PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER Volume 19, Number 50 (December 14, 2025) PEN Website: https://planetarynews.org Editor: Mark V. Sykes Co-Editors: Matthew R Perry, Alex Morgan Email: pen_editor@psi.edu X: @pen2tweets Bluesky: @planetarynews.bsky.social o-------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS---------------------------o 1. 2026 Pierazzo International Student Travel Award Winners 2. IFMacau 2026 Session: Apophis and Solar System Small Bodies 3. Science and Technology Funding Opportunity: Pre-Proposals Due January 22, 2026 4. Signatories: Open Source Signing of Statements and Petitions for Planetary Science 5. Free Digital Elevation Models and Orthorectified Images Provided by USGS Astrogeology for S-Cubed Mars and Lunar Proposers 6. [NASA] ROSES-25 Amendment 29: F.6 Science Activation Final Text and Due Date 7. [NASA] ROSES-25 Amendment 30: Updates to the ROSES-25 Summary of Solicitation 8. Planetary Section Events at AGU 9. AGU OPAG Town Hall: Thursday, December 18, 2025 10. Soliciting Special Sessions for Fall 2026 DPS Meeting 11. Humans to Titan Summit 12. Planetary Meeting Calendar Additions 13. Planetary Science Journal - New Papers 14. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets - New Papers o---------------------------------------------------------------------o 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 2026 PIERAZZO INTERNATIONAL STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD WINNERS The Pierazzo International Student Travel Award was established by PSI in memory of Senior Scientist Betty Pierazzo to support and encourage graduate students to build international collaborations and relationships in planetary science. Sarah Stewart (University of Edinburgh) will receive the award for a non-U.S.-based graduate student going to a planetary-related conference within the U.S. Sarah Stewart will be attending the Astrobiology Science Conference in Madison, WI, May 17-22, 2026. Her research focuses on the role of mineral surfaces (particularly clay) in the formation and preservation of proto-proteins using molecular dynamics simulations. Emily Elizondo (Michigan State University) will receive the award for a U.S.-based graduate student attending a planetary-related conference outside of the U.S. Emily Elizondo will be attending the "Building the Hard Rocky Planets - From Mercury to the asteroid belt" workshop, which will be held in Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, France, June 22-26, 2026. Her research focuses on the later stages of terrestrial planet formation in the Solar System and the implantation of impact debris into the asteroid belt. 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 IFMACAU 2026 Session: APOPHIS AND SOLAR SYSTEM SMALL BODIES Abstract deadline: December 26, 2025 The 2026 Macau International Forum on Space and Planetary Sciences (IFMacau) will be held in Macau from January 26 - 29. This annual forum provides a venue for scientists worldwide to exchange new developments in space and planetary sciences. We invite abstracts to be submitted to session "Apophis and Solar System Small Bodies". This session focuses on small body research with emphasis on Apophis and its 2029 close encounter with Earth. We welcome abstracts on all topics related to Apophis and other asteroids, comets, and interstellar objects, including spacecraft missions, ground-based observations, and theoretical studies. For visitors of a substantial number of nationalities, no visa is required to enter Macau for a short stay. Conference website: https://ifmacao.must.edu.mo/ 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: PRE-PROPOSALS DUE JANUARY 22, 2026 The Planetary Society invites proposals to its grants program: Science and Technology Empowered by the Public (STEP) Grants. These are planetary science and/or technology grants chosen from an open, international, competed proposal process. Proposals must fit within one or more of The Planetary Society's core enterprises (Explore Worlds, Find Life, Defend Earth). All funding will come from Planetary Society members and donors. Preliminary proposals are due January 22, 2026. Based on the pre-proposal submissions, a small number of proposers will be invited to submit full proposals from which grant selections will be made. For this round of STEP Grants, the nominal expectation is two awards at approximately the US$50,000 level each. More information can be found at: https://planetary.org/stepgrants 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 SIGNATORIES: OPEN SOURCE SIGNING OF STATEMENTS AND PETITIONS FOR PLANETARY SCIENCE https://signatories.planetary-research.org Signatories is a new web-based application that allows a person to sign an online petition, a declaration, a statement, or any form of communication that requires community support. Signing is accomplished by authenticating with an account at ORCID: https://orcid.org When the signatory's name is visible, any public visitor may click on it to inspect their ORCID profile. Creating a signing campaign is simple and only requires filling out an online form with a title, a subtitle, and the main text. The campaign owner can choose to allow for anonymous signatures or not, and once the campaign is created, it is immediately accessible online with a unique web address. Signatories to a campaign may choose to add their professional affiliation, and they can modify their preferences or remove their signature altogether after signing. To learn more about Signatories, read our blog post: https://tinyurl.com/28m6z3hc 5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5 FREE DIGITAL ELEVATION MODELS AND ORTHORECTIFIED IMAGES PROVIDED