Planetary Sciences



Advancing Planetary Science and Exploration with High-Resolution Electron Microscopy
Primary Convener:  Morgan Leigh Shusterman, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
Conveners:  Thomas G Sharp, Arizona State Univ, Tempe, AZ, United States and Thomas J Zega, University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ, United States
Primary Liaison:  Morgan Leigh Shusterman, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States


Aquaplanetology: Aqueous Environments and Habitability in the Solar System
Primary Convener:  Yasuhito Sekine, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Conveners:  Elizabeth B Rampe, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States and Gabriel Tobie, LPGN Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Nantes Cedex 03, France
Primary Liaison:  Yasuhito Sekine, Earth-Life Science Institute, Meguro, Japan


Atmospheric Dynamics and Astro/geo-physical Modeling Studies of (potentially) Habitable Ocean Worlds, Moons, and Atmospheres Near and Far
Primary Convener:  Jonathan J Fortney, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
Conveners:  Thaddeus David Komacek, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, Kunio M Sayanagi, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, United States and Yohai Kaspi, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Primary Liaison:  Jonathan J Fortney, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States


Carbon Across the Solar System
Primary Convener:  Amanda R Hendrix, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States
Convener:  Faith Vilas, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States
Primary Liaison:  Amanda R Hendrix, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States


Clay-Sulfate Transitions as Indicators of Climate Change Across Mars and as Investigated by the Curiosity Rover in Gale Crater
Primary Convener:  Ashwin R Vasavada, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States and MSL Science Team
Conveners:  Michael A Meyer, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, United States, Becky McCauley Rench, NASA Headquarters, Planetary Science Division, Washington, DC, United States and MSL Science Team
Primary Liaison:  Ashwin R Vasavada, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States and MSL Science Team


Concepts for Future Planetary Science Missions
Primary Convener:  Melissa G Trainer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Conveners:  Conor A Nixon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, Morgan L Cable, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States and Charles Hibbitts, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States
Primary Liaison:  Melissa G Trainer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States


Enceladus: Beacon of Ocean Worlds
Primary Convener:  Christopher R Glein, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States
Conveners:  Christopher R Glein, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States and Emily S Martin, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, United States
Primary Liaison:  Christopher R Glein, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States


Exploring Jupiter's Atmosphere: Five Years of Juno and Supporting Earth-Based Observations
Primary Convener:  Shannon Thomas Brown, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
Conveners:  Michael H. Wong, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States, Alessandro Mura, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy, Leigh N. Fletcher, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom and Scott J Bolton, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States
Primary Liaison:  Shannon Thomas Brown, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States


Geology and Geophysics of Active Satellites and Small Bodies
Primary Convener:  Ashley Gerard Davies, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Conveners:  Thomas B McCord1, Katherine de Kleer2, Dennis L Matson1 and Torrence V Johnson3, (1)Bear Fight Institute, Winthrop, WA, United States(2)California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Pasadena, CA, United States(3)JPL, Pasadena, CA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Ashley Gerard Davies, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States


Giant planet interiors
Primary Convener:  Kimberly Moore, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
Conveners:  David J Stevenson, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, John E P Connerney, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, Sean Wahl, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, United States and Scott J Bolton, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States
Primary Liaison:  Scott J Bolton, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States


Hydrothermal processes in the evolution of solar system bodies
Primary Convener:  Suniti Karunatillake, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
Conveners:  Saman Karimi, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, Scott M Perl, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, Jonathan E Snow, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States and Sonia Tikoo-Schantz, Stanford University, Department of Geophysics, Stanford, United States
Primary Liaison:  Suniti Karunatillake, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States


Ice and Ocean Worlds: Geology, oceanography, chemistry, habitability
Primary Convener:  Catherine C Walker, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
Convener:  Steve Vance, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
Primary Liaison:  Catherine C Walker, Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus, Atlanta, GA, United States


Illuminating the martian rock cycle with regional geochemistry
Primary Convener:  Suniti Karunatillake, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
Conveners:  James J Wray, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States, Rohana Chandrajith, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, Department of Geology, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, Vashan Wright, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States and Jennifer L Whitten, Tulane University, New Orleans, United States
Primary Liaison:  James J Wray, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States


