1 00:00:01,554 --> 00:00:04,640 - [Doug] All right, thanks, Michael. 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,220 And of course, I'll add my own welcome to everyone. 3 00:00:08,220 --> 00:00:10,270 I am Doug Hudgins, I'm the program scientist 4 00:00:10,270 --> 00:00:15,010 for the Exoplanet Exploration Program at NASA headquarters, 5 00:00:15,010 --> 00:00:17,563 and the executive secretary of the ExoPAG. 6 00:00:18,510 --> 00:00:21,130 I certainly hope that everyone 7 00:00:21,130 --> 00:00:22,790 is staying safe and healthy 8 00:00:22,790 --> 00:00:25,880 during these sort of unprecedented times. 9 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,550 And I hope that everyone has kind of 10 00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:31,810 learned to function both in their personal 11 00:00:31,810 --> 00:00:33,480 and professional lives in a way 12 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:38,480 that keeps you sane and happy as we move forward. 13 00:00:40,250 --> 00:00:43,513 So, without any further ado, 14 00:00:45,858 --> 00:00:48,830 Michael and I were obviously thinking along the same lines. 15 00:00:48,830 --> 00:00:50,090 This is the first time we've done 16 00:00:50,090 --> 00:00:52,400 a fully virtual ExoPAG meeting. 17 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,040 So, it was my thinking that we might also want 18 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:57,530 to just provide a bit of a primer 19 00:00:57,530 --> 00:00:59,900 on what the goals of the ExoPAG is, 20 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:01,680 what the structure of the ExoPAG is, 21 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,770 and so, I will not repeat the words 22 00:01:05,770 --> 00:01:08,660 that Michael has already very eloquently gone through. 23 00:01:08,660 --> 00:01:10,640 This slide just talks about the goals 24 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,740 and what the ExoPAG does. 25 00:01:12,740 --> 00:01:13,653 Next slide. 26 00:01:15,590 --> 00:01:18,710 This just talks a bit about the structure, 27 00:01:18,710 --> 00:01:20,790 you've already heard about the zigs and the zags 28 00:01:20,790 --> 00:01:22,690 and basically the ExoPAG is led 29 00:01:22,690 --> 00:01:25,060 by our chair, Michael Meyer, 30 00:01:25,060 --> 00:01:28,915 and the 10 to 12 member executive committee, 31 00:01:28,915 --> 00:01:30,750 whose names you've already seen. 32 00:01:30,750 --> 00:01:33,440 So, go ahead, next slide. 33 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,600 Here again, I've reprised the names, 34 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,480 and, of course, myself would like to welcome Natasha, 35 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,520 Jason, John, and Laura to the executive committee 36 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,780 and say how much I look forward 37 00:01:45,780 --> 00:01:48,030 to working with them over the next few years. 38 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:50,440 Let's go right ahead then 39 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:55,440 and move into a NASA headquarters update. 40 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,240 First slide, obviously, the 800 pound gorilla in the room, 41 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,470 and everybody's presentation is the upset 42 00:02:02,470 --> 00:02:04,780 and the changes that have resulted 43 00:02:04,780 --> 00:02:07,800 from the COVID-19 pandemic 44 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:09,520 and the response that we've had to have. 45 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,530 Myself, I have been telecommuting 46 00:02:12,530 --> 00:02:15,880 here at home since mid March. 47 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,313 So it's been a learning curve for all of us. 48 00:02:21,220 --> 00:02:22,510 Few things that you should be aware of, 49 00:02:22,510 --> 00:02:23,620 what's going on at NASA, 50 00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:25,660 our operating missions and our data archives 51 00:02:25,660 --> 00:02:28,030 all continue to perform nominally, 52 00:02:28,030 --> 00:02:30,000 they continue to operate, 53 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,960 they have been able to transition to remote, 54 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,960 excuse me to virtual, if you will, operations effectively. 