1/8/2009 10:00 - 11:30 AM
NASA's Astrophysics Division recently reorganized into three major science programs. In this session we will describe the scope of one of these, Exoplanet Exploration. We will discuss the scientific objectives of the program, a forecast of coming opportunities in science and technology research and future flight missions, and news from missions in development or under study. Community involvement is a key component, including the recent three-agency Exoplanets Task Force Report and the Exoplanets Forum and the community report resulting from it. We will describe the new SIM Lite mission concept providing Earth-analog detection capability and a broad micro-arcsecond astrophysics program in the faint, high precision regime not reachable by any other mission. Early in 2008, NASA selected a set of Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies (ASMCS) and we will hear from the seven studies that have exoplanets as their main objective. There will be opportunities for discussion with the audience.
Organizer: Stephen Unwin, JPL