In Situ Science and Instrumentation for the Exploration of Europa and Ocean Worlds
Primary Convener:  Erin Janelle Leonard, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Conveners:  Shawn M Brooks, Jason Daniel Hofgartner and Divya M Persaud, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Erin Janelle Leonard, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States


In-Situ Geophysical Exploration of Planetary Bodies
Primary Convener:  Laurent Montesi, University of Maryland College Park, Department of Geology, College Park, MD, United States
Conveners:  Matthias Grott, German Aerospace Ctr DLR, Berlin, Germany, Renee C Weber, NASA/NSSTC, Huntsville, AL, United States and Zhiyong Xiao, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
Primary Liaison:  Zhiyong Xiao, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China


Juno meets JWST: a new era of planetary atmosphere modeling
Primary Convener:  Cheng Li, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Conveners:  Shawn Brueshaber, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States and Thaddeus David Komacek, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Primary Liaison:  Xi Zhang, UC Santa Cruz, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Santa Cruz, CA, United States


Machine Learning and Data Science Methods for Planetary Science
Primary Convener:  Abigail Azari, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
Conveners:  Lior Rubanenko, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Hannah Rae Kerner, University of Maryland, College Park, Geography, College Park, MD, United States, Mario D'Amore, German Aerospace Center DLR Berlin, Berlin, Germany and Klaus-Michael Aye, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States
Primary Liaison:  Abigail Azari, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States


Mars Sample Return: Challenges and Advances in Planning for the First Samples from Another Planet
Primary Convener:  Brandi L Carrier, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Conveners:  Gerhard Kminek, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands, Michael A Meyer, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, United States, David W Beaty, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States and Tim Haltigin, Canadian Space Agency, Saint-Hubert, QC, Canada
Primary Liaison:  Brandi L Carrier, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States


Paleohydrology and Fluvial Dynamics of Martian Channels
Primary Convener:  Catherine Russell, University of Leicester, Leicester, UNITED KINGDOM; Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States
Conveners:  Suniti Karunatillake, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States, Kory M Konsoer, Louisiana State University, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Baton Rouge, LA, United States, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, United States and Adam Matthew Forte, Louisiana State University, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Catherine Russell, University of Leicester, Leicester, UNITED KINGDOM; Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States


Planetary Atmospheres and Evolution
Primary Convener:  Vladimir Airapetian, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Division, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Conveners:  Yasuhito Sekine, Earth-Life Science Institute, Meguro, Japan and Cedric Gillmann, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Primary Liaison:  Cedric Gillmann, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium


Planetary Rings, Meteoroid and Dust Populations and Effects
Primary Convener:  Nicolas Lee, Stanford University, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford, CA, United States
Conveners:  Sean Hsu, University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States, Richard Jerousek, University of Central Florida, Florida Space Institute, Orlando, FL, United States and Benjamin Estacio, Stanford University, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford, CA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Nicolas Lee, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States


Processes in the present-day Atmosphere of Mars
Primary Convener:  Armin Kleinboehl, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Conveners:  Nicholas G Heavens, Hampton University, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Hampton, VA, United States, Paul Ottinger Hayne, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States and Majd Mayyasi, Boston University, Center for Space Physics, Boston, MA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Armin Kleinboehl, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States


Radar Investigations of Planetary Surfaces and Subsurfaces
Primary Convener:  Dustin M Schroeder, Stanford University, Department of Geophysics, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA, United States
Conveners:  Lynn M Carter, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, Cyril Grima, University of Texas, Institute for Geophysics, Austin, TX, United States and G Wesley Patterson, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States
Primary Liaison:  Dustin M Schroeder, Stanford University, Department of Geophysics, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA, United States


Results from the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM)
Primary Convener:  Mariam Rashid Alshamsi, Mohamed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Convener:  Michael Chaffin, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States
Primary Liaison:  Michael Chaffin, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States


Space environments of unmagnetized or weakly magnetized solar system bodies and the effects of space weather on these systems
Primary Convener:  Christopher M Fowler, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
Conveners:  Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom, Xiaohua Fang, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States and Yingjuan Ma, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Christopher M Fowler, Univ Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States