BY USGS ASTROGEOLOGY FOR S-CUBED MARS AND LUNAR PROPOSERS The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Planetary Photogrammetry Lab offers a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and orthorectified image production service to the scientific community to supply NASA-selected investigators with high-quality HiRISE and LROC NAC DEMs and orthorectified images. This service is offered at no charge to NASA-selected investigations through the ROSES program. Proposers need only to reach out to USGS Astrogeology around initial submission or at least three weeks prior to submission of E&R documents for a Letter of Technical Confirmation, or a Letter of Support. More information on the program, requirements for issuing a Letter, and how to request a letter can be found on our website: https://tinyurl.com/pccb39h7 6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6 [NASA] ROSES-25 AMENDMENT 29: F.6 SCIENCE ACTIVATION FINAL TEXT AND DUE DATE The Science Activation program element (F.6 SciAct) of ROSES-25 solicits a portfolio of projects that together cover the full breadth of NASA science disciplines, operate across all 50 states plus U.S. territories, reach people of all ages and backgrounds, include both formal and informal learning organizations, and engage community partners to deepen and extend reach and impact. NASA seeks a balance of: (1) projects that seek to broadly share resources and opportunities that leverage NASA assets, and (2) projects that seek to meet specific community (both geographically- and interest-based) needs through NASA assets. ROSES-2025 Amendment 29 releases final text and due dates for F.6 SciAct, which was previously TBD. There will be a pre-proposal webinar on January 9, 2026, at 2 pm Eastern time, see "other documents" on the NSPIRES page for F.6 SciAct for connection information. Notices of intent to propose are requested by January 26, 2026, and proposals are due March 31, 2026. Go to: https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025 Questions concerning F.6 SciAct may be directed to Lin Chambers at lin.h.chambers@nasa.gov. [Edited for length] 7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7 [NASA] ROSES-25 AMENDMENT 30: UPDATES TO THE ROSES-25 SUMMARY OF SOLICITATION ROSES-2025 is an omnibus or umbrella solicitation that contains many program element appendices (listed in Tables 2 and 3) and the ROSES-25 Summary of Solicitation (SoS) lays out the backstop rules that apply by default to those program element appendices. ROSES-2025 Amendment 30 makes a few changes to the ROSES-25 SoS: Section I(e) on High-End Computing Resources was updated, and concomitant changes were also made to Section 9.1 of D.3 AGIGO. A warning about "portfolio" PDFs was added to Section IV(b)ii, and a statement about public disclosure of proposal information was added to the end of Section V(e). New text is in bold and deleted text is struck through. Go to: https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES20252025/ Questions concerning the ROSES-25 SoS may be directed to SARA@nasa.gov. 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8 PLANETARY SECTION EVENTS AT AGU Going to AGU? Put these Planetary-specific events on your schedule! On Monday, we have our named lectures. All Lectures are in room La Nouvelle C. Whipple starts at 8:30: https://tinyurl.com/6sr7sm69 Shoemaker starts at 14:15: https://tinyurl.com/y8dkkd6u Sagan start at 16:15: https://tinyurl.com/3ktmm86p On Tuesday evening from 18:00 to 19:30 all section receptions will occur together in the "Science Connects Us Reception": https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/meetingapp.cgi/Session/275415 Look for Planetary in the dark blue lighted "Beyond Earth" neighborhood in Hall B1. On Wednesday, Planetary section leadership will be at an informal networking gathering. Please bring your own lunch and join us in the Mardi Gras Lounge from 12:15 to 13:15. Wednesday evening is the NASA Planetary Science Division Town Hall from 18:00 to 19:00. (All times CST, local to the meeting.) 9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9 AGU OPAG TOWN HALL: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2025 6:00-7:00 PM Central Standard Time (GMT-6) Location: Rm 267-268 (NOLA CC) The Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) will hold a Town Hall at the AGU meeting in New Orleans, LA. Please join us for a community discussion! The steering committee will provide a brief update on recent OPAG activities, and then provide an opportunity for the outer planets community to participate in an open discussion of relevant issues which may include support for outer planets missions that are ongoing and in development, upcoming mission opportunities, workforce, infrastructure, and R&A, among others. We want your feedback and hope to see you there! This Town Hall is hosted at AGU in person; AGU does not support virtual engagement in their Town Halls, but we will have a Zoom open and will monitor/read out comments in the chat when possible. For Remote Participation: https://tinyurl.com/OPAGTownHall Program information: https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/meetingapp.cgi/Session/252222 This Town Hall is sponsored by Cornell University, Southwest Research Institute, and the Planetary Science Institute. 