News

Announcement of Spring 2023 Endowment Grant Selections More…

Announcement of 2022 McKay and Wiley Awards More…

Announcements about nominations for Meteoritical Society Awards More…

Announcements about nominations for Pellas-Ryder Award More…

Announcement about the upcoming deadline for Endowment grant proposals More…

Announcement of upcoming membership renewal deadline for 2023 More…

Sarah Sutton, currently a postdoctoral scientist at the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA, is awarded the 2022 Pellas-Ryder Award for her paper titled "Sinuous channels east of Olympus Mons, Mars: Implications for volcanic, hydrological, and tectonic processes" published in Icarus in 2022. Sarah received her PhD from the University of Arizona in 2020 and continues to work there as a photogrammetry and image processing scientist. Sarah examined the channels and fossae on the volcanic plains east of Olympus Mons, Mars, to determine their origin by volcanic or fluvial processes using HiRISE and CTX data. She found that the channels displayed three types of morphologies: two of these types were consistent with lava channels, while the third type was consistent with a fluvial origin "likely sourced from erupted groundwater that entrained regolith in lahar-like flows". Her studies of the fossae revealed surface fractures linked to dike and sill emplacement. Her paper was commended for being detailed, well-organized and clearly illustrated, and for providing such detailed insights into martian geology using cross-cutting relations. The Pellas-Ryder Award is jointly sponsored by The Meteoritical Society and the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America. Sarah Sutton will receive a certificate at the Geological Society of America's Annual Meeting in Denver, USA. More…

I am sad to report that our friend and colleague Klaus Keil passed away peacefully Friday night at home after a long battle with cancer. He was Emeritus Professor, former Director of the Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, and former Interim Dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. Klaus was an outstanding scientist, spectacular mentor, educator, and leader, dedicated family man, and enthusiastic tennis player. His academic and science leadership skills glittered at the University of Hawai`i since 1990 and at the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico from 1968 to 1990. He was 87 years old. Klaus was a pioneer in the use of the electron microprobe in meteoritics and in petrology and mineralogy in general. In the early 1960s, he worked with colleagues at NASA Ames Research Center, Ray Fitzgerald and Kurt Heinrich, to make the first energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer for use in microanalysis. This device was the first to focus on terrestrial and extraterrestrial geological materials, and the first to use a solid-state lithium-drifted Si detector. Over his long and illustrious career, Klaus studied practically every type of meteorite and lunar sample, addressing big problems in planetary science, from chondrule formation to pyroclastic eruptions on the Moon and achondritic bodies, from asteroid disruption to the composition of the Martian surface. More…

We are happy to release the first Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Ryugu samples in the following URL; [https://jaxa-ryugu-sample-ao.net/], and Ryugu sample catalog now available online as follows; [https://darts.isas.jaxa.jp/curation/hayabusa2/]. As mentioned in the top page of the AO, the notice of intent to propose is due in mid-March, and registration and longin page will be available soon. Please enjoy the Ryugu sample catalog and consider your research proposal based on the information described in the guidebook [https://jaxa-ryugu-sample-ao.net/files/guidebook.pdf]. We are looking forward to having fruitful research proposals from you! More…

Those of you who have not yet renewed your membership will have temporarily lost your access to the Member Portal (and therefore to the Journal) on January 1st, but this can be easily remedied by renewing. Subscription to the print journal will not be interrupted if members renew by January 20th. Also, there is only about a month left to nominate candidates for our Society's Awards. The procedures for making a nomination can be found on our website. More…