55 00:02:39,110 --> 00:02:40,740 The only exception to that is SOFIA, 56 00:02:40,740 --> 00:02:43,520 which obviously cannot, 57 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:45,540 it cannot be flying at this time. 58 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:48,614 R&A, I'm actually gonna talk about, 59 00:02:48,614 --> 00:02:50,540 a little bit more detail 60 00:02:50,540 --> 00:02:54,700 about what our response in the R&A world has been. 61 00:02:54,700 --> 00:02:57,780 But basically we're continuing to operate 62 00:02:57,780 --> 00:03:00,780 our solicitations, our reviews, 63 00:03:00,780 --> 00:03:04,600 and the funding of ROSES proposals and GO programs 64 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,623 through telework and virtual reviews. 65 00:03:07,630 --> 00:03:10,090 The missions in development have been more of a challenge, 66 00:03:10,090 --> 00:03:12,250 'cause that involves hands-on work 67 00:03:12,250 --> 00:03:14,023 and people working together. 68 00:03:14,860 --> 00:03:16,620 The project teams are doing 69 00:03:16,620 --> 00:03:19,040 obviously as much as they can virtually. 70 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,730 Webb continues to be our top priority. 71 00:03:22,730 --> 00:03:27,730 But the work on all of our missions in development 72 00:03:27,730 --> 00:03:30,530 is being restarted safely at NASA centers 73 00:03:30,530 --> 00:03:34,950 on a case-by-case basis, as we are able to do so safely 74 00:03:34,950 --> 00:03:36,770 for all the workforce. 75 00:03:36,770 --> 00:03:40,560 Many of our contractors and partners continue to work 76 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,480 as well and we coordinate with them 77 00:03:44,530 --> 00:03:46,680 to make sure that it's all, you know, 78 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:51,680 all the people are safe and the most precautions we take, 79 00:03:52,530 --> 00:03:55,340 or we're taking precautions that are necessary. 80 00:03:55,340 --> 00:03:56,173 Next slide. 81 00:03:59,135 --> 00:04:03,670 I will note that the new NASA science plan 82 00:04:03,670 --> 00:04:05,670 has been released. 83 00:04:05,670 --> 00:04:07,340 I won't go through all these words. 84 00:04:07,340 --> 00:04:10,500 In fact, I believe that we may actually 85 00:04:10,500 --> 00:04:12,330 have somebody saying a little bit more detail 86 00:04:12,330 --> 00:04:14,151 about this later on in the meeting. 87 00:04:14,151 --> 00:04:18,810 It's an interesting science plan worth taking a look at. 88 00:04:18,810 --> 00:04:21,260 It is organized somewhat differently 89 00:04:21,260 --> 00:04:26,260 than previous science plans. 90 00:04:26,300 --> 00:04:28,620 You may know that previous science plans 91 00:04:28,620 --> 00:04:31,350 have typically gone along the format 92 00:04:31,350 --> 00:04:34,140 of some glowing words from SMD as a whole, 93 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:36,830 then a chapter from each of the four science divisions, 94 00:04:36,830 --> 00:04:38,400 Earth Science, Astrophysics, 95 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,680 Heliophysics, and Planetary Science, 96 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,270 and then some words about education 97 00:04:43,270 --> 00:04:46,170 that this has approached things a little bit differently 98 00:04:46,170 --> 00:04:49,820 and is presented more in terms, 99 00:04:49,820 --> 00:04:51,830 organized more along the lines 100 00:04:51,830 --> 00:04:55,780 of the priorities and values 101 00:04:55,780 --> 00:04:58,703 of the science mission directorate going forward. 102 00:04:59,610 --> 00:05:03,080 And so, it's an interesting way to organize things. 103 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,250 And so, it's worth taking a look at if you'd like to. 104 00:05:06,250 --> 00:05:10,340 And there's a link that you can access the document at. 105 00:05:10,340 --> 00:05:11,173 Next slide. 106 00:05:14,470 --> 00:05:17,000 We have, within the last couple of months, 107 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,883 announced the 2020 class of NASA Hubble fellows. 108 00:05:21,850 --> 00:05:25,660 It's a group of 24 bright young people 109 00:05:25,660 --> 00:05:28,920 that, of course, we expect will probably be the leaders 110 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:30,540 across the field of astrophysics, 111 00:05:30,540 --> 00:05:32,280 including exoplanet science, 112 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:37,240 over the next 20 years, 30 years and beyond. 