BEACON 2025
Harpa Conference Centre, Reykjavik, Iceland
July 1-5, 2025

https://europeanastrobiology.eu/beacon-25-homepage/

Plenary main scientific sessions are planned covering the following themes:

• Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems and Detection of Habitable Worlds
• The Pathway to Complexity: From Simple Molecules to First Life
• Planetary Environments and Habitability
• Evolution and Traces of Early Life and Life under Extreme Condition
• Biosignatures and the Detection of Life beyond Earth
• Historical, Philosophical, Societal and Ethical Issues in Astrobiology

Abstract submission and registration: https://europeanastrobiology.eu/beacon-25-abstract-submission-and-registration/