Workshop

4TH INTERNATIONAL PLANETARY PROBE WORKSHOP
CALL FOR PAPERS

The next steps in the robotic exploration of the solar system involve missions to planets and satellites with significant atmospheres. The four major planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - have bottomless atmospheric oceans, but Mars, Venus and Saturn's moon Titan have solid accessible surfaces. The International Planetary Probe Workshop series was established to bring together scientists, spacecraft engineers, technologists, and mission designers interested in the technological challenges and scientific opportunities involved in entry, descent, and flight in these planetary atmospheres, and scientific exploration of their atmospheres.

OBJECTIVES OF FOURTH WORKSHOP

The Fourth Workshop (IPPW-4), to be held in Pasadena in June 2006, will build upon the accomplishments of the three earlier workshops: two held in Europe (Lisbon, Portugal, 2003 and Athens, Greece, 2005) and one in the USA (NASA Ames Research Center, 2004). As with previous workshops, key objectives include fostering international involvement in planetary exploration with probes and engaging the next generation of scientists and engineers in this exciting field.

For IPPW-4 we are expecting a continuing focus on Outer Planet probe missions as well as concepts for probe and aerial platform missions to Mars, Venus, and Titan. There will be a session on technologies for the extreme environments experienced in entry, descent, and flight at these targets. Applications of Earth entry and descent, science and technology will also be featured, including data from the Stardust mission which returned a cometary sample to Earth on January 15, 2006. To accommodate additional papers, the workshop format has been changed to include parallel sessions on the third day of the workshop.

Immediately preceding the workshop, a two-day short course, "In Situ Instruments for Planetary Probes and Aerial Platforms," will be held on June 25-26. For more information regarding workshop sessions, see Workshop Program.

WORKSHOP GOALS

The general goals of the International Planetary Program Workshop Series are to:

• Review the state-of-the-art in science, mission design, engineering implementation and technology for the in situ robotic exploration of planets with atmospheres.

• Share ideas, mission opportunities, and emerging technologies to enable future mission success.

• Serve as a forum for initiating discussions on innovative methodologies and techniques for future missions to explore planets and satellites with atmospheres.

• Provide young scientists and engineers in the field of entry, descent, and flight in planetary atmospheres with the opportunity to learn from experienced researchers and practitioners.

• Foster international collaboration among the communities of scientists, engineers, and mission designers interested in planetary probes.

WORKSHOP INFORMATION

• LOCATION:
  Pasadena Hilton, Pasadena, California, USA

• SCHEDULE:
  The workshop will last for 3-1/2 days beginning on the morning of Tuesday, June 27, 2006 and will end before noon on Friday, June 30, 2006.

• SHORT COURSE:
  (Limited Space Available)
  Immediately preceding the workshop, on June 25-26, 2006, a two-day short course, "In Situ Instruments for Planetary Probes and Aerial Platforms," will be offered.

  Short Course "In Situ Instruments for Planetary Probes and Aerial Platforms"
  The course will address the regimes within which probes operate - hypervelocity, descent, aerial and surface. It will include aerocapture using lift to obtain orbit around bodies with atmospheres. For each category, relevant measurements and the instrumentation to make these measurements will be discussed. In particular, sensors for extreme environments will be addressed together with the bodies with such environments as Venus, Titan, and Europa. Case studies will be presented, including Huygens and a Titan Aerover, together with lessons learned from Pioneer and the Russian probes to Venus.

  Short course session information can be found here.

• REGISTRATION:
  Registration costs for the Workshop and Short Course are:

• Workshop:
  Regular: $300 (after May 15, 2006: $350)
  Student: $90

• Short Course
  Regular: $95 (after May 15, 2006: $115) Student: $95

• BANQUET:
  Wednesday, June 28 at the California Institute of Technology Athenaeum.
  The cost of the banquet is included in the workshop registration fees.

• HOTEL:
  The Pasadena Hilton
  168 S. Los Robles Avenue
  Pasadena, CA 91101
  Hotel Phone: 626-577-1000
  Hotel Fax: 626-584-3148
  Hotel Website: http://www.pasadenacal.com/hilton.htm
  Hotel Online Reservations: IPPW group reservation site.

  Special Workshop rates for the Pasadena Hilton are:
  Single room/Double room: $96.00 ($25 extra per additional person in room)

  Hotel reservations must be made directly with the Pasadena Hilton. To ensure the workshop rates, please mention IPPW-4/International Planetary Probe Workshop if calling for reservations, or click on the IPPW group reservation site link above.

• MEALS:
  The Workshop registration fee includes continental breakfast on June 27-30 and lunch on June 27 and 28.

• CALL FOR PAPERS:
  Papers and Posters on the topics listed under WORKSHOP SESSIONS are invited. Information on how to submit abstracts is available at http://ippw.jpl.nasa.gov/WORKSHOP/CallforPapers/.

  Please Note: The Deadline for Abstract Submission is May 9, 2006.

  Oral presentations will be limited to 15 minutes. The preferred format for submission of abstracts is MS Word. To the extent possible, please avoid any figures or complex mathematical expressions in the abstract. Due to space and time constraints, only a limited number of papers can be accepted as oral presentations. However, all presentations (oral and poster) that are accepted will be eligible for inclusion in the proceedings. A notice of paper acceptance will be sent to authors of papers selected by May 15, 2006.

• STUDENTS:
  A limited number of Student scholarships will be available. Information on how to apply is available at: http://ippw.jpl.nasa.gov/WORKSHOP/StudentMatters.

• WORKSHOP SESSIONS:
  The 4th International Planetary Probe Workshop comprises sessions on the programmatic, technical, scientific, and mission design issues of atmospheric entry and descent exploration of solar system bodies. Papers and posters addressing the following topics are encouraged:
  • Scientific results of past atmospheric entry probe missions, with implications for future explorations
  • Applications of experiences gained from Earth atmospheric entry studies to future planetary probe missions
  • Future mission concepts and studies
  • Technical, environmental, and mission design issues of atmospheric entry probe missions
  • Sensors, Instruments and Sample Acquisition Systems
  • Technologies that manage thermal and pressure environments throughout the probe mission
  • Capabilities and prospects of existing and emerging electronics, communications and battery technologies for operation in extreme environments encountered by the atmospheric probe missions
  • Atmospheric entry, descent, and mobility technologies including thermal protection systems, parachute technologies, balloons, gliders etc.

  The current IPPW-4 program and list of Session Chairs can be found at: http://ippw.jpl.nasa.gov/WORKSHOP/WorkshopProgram/.

• CONTACT INFORMATION:
  Please contact the IPPW-4 Secretariat via E-mail at: ippw4@jpl.nasa.gov.