113 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,780 In particular, of course, the people working 114 00:05:39,780 --> 00:05:41,810 in the area of exoplanet science 115 00:05:41,810 --> 00:05:44,670 and the question of "Are we alone?" 116 00:05:44,670 --> 00:05:46,290 are shown in red boxes. 117 00:05:46,290 --> 00:05:48,290 Nine of the 24 were actually 118 00:05:48,290 --> 00:05:51,890 in the Sagan fellow category of the NASA Hubble fellows. 119 00:05:51,890 --> 00:05:54,000 So that's really great, we're really pleased 120 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,763 and excited to see this new class and we welcome them. 121 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:00,403 The next slide. 122 00:06:03,070 --> 00:06:06,240 I know another thing that is interesting to a lot of people 123 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,250 is the graduate student research awards that we do. 124 00:06:09,250 --> 00:06:12,500 And it's worth pointing out to you here, 125 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:14,620 in case you weren't aware, 126 00:06:14,620 --> 00:06:16,666 the astrophysics division has made the decision 127 00:06:16,666 --> 00:06:20,030 that we're approximately doubling our investment 128 00:06:21,417 --> 00:06:23,490 in graduate student awards 129 00:06:23,490 --> 00:06:26,853 over what it has been, say, for the last decade or so. 130 00:06:28,140 --> 00:06:33,140 We had been running roughly 24 or so 131 00:06:36,270 --> 00:06:38,700 fellows in any given year. 132 00:06:38,700 --> 00:06:41,890 We're pushing that up to 45 fellows 133 00:06:41,890 --> 00:06:44,870 supported in any given year, and to that goal. 134 00:06:44,870 --> 00:06:49,436 Last year, we selected 21 new fellows, 135 00:06:49,436 --> 00:06:53,040 17 of last year's fellows are continuing this year 136 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,790 and this year, we've selected an additional 22 fellows, 137 00:06:57,050 --> 00:07:00,620 and just projecting that 26 of those 138 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:02,090 will continue next year. 139 00:07:02,090 --> 00:07:05,360 We expect around 19, 20 selections 140 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,180 steady state year over year as we go off in the future. 141 00:07:09,180 --> 00:07:11,320 So we are increasing. 142 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,500 That approximately doubles 143 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:16,330 the selection rate that we have 144 00:07:16,330 --> 00:07:18,950 for the graduate student research awards. 145 00:07:18,950 --> 00:07:22,930 And we heard from the community that this was a priority. 146 00:07:22,930 --> 00:07:25,050 And so we're responding in this way. 147 00:07:25,050 --> 00:07:28,593 So we look forward to the growth of that program. 148 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:30,803 Next slide. 149 00:07:32,100 --> 00:07:34,890 I also would be remiss if I did not point out 150 00:07:34,890 --> 00:07:36,430 that there is an opportunity 151 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:38,900 to join us at headquarters. 152 00:07:38,900 --> 00:07:41,090 If you would like to come to headquarters, 153 00:07:41,090 --> 00:07:43,630 if you think I'm doing a really terrible job in exoplanets 154 00:07:43,630 --> 00:07:46,430 and wanna come to headquarters and put me out of my job, 155 00:07:47,700 --> 00:07:50,550 you can do so, there will be an opportunity. 156 00:07:50,550 --> 00:07:52,520 We have a job opening. 157 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,420 That will be opening on June 29th 158 00:07:56,420 --> 00:07:58,650 for program scientists at NASA headquarters. 159 00:07:58,650 --> 00:08:01,690 It will only be open for five days. 160 00:08:01,690 --> 00:08:04,310 I wanna emphasize to you that 161 00:08:04,310 --> 00:08:07,540 the shortness of the opening does not 162 00:08:07,540 --> 00:08:10,350 in any way, shape or form indicate that we have, 163 00:08:10,350 --> 00:08:12,870 the position is hardwired for someone 164 00:08:12,870 --> 00:08:15,330 or that we know who we wanna hire. 165 00:08:15,330 --> 00:08:18,820 It is, the foibles of government hiring, 166 00:08:18,820 --> 00:08:22,550 there is a particular hiring authority that we are using 167 00:08:22,550 --> 00:08:24,610 that makes it easier for us 168 00:08:24,610 --> 00:08:27,510 to evaluate all the candidates, as opposed to, 169 00:08:27,510 --> 00:08:31,410 it allows us to remove the machine evaluation 170 00:08:31,410 --> 00:08:32,940 that typically happens between 171 00:08:32,940 --> 00:08:34,390 the submission of applications 172 00:08:34,390 --> 00:08:39,390 and when actual people look at the applications. 