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August 15, 2008

Some changes have been made to the front page of the SARA website to reflect (sadly) Dr. Pendleton’s departure

The Grant Stats page has new downloadable spreadsheets (of ROSES 2007 selections) and the selections for the last few programs announced (ASTEP, GLAST and ASTID) are posted there.

Updates have been made to the Program Officer List including the departure of Pam Marcum, the arrival of Patti Boyd as the new program officer for Kepler Mission related programs, Ilana Harrus for GLAST and Swift Guest Investigator programs, and Jeff Hayes taking over Heliophysics Guest Investigators Program and Virtual Observatories for Heliophysics Data from the recently retired Charles Holmes.

The new updated selections histogram demonstrates that we are continuing to make selections much faster than in past years.

The Grant Solicitations page continues to list the recent ROSES Amendments, requests for information, and open and draft solicitations.

There are four new additions to the Highlights page.

The Events Calendar indicates that Max will be attending the DPS meeting where he will help Dr. Jim Green with the NASA Town Hall.

In addition some other small changes and corrections have been made to other parts of the site such as the FAQ, and Library pages.

July 30, 2008

NSPIRES Restored

July 25, 2008

Important: NSPIRES Down - Due Dates Deferred

July 18, 2008

June 13, 2008

  • New Amendments added to Grant Solicitations page
  • New Solicitations added to Grant Solicitations page
  • New Frontiers Program Community Announcement - Grant Solicitations page
  • New FAQs
  • New Awards Abstracts added to Grant Stats page
  • Grant Status Data spreadsheet updated on Grant Stats page
  • Updated Science Highlights
  • Updated Program Officers page

A number of changes were made to the Grant Solicitations page, including the call for proposals for NASA Lunar Science Institute and the opportunity to join the FORCAST and GREAT science teams for first-light observations on SOFIA. In addition, we are up to 13 amendments to ROSES 2008, and we keep you abreast of the status of the latest planned solicitations, with announcements about opportunities in the New Frontiers Program and the Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity Notice (SALMON).

The grant stats page has new downloadable xl and PDF versions of our award spreadsheet and new links to awards abstracts. The grant stats page also has a link to a nice visual representation of the improvements that we have wrought over the past year in speeding award announcements. In a bar graph that can be found here we show that, on average, we are making decisions more rapidly than in past years.

Planetary Division research and data analysis programs final budgets (for FY2003-FY2007) can be downloaded as a PDF file here, and there are links to it from the library, the grant stats page, and the PSD corner.

There are a number of new items on the FAQ page, including one about the length of the proposal summary. The text on the NSPIRES web page was slightly incorrect, and that will be corrected shortly.

As always we have posted some new science highlights, including those dedicated to the successful landing of Phoenix on Mars, Terra/Aqua satellite images of Nargis floods, Spitzer Space Telescope images showing that the Milky Way has just two major arms rather than four, and an interactive web version of multi-gigapixel infrared images of the Milky Way from the GLIMPSE team.

We continue to update the program officers page to maintain up-to-date contact information so you can reach them directly. In many cases we now have hypertext links from the name of the program officer to a web page that tells a bit about them.

In May and June Dr. Yvonne Pendleton and other SMD representatives gave presentations at various meetings, as one can see from the events calendar. A powerpoint version of the presentation given by Yvonne at the AAS in early June can be downloaded here.

May 9, 2008

  • Enhanced SARA Subscriptions feature
  • 1 New Science Highlight
  • Updated Newsletters Page
  • Updated Grant Solicitations
  • Updated Grant Stats
  • New Program Officers Bios
  • Updated Events Calendar

April 25, 2008

  • New NASA Science website
  • Updated Grant Solicitations page
  • 7 ROSES 2007 Selections added to Grant Stats page
  • New Grant Status Data spreadsheet added to Grant Stats page
  • 1 New Science Highlight
  • Added Student Collaboration Definition Final Report to the Library
  • Updated Student Programs page
  • Added R&A Updates to each Division Corner

March 28, 2008

  • NASA Administrator Announces Science Mission Directorate Leadership Changes
  • NEW Page! Student Programs
  • 2 New Science Highlights
  • 7 New listings of Abstracts on the Grant Stats page
  • Updated Grant Stats data table
  • Additional details for Amendments to ROSES 2008 on the Grant Solicitations page
  • JDEM RFI information on Grant Solicitations page
  • Updated Program Officers details
  • Article on the search for planets on Science Matters page
  • Letter on STScI May Symposium on Astrophysics Division Corner page
  • Announcement from Jim Green on Planetary Science Division Corner

The SARA front page has a link to the announcement regarding the change in leadership in the Science Mission Directorate.

We have added a new page that describes some of the student programs and fellowships available from NASA and other agencies. We will continue to build this page as more information comes to us, but this is a good start if you have been frustrated by the lack of one stop shopping for student programs.

