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Discovery Program 2006 and Missions Of Opportunity
Guest_AlexBlackwell_*
post Jan 3 2006, 10:19 PM
Post #1





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I'm not sure exactly which forum this fits in but NASA has just released the AO for Discovery Program 2006 and Missions of Opportunity. See the Discovery Program Acquisition Home Page for more details. Click on the "Discovery AO" link to download the PDF.
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Guest_BruceMoomaw_*
post Jan 25 2006, 10:16 PM
Post #2





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There are at least three Venus Discovery proposals coming up in this round:

(1) VESPER will be resubmitted -- despite the fact that Venus Express should achieve many of its goals. It will be jazzed up by adding the little "VAMP" entry probe that was separately proposed once before. (VAMP's descent camera, which could have provided only very fuzzy high-altitude views, will be replaced by an improved GCMS).

(2) Poor Kevin Baines -- having submitted VESAT five times and struck out repeatedly (sometimes by heartbreakingly close margins) -- has given up on it and will be submitting a cloud-level balloon with a GCMS for protracted atmospheric and cloud studies.

(3) Bruce Campbell will be proposing "VISTA", an orbiter with the kind of subsurface radar sounder that got kicked off Venus Express due to lack of funds (plus a radar altimeter that's higher-resolution than Magellan's, which might allow much better gravity mapping). It may actually be the same "VENSIS" sounder planned for Venus Express -- that is, a clone of MARSIS. He's very skeptical about the ability to age-date Venusian rocks because of their high temperature, and thinks that the stratigraphy which a subsurface radar sounder can provide may be the only way to properly sequence the geological events that actually happened on Venus -- including settling the major question of whether it really did undergo catastrophic resurfacing. He told me at the VEXAG meeting that he simply considers this higher-priority scientifically right now than getting higher-resolution SAR images of Venus, which he could have done if he had instead proposed a Venusian copy of his "Mars Scout Radar" proposal.

I don't think the Discovery program is being deliberately "morphed into a comet/asteroid program" -- but I do think that they are finally running out of really low-cost Solar System missions that can do really good new science (at least until new technologies gradually lower the cost of the missions again), and so small bodies are likely to dominate the program more and more. Certainly, given the need to sample as wide a variety of asteroids, comets and KBOs as possible, missions to visit multiple small-body targets would seem a good, cost-effective choice for the Discovery Program at this point.

In any case, Bush's lunar initiative has now devoured all possible Discovery lunar proposals -- and the Mars Scout program, from its start, included all Phobos/Deimos missions (thus infuriating Jeffrey Bell, who admittedly infuriates easily). As for extrasolar-planet astronomy satellites, keep in mind that Kepler's cost has mushroomed to over $500 million -- with NASA's new Universe Division neverthless continuing to support it on the grounds that it's now an integral part of the extrasolar-planet search program (which, as Andy Dantzler said, means that "I don't have to worry about the thing anymore.") If later extrasolar-planet Discovery proposals are likely to undergo comparable cost overruns, this of course reduces their chances of being picked. It will be interesting to see whether they get enough science out of the damaged Genesis samples to rule out any thoughts of a reflight -- especially since oxygen and nitrogen measurements were both its highest scientific priorities and the ones most seriously contaminated by the crash.

But those last two categories raise the question of whether it might be better for NASA to combine ALL its competitively-picked space science missions within the same cost band into a unified competition, regardless of whether they happen to be Solar System, astronomy, or Sun-Earth Connection studies. (I've already mentioned that the possibility has been raised of incorporating Solar Probe into the New Frontiers program, since it's in the same price range.) This would seem to be more scientifically cost-effective overall.
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bmnky
post Feb 21 2006, 06:15 PM
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QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 25 2006, 10:16 PM) *
(2) Poor Kevin Baines -- having submitted VESAT five times and struck out repeatedly (sometimes by heartbreakingly close margins) -- has given up on it and will be submitting a cloud-level balloon with a GCMS for protracted atmospheric and cloud studies.