173 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:40,870 We can circumvent that machine 174 00:08:40,870 --> 00:08:43,400 using what's called direct hire authority. 175 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,080 And so, by doing that, of course, 176 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,204 the limitation is that you can only have 177 00:08:48,204 --> 00:08:50,900 the opportunity open for a few days. 178 00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:52,250 So that's the reason it's short. 179 00:08:52,250 --> 00:08:53,833 It's not because we have any, 180 00:08:56,914 --> 00:08:58,383 you know, pre-decisions made. 181 00:08:59,310 --> 00:09:00,350 If you come to headquarters, 182 00:09:00,350 --> 00:09:02,220 you have an opportunity to work 183 00:09:02,220 --> 00:09:04,280 as part of a diverse and agile team 184 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,100 whose core values include excellence, 185 00:09:06,100 --> 00:09:08,193 integrity, transparency, teamwork, 186 00:09:09,490 --> 00:09:11,840 and chocolate, it should mention chocolate in there, 187 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,060 we're also very big on chocolate. 188 00:09:14,060 --> 00:09:15,720 And a growth mindset towards joining 189 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:17,990 the nation's space based astrophysics program. 190 00:09:17,990 --> 00:09:20,270 I, myself, will point out that, in fact, 191 00:09:20,270 --> 00:09:23,650 this is potentially a very exciting time 192 00:09:23,650 --> 00:09:24,980 to be part of the headquarters team, 193 00:09:24,980 --> 00:09:29,170 because in a year or less, we are going to get handed 194 00:09:29,170 --> 00:09:32,325 the next astrophysics decadal survey, 195 00:09:32,325 --> 00:09:34,870 and the next two or three years 196 00:09:34,870 --> 00:09:37,780 will be spent really crafting the plan 197 00:09:37,780 --> 00:09:39,660 for how NASA will implement 198 00:09:39,660 --> 00:09:41,750 the next decade of astrophysics, 199 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:43,243 at least space astrophysics. 200 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,680 So it's likely to be an exciting time 201 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:48,730 where you really get to make a difference in the program. 202 00:09:48,730 --> 00:09:50,650 So, if you're interested, 203 00:09:50,650 --> 00:09:52,770 we obviously encourage to apply. 204 00:09:52,770 --> 00:09:56,990 At headquarters, we recognize that the best management, 205 00:09:56,990 --> 00:10:00,630 the best decisions are made by teams 206 00:10:00,630 --> 00:10:03,610 that include a diversity of life experiences, 207 00:10:03,610 --> 00:10:06,500 a diversity of cultures, a diversity of thought. 208 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:09,620 So obviously, we particularly encourage applications 209 00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:12,020 from candidates with non-traditional career paths 210 00:10:12,020 --> 00:10:15,110 or individuals who are at earlier stages in their career 211 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:17,980 and may have demonstrated experience 212 00:10:17,980 --> 00:10:21,000 in different ways from, you know, 213 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,793 people with, you know, in mid or later careers. 214 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,470 So, if you have any questions, 215 00:10:28,470 --> 00:10:30,740 you can contact my colleague, Eric Smith, 216 00:10:30,740 --> 00:10:33,110 who is the chief scientist for the astrophysics division, 217 00:10:33,110 --> 00:10:37,190 and his email address is shown right there. 218 00:10:37,190 --> 00:10:38,023 Next slide. 219 00:10:40,570 --> 00:10:42,403 Let's talk about R&A programs. 220 00:10:43,260 --> 00:10:45,450 There will, obviously, 221 00:10:45,450 --> 00:10:47,410 there's a lot of interest in the R&A programs. 222 00:10:47,410 --> 00:10:50,370 This is just a slide showing the sand charts 223 00:10:50,370 --> 00:10:55,370 of how we fund research in the community in astrophysics. 224 00:10:55,710 --> 00:10:58,630 You can see there's a large chunk there 225 00:10:58,630 --> 00:11:00,350 comes through our R&A program, 226 00:11:00,350 --> 00:11:02,420 that's the ROSES programs. 