Announcement of Opportunity for Interdisciplinary Scientists in the JUICE mission
2 March 2015
Through this Announcement of Opportunity (AO) ESA solicits the participation of the scientific community in the role of Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs) in the JUICE mission. Proposals are due by 15 April 2015 at 12:00 CEST (noon) and shall be preceded by a mandatory Letter of Intent due by 20 March 2015.
Direct link to this AO page:
http://sci.esa.int/JUICE-IDS-2015
The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) is the first L-class mission within ESA's Cosmic Vision programme. It aims at a comprehensive exploration of the Jovian system with particular emphasis on Jupiter, its environment, and Galilean moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto by investigating them as planetary bodies and potential habitats. The planned launch date is June 2022 with a back-up opportunity in August 2023.
Following the adoption of JUICE by ESA's Science Programme Committee at its meeting in November 2014, the mission is now in its implementation phase.
The present AO for Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs) is issued to involve scientists from the community with an interdisciplinary look at the mission development. The goal during this phase will be to harmonise the on-going work within the JUICE Science Working Team (SWT) and complement activities by the scientific instrument teams in areas that require dedicated interdisciplinary attention for a successful mission development. Further tasks for the IDSs may arise later in the mission.
The IDSs will be full members of the JUICE Science Working Team (SWT). The responsibilities and tasks of the IDSs are described in the AO document.
ESA will not fund the activities of the selected IDSs and each proposer is responsible for securing his/her own funding from other sources.
ESA aims to appoint up to three IDSs for an initial period of three years, renewable. ESA intends to release additional AOs at a later stage for different mission phases.
This AO is open to scientists from the worldwide scientific community. Co-Investigators of JUICE instrument teams are eligible to apply for IDS positions, while PIs and Co-PIs are excluded.
AO schedule and deadlines
| 2 March 2015 | Release of this AO |
| 20 March 2015 | Mandatory Letter of Intent submission deadline |
| 15 April 2015, 12:00 CEST (noon) | Proposal submission deadline |
| July 2015 | Appointment of IDSs |
AO Information Package
Full details of this AO are available in the AO information package, which contains:
- JUICE IDS AO
- JUICE Science Management Plan (SMP); ESA/SPC(2012)20
- JUICE Definition Study Report (Red Book); ESA/SRE(2014)1
The information package can be downloaded as a single zip file from the right-hand menu, under "Documentation".
Letter of Intent and Proposal submission
Prospective proposers must submit a mandatory Letter of Intent (LoI). Proposals not preceded by a corresponding LoI will not be considered.
LoIs are limited in length to 2 A4 pages (minimum font size 11 pt). Proposals are limited in length to 14 A4 pages (minimum font size 11 pt). The requirements for the contents of the LoI and the Proposal are provided in the AO document.
Letters of Intent and Proposals shall be submitted electronically in PDF format to the following e-mail address: JUICE-IDS-AO
cosmos.esa.int by the respective deadlines listed in the AO schedule above.
Proposers will receive confirmation upon successful receipt of their Letters of Intent and Proposals.
Contact
Queries related to this JUICE IDS AO should be addressed to:
Luigi Colangeli
Head of the Coordination Office for the Scientific Programme
ESA/ESTEC (SRE-CS)
P.O. Box 299
2200 AG Noordwijk
The Netherlands
e-mail: Luigi.Colangeliesa.int