Links to lists of abstracts of selected proposals have been added to most of the selection announcements on the grant stats page and updated grant statistics can be downloaded there as PDF or XLS files.

The first three amendments to ROSES 2008, and a request for information regarding the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) were added to the grant solicitations page.

Various small corrections and updates have been made to the Program Officer list.

An article on the search for planets has been posted on science matters page.

An announcement about the STScI May Symposium "A Decade of Dark Energy" has been posted on Astrophysics Division corner page.

A special statement from Jim Green about the changes at NASA HQ appears on Planetary Science Division corner.

March 17, 2008

  • Letter from SARA
  • New page: Newsletters
  • Highlights: 2 New Science Highlights
  • Updated Division Corners page: Selected 2007 Accomplishments
  • Updated Grant Stats page
  • Updated Grant Solicitations page
  • Updated Program Officers list: Michael Kelley
  • Updated FAQ page: 8 new FAQs
  • New page: Polarpalooza!
  • Updated Events Page: SARA presentation from LPSC

We have a whole new page devoted to newsletters, and other current announcements from societies, subcommittees, and other groups we think may be of interest to our readers.

Selection information and abstracts for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Participating Scientists Program have been added to the grant stats page, links were added to the abstracts of selected Education and Public Outreach Supplemental grants from ROSES 07 on the EPO page. Data on the selections made for the Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) and terrestrial Ecology Programs are also listed on the grant stats page, with abstracts soon to follow. The downloadable PDF and xl spreadsheets with grant statistics data have also been updated.

Bios for Michael Kelley (our new program officer for Planetary Geology and Geophysics) and Michael New have been added to the Program Officers page.

Links to the draft AO for the Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity Notice (SALMON), and a request for information for "New Science Investigations using Existing NASA Spacecraft" can be found on the on the grant solicitations page. In addition a corrected future solicitations PDF file is now available.

Eight new questions and answers have been added to the SARA FAQ page, as well as a new link to the FAQ from the NASA 2008 guidebook for proposers

In addition to a link to the previously mentioned abstracts of selected Education and Public Outreach Supplemental grants from ROSES 07, and a link to "Polarpalooza", we have added a PDF of the Agenda from the SMD E/PO MOWG Face-to-Face Meeting to the SARA EPO page.

Selected Major Accomplishments from a recent presentation by SMD Associate Administrator Alan Stern have been added to all of the division corners.

Finally, the SARA presentation from the recent LPSC meeting is downloadable from the events page, as well as from the SARA library.

February 29, 2008

  • Letter from SARA
  • New page: Grant solicitations
  • Updated grants Stats page
  • Updated EPO page: EPO Letters from SARA and MOWG Chair
  • Highlights: Balloons Away!
  • Updated Library page: PI Requirements for Missions
  • Updated Division Corners page: Astro Div Herschel GO Program
  • Updated Program Officer list: Easrth Science
  • Updated FAQ page

As always, there is a new letter from SARA.

We have created a new grant solicitations page that lists links to recently released solicitations and a PDF with our planned future solicitations, including Stand Alone Mission of Opportunity Notice (SALMON).

The grant stats page has links to updated grant statistics sheets downloadable both in excel format so that it can be sorted and also in PDF format sorted by division and solicitation year.

Two new letters appear on the EPO page, the first from Yvonne Pendleton (SARA), and the second from Emily CoBabe-Ammann, Chair of the SMD E/PO MOWG.

This is balloon flight week on the SARA highlights page, where we provide images, summaries and links relating to three successful long duration balloon flights over the Antarctic. All were funded by the Particle Astrophysics element of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) research program.

We have made a number of corrections and additions to the SARA library page, the place to find useful links and download files. New things in the library include a PDF on PI requirements for Missions, and to the ROSES 2008 HTML table of programs by due date.

The astrophysics division corner has a special Statement regarding NASA funding for US participation in the Herschel Space Observatory.

Updates/corrections were made to the Earth Science Division PO list.

Finally, we have added a few items to the FAQ page, answering questions about one vs. two-column formats for proposals, and the GSRP vs. NESSF programs.

February 15, 2008

  • Letter from SARA
  • Link to ROSES08 on front page
  • Updated grants Stats page
  • Updated Division Corners pages with Budget info
  • Planetary Community 2005 Survey added to the Library
  • Updated: How-to guide (NSPIRES Improvements)
  • Updated:EPO Page with letter to community
  • Highlights: 2 new Science Highlights
  • Updated: R&A MOWG page

ROSES 2008 was released to today! A link to it appears on the SARA front page.

Updated NAC meeting dates, information about the next Heliophysics Subcommittee Meeting, links to MOWGs, and a link to a new Heliophysics MOWG news page all have been added to the Advisory Committees page.

The latest information about the first telecon of the R&A MOWG on Feb 12th appears on the R&A MOWG page.

In addition to a link to ROSES 2008 at NSPIRES, the Grant Stats page now includes a link to a new page about the MMS IDS Team Announcement, and a half dozen new ROSES 2007 Selections Recently Announced.