227 00:11:02,420 --> 00:11:03,970 The postdoc fellows and 228 00:11:03,970 --> 00:11:06,200 the strategic astrophysics technology, 229 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:07,870 the technology development is shown there, 230 00:11:07,870 --> 00:11:11,200 and finally, a big chunk from our guest observer programs 231 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,170 as well through our flight missions. 232 00:11:13,170 --> 00:11:16,430 And you'll notice in FY21, you see a big jump up there. 233 00:11:16,430 --> 00:11:19,080 That of course, is the introduction 234 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,384 of the web guest observer program funding 235 00:11:22,384 --> 00:11:26,090 that really increases that wedge substantially. 236 00:11:26,090 --> 00:11:27,043 Next slide. 237 00:11:29,050 --> 00:11:32,803 As I mentioned, R&A changes due to COVID-19. 238 00:11:33,670 --> 00:11:38,200 We do continue to do our R&A work, albeit remotely. 239 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:42,320 We have not canceled anything in ROSES-20 240 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:44,180 as a result of COVID-19, 241 00:11:44,180 --> 00:11:47,440 however, astrophysics division management 242 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,000 made the decision to cancel the ADAP 243 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,840 or the astrophysics data analysis program solicitation 244 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:58,110 in 2021 to reduce the work next year 245 00:11:58,110 --> 00:12:01,890 as we in headquarters, and also, you in the community 246 00:12:01,890 --> 00:12:05,270 recover from the impacts of COVID-19. 247 00:12:05,270 --> 00:12:06,770 - [Michael] Three minutes, Doug. 248 00:12:06,770 --> 00:12:08,170 - [Doug] Okay, thank you. 249 00:12:10,530 --> 00:12:15,280 We have delayed the due dates 250 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:19,303 for the TCAN and ADAP proposals this year. 251 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:25,310 And for XRP, we relaxed the initial submission requirement 252 00:12:25,310 --> 00:12:27,020 of step one proposals to NOI, 253 00:12:27,020 --> 00:12:30,373 just to make it easier for proposers to get into the game. 254 00:12:33,421 --> 00:12:34,800 And obviously, we're conducting 255 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,350 all of our peer reviews virtually at this point. 256 00:12:37,350 --> 00:12:38,193 Next slide. 257 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,046 Just to highlight a few changes 258 00:12:43,046 --> 00:12:45,640 that are coming this year. 259 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,020 First, as you may be aware, data management plans 260 00:12:48,020 --> 00:12:49,800 are now evaluated as part 261 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,490 of the intrinsic merit of proposals. 262 00:12:52,490 --> 00:12:53,443 Next slide. 263 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:57,900 Exoplanet research program 264 00:12:57,900 --> 00:13:01,810 is something I know everyone here is interested in. 265 00:13:01,810 --> 00:13:06,670 The XRP, this year, the astrophysics division 266 00:13:06,670 --> 00:13:08,890 combined the exoplanet research elements 267 00:13:08,890 --> 00:13:12,800 from the ADAP and the astrophysics theory program. 268 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:17,800 And also, the exoplanet related lab astro work into XRP. 269 00:13:19,180 --> 00:13:21,063 And we included funding for that. 270 00:13:22,060 --> 00:13:23,980 Exoplanet technology development 271 00:13:23,980 --> 00:13:26,770 remains in the APRA program however. 272 00:13:26,770 --> 00:13:28,230 Heliophysics and astrophysics 273 00:13:28,230 --> 00:13:31,190 are now contributing to XRP as well. 274 00:13:31,190 --> 00:13:35,080 And so, the concerns about the funding for the program 275 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:36,390 that were expressed earlier, 276 00:13:36,390 --> 00:13:37,600 hopefully, across the bar, 277 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,240 you can see the growth that is going to occur in the program 278 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,190 from $8.9 million total available funding 279 00:13:45,190 --> 00:13:48,640 across all the four divisions in FY20, 280 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,720 up to 12.7 million, or an increase 281 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:53,960 of more than 40% by FY23. 282 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,610 So there's gonna be significant growth in the program. 