Does anybody know the name of Baines' new proposal?
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Posts in this topic
- AlexBlackwell   Discovery Program 2006 and Missions Of Opportunity   Jan 3 2006, 10:19 PM
- - djellison   All the documentation says there are guides to the...   Jan 3 2006, 11:28 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (djellison @ Jan 3 2006, 11:28 PM)All t...   Jan 4 2006, 12:23 AM
- - djellison   The ELV doc is very interesting....I wonder how cl...   Jan 4 2006, 12:54 AM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (djellison @ Jan 4 2006, 01:54 AM)(*PS ...   Jan 4 2006, 09:12 AM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (helvick @ Jan 4 2006, 10:12 AM)So some...   Jan 4 2006, 09:49 AM
- - BruceMoomaw   About time! Sen. Mikulski managed to gum up t...   Jan 4 2006, 03:24 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 4 2006, 03:24 AM)Abo...   Jan 4 2006, 06:49 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jan 4 2006, 06:49 PM)D...   Jan 4 2006, 08:51 PM
- - djellison   Yup - the maths could get quite interesting. Is it...   Jan 4 2006, 10:05 AM
|- - ugordan   It just goes to show it's time to switch to op...   Jan 4 2006, 10:23 AM
|- - mcaplinger   QUOTE (ugordan @ Jan 4 2006, 02:23 AM)It just...   Jan 4 2006, 09:46 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Dantzler made it clear that if it is at all in his...   Jan 5 2006, 01:17 AM
|- - Comga   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 4 2006, 07:17 PM...   Nov 3 2006, 04:42 AM
- - BruceMoomaw   Footnote: Mary Cleave does have the final say, at ...   Jan 5 2006, 01:19 AM
- - AlexBlackwell   BTW, for those of you playing along at home, the f...   Jan 9 2006, 05:39 PM
- - djellison   Stardust info up on the library - and DI with a bi...   Jan 11 2006, 07:40 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   The draft agenda for the Febrary 2, 2006, prepropo...   Jan 23 2006, 11:52 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   This post is tough to pigeonhole in any one distin...   Jan 24 2006, 05:53 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   This is a pretty interesting report, especially Ch...   Jan 24 2006, 08:52 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Now, THAT's a useful piece of information, Ale...   Jan 24 2006, 10:35 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Regarding possible solicitations to the latest Dis...   Jan 25 2006, 12:17 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 25 2006, 12:17 PM)At...   Jan 25 2006, 05:27 PM
||- - volcanopele   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jan 25 2006, 10:27 AM)...   Jan 25 2006, 07:27 PM
||- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Jan 25 2006, 07:27 PM)Wh...   Jan 25 2006, 07:34 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 25 2006, 04:17 AM)Al...   Jan 25 2006, 05:55 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Alex said "I think a reasonable person might ...   Jan 25 2006, 05:50 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ Jan 25 2006, 05:50 PM)I ...   Jan 25 2006, 06:28 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   There are at least three Venus Discovery proposals...   Jan 25 2006, 10:16 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 25 2006, 10:16 PM).....   Jan 25 2006, 11:42 PM
|- - bmnky   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 25 2006, 10:16 P...   Feb 21 2006, 06:15 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Answering John Rehling's question: no, there...   Jan 25 2006, 10:24 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Faith Vilas, Discovery Program Scientist at the Ju...   Jan 26 2006, 01:49 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 26 2006, 01:49 AM)Fa...   Jan 26 2006, 01:59 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 26 2006, 01:49 AM)Je...   Jan 26 2006, 07:22 PM
|- - tty   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jan 26 2006, 09:22 PM)...   Jan 26 2006, 11:30 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (tty @ Jan 26 2006, 11:30 PM)It seems t...   Jan 26 2006, 11:36 PM
- - djellison   If you think about it - for Discovery money, you c...   Jan 26 2006, 10:32 AM
|- - tedstryk   Well, for Venus, an atmospheric probe might be pos...   Jan 26 2006, 01:48 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (tedstryk @ Jan 26 2006, 01:48 PM)Well,...   Jan 26 2006, 07:26 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Venus is relatively easy to land on, compared with...   Jan 26 2006, 05:58 PM
- - odave   How about a solar mission - or has Sol's ...   Jan 26 2006, 07:37 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Where solar studies are concerned, with one except...   Jan 26 2006, 11:33 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   As for Ted Stryk's suggestions: Venus entry pr...   Jan 26 2006, 11:44 PM
|- - JRehling   Other options would include smash-and-grab sample ...   Jan 27 2006, 01:37 AM