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 SOLICITING SPECIAL SESSIONS FOR FALL 2026 DPS MEETING The Fall 2026 DPS meeting will be held October 25-30 in Spokane, WA. As part DPS's commitment to sharing the interdisciplinary nature of planetary science, the Science Organizing Committee (SOC) is soliciting special session proposals focused on timely planetary topics. Special sessions already planned include 5 Years of Perseverance at Jezero; Juno after 10 years at Jupiter; MESSENGER Orbit Insertion + 15 years and BepiColombo rising; 20 Years of MRO; 30 years of asteroid rendezvous missions; and Interstellar Comets. As always, recurring sessions (created around submitted abstracts) reflect the broad scope of planetary research covering observational, laboratory, and theoretical studies of Solar System and exoplanetary bodies, formation of planetary systems, instrumentation, planetary art, and workforce development. If you have an idea for a special session, email SOC chair Abby Fraeman (abigail.a.fraeman@jpl.nasa.gov) and DPS chair Scott Murchie (scott.murchie@jhuapl.edu) with your proposal including convenors. 11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-11 HUMANS TO TITAN SUMMET The inaugural Humans to Titan Summit, hosted by Explore Titan, will be held June 11-12, 2026 at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO. Abstract submissions open in January. We will be soliciting abstracts on a wide range of topics including Titan science, environmental properties, precursor missions and education/outreach. We are looking for volunteers to help with the workshop and with Explore Titan's overall efforts. Please contact exploretitan@gmail.com to help or with questions. You can also visit: https://www.exploretitan.org 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12 PLANETARY MEETING CALENDAR ADDITIONS Note: Many face-to-face meetings going forward will have online components. Check their websites for details. Posted at https://planetarynews.org/meetings.html April 13-16, 2026 Science with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes VIII: Enriching the Universe, From Primordial Nucleosynthesis to Exoplanet Atmospheres https://tinyurl.com/24azabr3 Vienna, Austria 13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13 PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL - NEW PAPERS Direct Links to Open Access Papers Editor, Faith Vilas https://psj.aas.org Retrograde Predominance of Small Saturnian Moons Reiterates a Recent Retrograde Collisional Disruption Edward Ashton et al. 2025 PSJ 6:283 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1d62 Prebiotic Chemistry Insights for Dragonfly: Thermodynamics of Amino Acid Synthesis in Selk Crater on Titan Ishaan Madan and Ben K. D. Pearce 2025 PSJ 6:284 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1c18 Beyond Point Masses. V. Weywot's Non-Keplerian Orbit Benjamin Proudfoot et al. 2025 PSJ 6:285 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae18da Zonal Winds in Titan's Middle Atmosphere from a Stellar Occultation Observed with Keck Adaptive Optics Theresa C. Marlin et al. 2025 PSJ 6:286 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae03a6 Using SOFIA's EXES to Search for C6 H2 and C4 N2 in Titan's Atmosphere Zachary C. McQueen et al. 2025 PSJ 6:287 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2022 Simultaneous Detection of the Size and Velocity of the Largest Ejecta Particles with Velocities Exceeding 1 km/s Akiko M. Nakamura et al. 2025 PSJ 6:288 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1d76 The Case for Continuing VIPER: A Critical Milestone on the Journey Back to the Moon Benjamin Fernando et al. 2025 PSJ 6:289 https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1b87 14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14 JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: PLANETS - NEW PAPERS Direct Links to Open Access (OA) Papers Editors-in-Chief, Amanda Hendrix & Debra Buczkowski https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21699100 Spectral Study of Five Major Impact Basins and Their Volcanic Infills on Mercury: A Window Into the Mantle's Properties E. Caminiti et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009359 Trace Element Transport and Deposition During Magmatic Degassing: The Effect on Martian Rocks and Fines N. Zimmermann, M. Safari, H. Nekvasil https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008906 Characteristics of Helium Bulges and the Impact of Martian Year 34 Global Dust Storm Using MAVEN/NGIMS Observations and MarsPCM and MGITM Simulations Neha Gupta et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009071 A Long-Term Study of Jupiter's Equatorial Winds at the Top of the Troposphere M. Sanchez-Arregui et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009332 Present-Day Thermal State and Surface Heat Flux of the Moon Sabatino Santangelo et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009458 Abrasion Patch Dehydration Experiment at Bright Angel, Jezero Crater, Using SuperCam Onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover S. A. Connell et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009243 *********************************************************************** * The Planetary Exploration Newsletter is issued approximately weekly. * Current and back issues are available at https://planetarynews.org * * To subscribe, go to https://planetarynews.org and click on Subscribe. * * An unsubscribe option is available at the end of every PEN email. Or * send an email to pen_editor@psi.edu * * Please send all replies and submissions to pen_editor@psi.edu. * Announcements and other messages should be brief with links to URLs * for extended information, including detailed descriptions for job * announcements. Title plus text is limited to 200 words. Go to * https://planetarynews.org/submission.html for complete submission * directions. * * PEN is a service provided by the Planetary Science Institute * (https://www.psi.edu) using no NASA funds. 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