283 00:13:56,610 --> 00:13:57,573 Next slide. 284 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:05,890 So, we now have an opportunity 285 00:14:05,890 --> 00:14:09,660 to support the purchase and upgrade of lab astro equipment 286 00:14:09,660 --> 00:14:12,500 under the lab astro program in APRA. 287 00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:13,423 Next slide. 288 00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:22,210 The SAT 2020 solicitation has been canceled. 289 00:14:22,210 --> 00:14:24,270 That decision was made simply because 290 00:14:24,270 --> 00:14:25,470 the timing was going to, 291 00:14:25,470 --> 00:14:30,160 we would have gotten proposals and rolled out selections 292 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,680 almost coincidentally with the release 293 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,120 of the decadal survey. 294 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,240 So we decided that the better choice 295 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,503 was to wait, cancel the solicitation 296 00:14:42,051 --> 00:14:44,470 and wait for the release of the decadal survey 297 00:14:44,470 --> 00:14:47,250 so that the next SAT solicitation 298 00:14:47,250 --> 00:14:49,490 can be adjusted to the priority, 299 00:14:49,490 --> 00:14:51,250 can be focused on the priorities 300 00:14:51,250 --> 00:14:54,030 articulated in Astro 2020. 301 00:14:54,030 --> 00:14:54,943 Next slide. 302 00:14:58,620 --> 00:15:01,110 We are now participating in the topical 303 00:15:01,110 --> 00:15:05,530 workshops symposia and conferences, TWSK solicitation. 304 00:15:05,530 --> 00:15:09,960 If you would like to apply for support for a meeting, 305 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:10,919 you can do that now, 306 00:15:10,919 --> 00:15:13,640 for an astrophysics meeting, you can do that now. 307 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:14,523 Next slide. 308 00:15:16,650 --> 00:15:21,340 And we have introduced a new class of mission, if you will, 309 00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:24,540 astrophysics pioneers, which fills the gap 310 00:15:24,540 --> 00:15:27,300 between existing ROSES investigations 311 00:15:27,300 --> 00:15:28,490 that are funded through APRA, 312 00:15:28,490 --> 00:15:30,890 which generally are less than about $10 million, 313 00:15:33,071 --> 00:15:35,420 and what you could propose 314 00:15:35,420 --> 00:15:38,290 to existing explorers missions of opportunity, 315 00:15:38,290 --> 00:15:41,393 which is, you know, which is 35 million or more. 316 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,130 And you can see more details about that 317 00:15:45,130 --> 00:15:46,616 and contact information. 318 00:15:46,616 --> 00:15:48,513 Next slide. 319 00:15:49,679 --> 00:15:52,830 One thing that I'm announcing today 320 00:15:52,830 --> 00:15:57,830 is that we will be issuing a 2020 solicitation 321 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,440 in the area of extreme precision radial velocity 322 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,690 supporting research and technology. 323 00:16:02,690 --> 00:16:06,240 I've outlined the expected timeline there. 324 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,170 We expect to have the solicitation issued in August 325 00:16:10,170 --> 00:16:12,880 with proposals due late in the calendar year, 326 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,310 and selections announced in spring of 2021. 327 00:16:16,310 --> 00:16:18,040 These are gonna be two year awards 328 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,923 that are fully funded out of 2021 funds. 329 00:16:23,810 --> 00:16:26,050 And we have about one and a half million 330 00:16:26,050 --> 00:16:28,190 available for those awards. 331 00:16:28,190 --> 00:16:30,030 This represents an initial response 332 00:16:30,030 --> 00:16:31,910 to the EPRV working group report, 333 00:16:31,910 --> 00:16:33,900 which you're going to hear more about 334 00:16:33,900 --> 00:16:36,350 in another presentation here in a little while. 335 00:16:36,350 --> 00:16:39,250 And this initial solicitation 336 00:16:39,250 --> 00:16:42,140 is going to be focused on tall tent pole items, 337 00:16:42,140 --> 00:16:44,930 and obviously, continuing, or an expansion 338 00:16:44,930 --> 00:16:46,570 of the scope of this program, 339 00:16:46,570 --> 00:16:48,420 will be contingent on the recommendations 340 00:16:48,420 --> 00:16:50,900 and priorities of Astro 2020. 