- - AlexBlackwell   A new document (Stardust Spacecraft Hibernation St...   Feb 6 2006, 08:58 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   Presentations listed in the agenda for the Pre-Pro...   Feb 7 2006, 08:55 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   Presentations from the Lessons Learned Workshop (F...   Feb 7 2006, 11:07 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Feb 7 2006, 11:07 ...   Feb 21 2006, 10:58 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   The AO has been amended. Click here for more deta...   Feb 9 2006, 12:00 AM
- - AlexBlackwell   The Q&A's have been updated.   Feb 13 2006, 08:01 PM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Feb 13 2006, 08:01...   Feb 21 2006, 07:03 PM
- - djellison   Helvick, you should have a look at MER mobility re...   Feb 21 2006, 07:10 PM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (djellison @ Feb 21 2006, 07:10 PM)...   Feb 21 2006, 08:17 PM
- - djellison   Remember - much of that is probably hidden by ITAR...   Feb 21 2006, 08:41 PM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (djellison @ Feb 21 2006, 08:41 PM)...   Feb 21 2006, 09:21 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   New Q&A's have been posted.   Feb 23 2006, 05:59 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   A second amendment to the AO has been posted.   Feb 28 2006, 06:17 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   The Q&A's have been updated.   Mar 15 2006, 11:44 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   A list of attendees to the February 2, 2006, pre-p...   Mar 23 2006, 10:31 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Some rather big names missing from that list. No ...   Mar 23 2006, 10:50 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   Of course, close observers will note that by now i...   Sep 8 2006, 01:13 AM
- - Mariner9   I must be a close observer, because I've been ...   Sep 8 2006, 06:54 PM
|- - mcaplinger   QUOTE (Mariner9 @ Sep 8 2006, 11:54 AM) L...   Sep 8 2006, 09:46 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (mcaplinger @ Sep 8 2006, 11:46 AM)...   Sep 8 2006, 09:56 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   Yeah, these downselects are notoriously unpredicta...   Sep 8 2006, 09:03 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Sep 8 2006, 02:03 ...   Sep 13 2006, 01:41 AM
- - gpurcell   I wonder if something they might try to do is pick...   Sep 13 2006, 04:04 PM
- - Mariner9   I always suspected that one of the appeals to Deep...   Sep 13 2006, 06:15 PM
- - Bart   Any news on the selections? I make it now Proposa...   Oct 6 2006, 12:35 AM
- - AlexBlackwell   From Brad Thomson, glogging for Emily, about NASA ...   Oct 11 2006, 06:48 PM
- - NASA Geek   NASA has announced selections for the Discovery 20...   Oct 30 2006, 11:37 PM
- - Mariner9   Seven months and counting.... and the Discovery m...   Oct 30 2006, 11:44 PM
|- - Stephen   QUOTE (Mariner9 @ Oct 31 2006, 10:44 AM) ...   Oct 31 2006, 01:10 AM
||- - Jim from NSF.com   QUOTE (Stephen @ Oct 30 2006, 08:10 PM) ...   Oct 31 2006, 02:32 AM
|- - gpurcell   QUOTE (Mariner9 @ Oct 30 2006, 11:44 PM) ...   Oct 31 2006, 06:44 PM
- - nprev   I like the new missions for Deep Impact and Stardu...   Oct 31 2006, 01:04 AM
|- - Paolo   QUOTE (nprev @ Oct 31 2006, 02:04 AM) I l...   Oct 31 2006, 07:18 PM
|- - nprev   QUOTE (Paolo @ Oct 31 2006, 11:18 AM) I t...   Nov 1 2006, 01:41 AM
- - nprev   Jim, I didn't understand your comment.   Oct 31 2006, 05:34 AM
- - edstrick   "...would return a sample of an enigmatic ast...   Oct 31 2006, 09:29 AM
|- - mchan   It's an E-type asteroid.   Oct 31 2006, 12:08 PM
|- - Mariner9   QUOTE (edstrick @ Oct 31 2006, 01:29 AM) ...   Oct 31 2006, 11:36 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (edstrick @ Oct 31 2006, 01:29 AM) ...   Nov 1 2006, 10:53 PM
- - Phil Stooke   nprev: "This "EPOCh" mission for D...   Oct 31 2006, 04:08 PM
- - gpurcell   Given the missions selected, I think the odds are ...   Oct 31 2006, 06:41 PM
|- - Paolo   QUOTE (gpurcell @ Oct 31 2006, 07:41 PM) ...   Oct 31 2006, 07:33 PM
- - tty   "Origins Spectral Interpretation, Resource Id...   Oct 31 2006, 06:56 PM
- - OWW   I don't understand why Deep Impact is consider...   Nov 1 2006, 12:14 AM
|- - djellison   QUOTE (OWW @ Nov 1 2006, 12:14 AM) What...   Nov 1 2006, 07:41 AM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (djellison @ Nov 1 2006, 08:41 AM) ...   Nov 1 2006, 09:47 AM
- - Mariner9   There are a lot better pics out there than the one...   Nov 1 2006, 12:37 AM
- - djellison   Yup - we had that discussion a while back about st...   Nov 1 2006, 10:03 AM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (djellison @ Nov 1 2006, 11:03 AM) ...   Nov 1 2006, 04:15 PM
|- - Comga   QUOTE (ugordan @ Nov 1 2006, 10:15 AM) Ac...   Nov 2 2006, 04:31 AM
- - monitorlizard   Concerning the Discovery program selection this ro...   Nov 1 2006, 11:23 AM
- - Mariner9   I remember that also. I'm fairly sure that wa...   Nov 1 2006, 02:58 PM
- - Floyd   There are some Cassini sky shots from Sept 30, 200...   Nov 1 2006, 06:19 PM
- - Phil Stooke   For the comment by Dantzler about funding two miss...   Nov 2 2006, 05:51 PM
- - Mariner9   I haven't researched this, but I also thought ...   Nov 3 2006, 06:48 PM
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