Surface Processes on Active Icy Worlds
Primary Convener:  Samuel Birch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, MA, United States
Conveners:  Orkan M Umurhan, SETI Institute Mountain View, Mountain View, CA, United States, Marisa C Palucis, Dartmouth College, Department of Earth Sciences, Hanover, NH, United States and Alexander M Morgan, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, United States
Primary Liaison:  Samuel Birch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, MA, United States


Tapping the Rhythms of Potential Life on Extraterrestrial Planets and Moons
Primary Convener:  Chui Yim Maggie Lau Vetter, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Extraterrestrial Ocean Systems (LEOS), Sanya, China
Conveners:  Frederick S Colwell, Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, OR, United States and Rosalyn Fey, Oregon State University, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Corvallis, OR, United States
Primary Liaison:  Chui Yim Maggie Lau Vetter, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Extraterrestrial Ocean Systems (LEOS), Sanya, China


The Effectiveness of Biochar on Nutrient Retention in Martian Soil Simulant
Primary Convener:  David McFarland, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, United States
Conveners:  Jessique Haeft, Ball State University, Environment, Geology, and Natural Resources, Muncie, IN, United States and David McFarland, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, United States
Primary Liaison:  David McFarland, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, United States


The Future of Planetary Atmospheric, Surface, and Interior Science Using Radio and Laser Links
Primary Convener:  Daniele Durante, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Conveners:  Sami Asmar, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, Silvia Tellmann, University of Cologne; Rheinisches Institut fuer Umweltforschung (RIU), Department of Planetary Research, Cologne, Germany and Luciano Iess, Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rome, Italy
Primary Liaison:  Daniele Durante, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy


The New Mars Underground: Astrobiology, Planetary Science, and Space Resources at the Dawn of Mars Sample Return
Primary Convener:  Jesse Tarnas, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States
Conveners:  Ana-Catalina Plesa, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany and Rachel Lee Harris, Harvard University, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Cambridge, MA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Jesse Tarnas, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States


The Science of Exploration: the Moon and Beyond
Primary Convener:  Kristina Gibbs, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
Conveners:  Gregory K Schmidt, NASA Lunar Science Institute, Moffett Field, CA, United States, Brian Hamilton Day, NASA Ames Research Center, Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, Moffett Field, CA, United States and Carle M Pieters, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
Primary Liaison:  Kristina Gibbs, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States


The Uranus and Neptune Systems, and their Relation to Other Planets
Primary Convener:  Kunio M Sayanagi, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, United States
Conveners:  Thomas Nordheim, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States, Elizabeth P Turtle, JHU Applied Physics Lab., Laurel, MD, United States and Yong-Jae Kim, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, High Energy Density Science, Physics Division, Livermore, CA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Kunio M Sayanagi, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, United States


Titan: Atmosphere, Surface and Interior
Primary Convener:  Conor A Nixon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Conveners:  Kathleen Mandt, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Space Exploration Sector, Laurel, MD, United States, Alexander Hayes, Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, Ithaca, NY, United States and Christophe Sotin, Jet Propulsion Laboratory-California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Conor A Nixon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States


Ultraviolet Observing of Solar System Targets
Primary Convener:  Amanda R Hendrix, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States
Conveners:  Shouleh Nikzad, JPL/Caltech, Pasadena, United States and Faith Vilas, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States
Primary Liaison:  Amanda R Hendrix, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States


Chemical Physics Insights into Atmospheric and Planetary Chemistry
Primary Convener:  Rebecca Caravan, Argonne National Laboratory, Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne, IL, United States
Conveners:  S Klippenstein, Argonne National Laboratory, Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Lemont, IL, United States, Marsha I Lester, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Chemistry, Philadelphia, PA, United States and Frank Winiberg, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States
Primary Liaison:  Rebecca Caravan, Argonne National Laboratory, Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne, IL, United States


Small Satellites as Pathfinders for New Mission Capabilities
Primary Convener:  William H Swartz, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States
Conveners:  Charles D Norton, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, Pamela Millar, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States and David M Klumpar, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
Primary Liaison:  William H Swartz, Johns Hopkins Univ, Laurel, MD, United States