341 00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:54,160 So look for this coming in the not too distant future. 342 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:54,993 Next-- 343 00:16:54,993 --> 00:16:56,550 - [Michale] Doug, we're about two minutes into questions, 344 00:16:56,550 --> 00:16:58,180 just so you know. - [Doug] Yep. 345 00:16:58,180 --> 00:17:00,080 TESS mission update. 346 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:01,023 Next. 347 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:03,690 TESS continues to go well. 348 00:17:03,690 --> 00:17:06,963 We are very close to the end of the TESS prime mission. 349 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,630 It has almost finished the Northern Hemisphere. 350 00:17:10,630 --> 00:17:13,290 In fact, we are observing sector 26 currently. 351 00:17:13,290 --> 00:17:14,213 Next slide. 352 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,290 Just a recent exciting result 353 00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:26,290 was the observation of HATS-71b, 354 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,820 which is a giant planet trancing an M3 dwarf. 355 00:17:30,820 --> 00:17:32,710 It actually turns out to be 356 00:17:33,580 --> 00:17:35,190 one of only four hot Jupiters 357 00:17:35,190 --> 00:17:37,030 that have been found around M dwarf stars, 358 00:17:37,030 --> 00:17:41,500 and, in fact, HAT71 is the coolest M dwarf star 359 00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:43,500 known to host a hot Jupiter. 360 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:46,997 At this point, TESS has yielded 51 confirmed planets 361 00:17:46,997 --> 00:17:50,060 and more than 1900 planet candidates, 362 00:17:50,060 --> 00:17:53,370 and just a wealth of publications going on. 363 00:17:53,370 --> 00:17:54,203 Next slide. 364 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,650 We are about to start the TESS extended mission 365 00:17:59,650 --> 00:18:01,620 and basically, the extended mission 366 00:18:01,620 --> 00:18:03,920 is gonna look like we're gonna reprise 367 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,910 the Southern Hemisphere survey, 13 sectors. 368 00:18:06,910 --> 00:18:09,060 We're then gonna return to the Northern Hemisphere 369 00:18:09,060 --> 00:18:10,900 for four sectors before rotating 370 00:18:10,900 --> 00:18:12,890 the spacecraft onto its side, 371 00:18:12,890 --> 00:18:14,890 and actually doing five sectors 372 00:18:14,890 --> 00:18:16,984 along the ecliptic plane, 373 00:18:16,984 --> 00:18:19,970 covering a number of the K2 fields. 374 00:18:19,970 --> 00:18:22,770 It'll cover about 63% of the ecliptic plane. 375 00:18:22,770 --> 00:18:24,570 The rest of the... 376 00:18:25,510 --> 00:18:27,900 It'll then return to the Northern Hemisphere survey 377 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:30,580 and conduct nine sectors of observing 378 00:18:30,580 --> 00:18:31,890 in the Northern Hemisphere. 379 00:18:31,890 --> 00:18:32,793 Next slide. 380 00:18:39,350 --> 00:18:40,803 Hello? Next slide. 381 00:18:43,730 --> 00:18:46,170 All right, the key thing, 382 00:18:46,170 --> 00:18:48,400 we seem to be locked up here or, at least I am, 383 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:49,233 ah, there we go. 384 00:18:49,233 --> 00:18:52,000 Key things is that in the extended mission, 385 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,270 we're introducing a new 10 minute cadence 386 00:18:54,270 --> 00:18:56,590 for the full frame images. 387 00:18:56,590 --> 00:18:59,350 There's a new 20 second cadence 388 00:18:59,350 --> 00:19:02,220 for the a postage stamp observations. 389 00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:04,421 And in fact, the vast majority 390 00:19:04,421 --> 00:19:09,020 of the observing resources in the extended mission 391 00:19:09,020 --> 00:19:12,780 will be allocated to the guest investigator program, 392 00:19:12,780 --> 00:19:15,900 which is a lot more observing that can be done. 393 00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:16,733 Next slide. 394 00:19:20,110 --> 00:19:20,943 Next. 395 00:19:21,940 --> 00:19:23,290 There are several things here 396 00:19:23,290 --> 00:19:25,990 that I have not talked about that you might wonder about, 397 00:19:25,990 --> 00:19:27,700 all of which, as you see here, 398 00:19:27,700 --> 00:19:29,750 will be talked about various and sundry other people 399 00:19:29,750 --> 00:19:32,910 during the course of the ExoPAG coming up. 400 00:19:32,910 --> 00:19:33,853 Next slide. 