The Astrophysics Division Corner includes new information about the Astrophysics R&A budgets for the coming year, and a link to a PDF about the newly announced winners of the Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies competition.

The Heliophysics Division Corner includes a link to a page devoted to the Magnetospheric MultiScale Interdisciplinary Science (MMS IDS) team selections.

The program officer list for the Planetary Divsion now lists Dr. Michael Kelley along with Dr. Steve Saunders as being responsible for Planetary Geology and Geophysics. Michael Kelley will take over fully on March 21st. Welcome aboard Michael!

We note in the new NSPIRES Improvements page, the changes that were made to the software in a release one week ago. These changes include the fact that the check element warning symbols now really mean what they say.

We have added two new highlights, one on Aeolian features on the surface of Mars seen by HiRISE, and another on a Braille book called 'Touch the Invisible Sky' which introduces readers of all visual abilities to the concept of the electromagnetic spectrum and images from the great observatories.

We have added new Special Budget FAQs to address questions about the overall budget numbers for science, how we accelerated the Earth Science Decadal missions, the Mars Exploration program, and things relating to SIM, JDEM, New Millennium Program and more.

Links to all of the downloadable files listed above also appear on the Library page

February 1, 2008

  • Letter from SARA
  • Updated grants Stats page
  • NAC Astro Subcommittee Presentation to Library and Events calendar
  • Updated How-to guide (see Facilities Available for research)
  • EPO Page Updated with EPO MOWG urls
  • New page: R&A MOWG list and contact info with urls
  • Highlights: 3 new Science Highlights
  • Updated Events Calendar with LPSC R&A Townhall event

January 18, 2008

  • Letter from SARA
  • Added ROSES 2008 Due Dates
  • Added AAS NASA Town Hall Presentation
  • Updated Program Officer data
  • EPO Page Updated
  • Highlights: 3 new Science Highlights

January 4, 2008

  • Letter from SARA
  • Alan Stern's New year's Message to the Community (Front page)
  • Letter from Jim Green, Planetary Science Division Director (Division Corner, Planetary page)
  • AAS schedule for SMD staffing at the NASA Booth (Events calendar and Astro Division Corner)
  • NY Times article on Alan Stern and SMD (Science Matters page)
  • Updated Program Officer data
  • EPO Page Updated
  • Highlights: 2 new Science Highlights

December 21, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • Alan Stern's presentation to the AGU at NASA Night (Events page)
  • SARA Handout from the AGU meeting (Events page)
  • More Program Officer bios
  • Highlights: 2 new Science Highlights

December 5, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • New page! Advisory Group page
  • More Grant Stats than ever, and an easier to read format
  • Highlights: 5 new Science Highlights
  • NEW! Subscribe link
  • Clarification on how to subscribe on the Contacts page
  • More Program Officer bios added

November 21, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • New page! FAQ page
  • New page! EPO page
  • Division Corners: Astrophysics Job Openings at Headquarters
  • Events page: Upcoming SARA visit added (Ames Research Center)
  • Program Officer List page: Additions to the program officer bios
  • Accomplishments page: more four year award programs
  • Highlights: 3 new Science Highlights

November 9, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • Division Corners: Planetary Community announcement of new Data Analysis opportunity
  • Events page: Upcoming SARA visit added (COMPLEX)
  • Program Officer List page: Corrections and additions to the program officer list
  • Accomplishments page: Planetary Community announcement of new Data Analysis opportunity
  • Grants Stats page: Updated grant status data
  • Highlights: 5 new Science Highlights

October 26, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • Division Corners: New R&A page added for each of the SMD Divisions -new page-
  • NASA Notices: First notice posted - Earth Science Expert Directory For Media -new page-
  • Advisory Groups: PSS Advisory Committee report information -new page-
  • Events page: Upcoming SARA visit added (U of Michigan)
  • Program Officer List page: Corrections and additions to the program officer list
  • Accomplishments page: Volunteer opportunity for post doctoral fellows
  • Grants Stats page: New grant status data in both the original xl format so that it can be sorted and also in PDF format sorted by division and solicitation year

October 12, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • Science Highlights page: 7 added
  • Library page: SARA Handout (R&A update given out at DPS meeting)
  • Library page: Advisory Committee meeting dates and locations
  • Events page: 3 SARA visits added
  • Program Officer List page: redundancies removed for clarity
  • Accomplishments page: Volunteer opportunity for post doctoral fellows

September 28, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • Modification to definition of R&A on Introducing SARA page
  • Updated Accomplishments page
  • Max's Helpful NSPIRES Hints -new page-
  • Changes Coming to NSPIRES -new page-
  • What's New -new page-
  • New Data to excel spreadsheets at Grants Stats page
  • 5 New Highlights

September 14, 2007

  • Letter from SARA
  • Highlights -new page-
  • 1 New Accomplishment, Improved NSSC requests for annual progress reports
  • Updated Program Officers Page