Physics of the Cosmos News

1 July 2022

1st Precursor Science Workshop Summary Report and Worksheets Posted

A brief summary report for the 1st Precursor Science Workshop "Precursors to Pathways: Science Enabling NASA Astrophysics Future Great Observatories" (April 2022) is now posted on the workshop website; Two spreadsheets used at the workshop, summarizing community inputs on science gaps, are also available on the website. The "Summary Science Gaps Worksheet" was organized by science and breakout session topic, while the "Merged Science Gap Worksheet" was organized by Decadal mission areas (IROUV-exoplanets, IROUV-astrophysics, FarIR, X-ray).

The 2nd Precursor Science Workshop will be held virtually 2–4 August 2022.

The workshop website will go live the first week of July. If you wish to attend virtually and receive emails on the workshop, please submit your contact information here.

Inputs from workshops #1 and #2 will inform the ROSES proposal call D.16 Astrophysics Decadal Survey Precursor Science (ADSPS). The scope of the ADSPS program is:

"The Astrophysics Decadal Survey Precursor Science (ADSPS) supports research in areas related to the National Academy of Science and Engineering report, "Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s" recommendation for a large Infrared/Optical/Ultraviolet space mission to search for biosignatures from nearby exoplanets and to perform transformative astrophysics investigations, a large Far-Infrared, and a large X-ray mission. Basic research proposals to ADSPS should describe how scientific progress in the areas being investigated will either reduce the design and development risk for one or more of these future large missions or help to define the requirements such missions must meet to enable transformative discoveries. Proposals to ADSPS will be evaluated using the dual-anonymous peer review process."

The final text of the ADSPS ROSE call will go out this fall (Oct/Nov), with proposals due no fewer than 90 days later.

For more information on the workshops and ADSPS ROSES call, contact Eric Smith (eric.p.smith@nasa.gov) and Terri Brandt (t.j.brandt@nasa.gov).