401 00:19:37,260 --> 00:19:39,080 And I would just like to encourage everyone 402 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,210 to keep informed about what's going on at NASA 403 00:19:41,210 --> 00:19:42,520 in the astrophysics division 404 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,850 and the exoplanet exploration program. 405 00:19:44,850 --> 00:19:47,520 And here's a variety of links that you can do so. 406 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,300 And with that, I will finish. 407 00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:52,064 So I apologize for being a little bit longer 408 00:19:52,064 --> 00:19:54,330 than perhaps I should have. 409 00:19:54,330 --> 00:19:57,440 But I would accept any questions 410 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,920 if we have time for that, Michael. 411 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,160 - [Michael] Doug, I'm gonna take one question and again, 412 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,350 encourage you as you're participating 413 00:20:04,350 --> 00:20:07,510 and listening to remember to go to that Slido page. 414 00:20:07,510 --> 00:20:08,540 But we're a bit out of time. 415 00:20:08,540 --> 00:20:11,140 But there is one question about the XRP, 416 00:20:11,140 --> 00:20:14,200 about the number of proposals submitted in May, 417 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,390 the fractional increase from the previous year. 418 00:20:17,390 --> 00:20:20,330 And as other programs are pushing 419 00:20:20,330 --> 00:20:23,173 exoplanet proposals to XRP, 420 00:20:24,050 --> 00:20:26,330 are these increases meant to counteract 421 00:20:26,330 --> 00:20:28,560 with a similar acceptance rate? 422 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,970 Or do you believe that the pressure 423 00:20:30,970 --> 00:20:33,600 will be released with the new funds? 424 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:35,050 - [Doug] Well, I can tell you 425 00:20:35,050 --> 00:20:39,190 that we received 156 XRP proposals this year. 426 00:20:39,190 --> 00:20:40,780 And we are currently organizing 427 00:20:40,780 --> 00:20:42,980 the review of those proposals. 428 00:20:42,980 --> 00:20:44,480 That is-- 429 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,080 - [Michael] Can you say what the percentage increase 430 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:47,447 from the previous year is? 431 00:20:47,447 --> 00:20:50,170 - [Doug] That is essentially flat from last year. 432 00:20:50,170 --> 00:20:52,080 There was 160 proposals last year. 433 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:53,710 So interestingly enough, 434 00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:57,670 there wasn't an increase from last year. 435 00:20:57,670 --> 00:21:00,150 Now, that's one data point. 436 00:21:00,150 --> 00:21:01,920 We're one year into this change. 437 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,050 So, whether we will now begin to see that trend upward, 438 00:21:06,050 --> 00:21:06,883 I don't know. 439 00:21:06,883 --> 00:21:08,180 The expectation, of course, 440 00:21:08,180 --> 00:21:13,180 is I don't expect the number of proposals 441 00:21:13,650 --> 00:21:16,950 to increase by 40% over the next three years. 442 00:21:16,950 --> 00:21:20,600 So, the expectation, and I believe the budget, 443 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:25,600 is going to lead to an increase in the selection rate, 444 00:21:26,470 --> 00:21:29,030 which, of course, we all know was abysmal this past year 445 00:21:29,030 --> 00:21:31,610 at like 13%, or something like that. 446 00:21:31,610 --> 00:21:34,430 I think we're going to see that improve 447 00:21:35,730 --> 00:21:38,410 significantly in the coming years. 448 00:21:38,410 --> 00:21:39,880 - [Michael] And, Doug, I hope you're gonna be on 449 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:41,920 for much of the meeting, if not all of it, 450 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,510 'cause some other questions may come up for you 451 00:21:44,510 --> 00:21:46,780 as we go through the rest of the slide decks. 452 00:21:46,780 --> 00:21:48,410 - [Doug] I absolutely will be. 453 00:21:48,410 --> 00:21:49,243 - [Michael] Okay, thanks. 454 00:21:49,243 --> 00:21:50,217 I'm gonna defer the Slido question 455 00:21:50,217 --> 00:21:53,963 about the EPRV program till later in the program.