General Information

Directions in Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere Research

A Vision for Aeronomy in the Earth-Sun System

February 10-12, 2009

The Portofino Hotel, Redondo Beach, Calif.

The Aerospace Corporation will host a conference to discuss the state of ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere research. The goal of the conference is to provide guidance for future investments in the infrastructure needed to perform this research. This realm of space holds great interest for both the operational community and the research community, so contributions to the conference from both communities are needed and encouraged. The conference will proceed by first discussing the pressing questions from both communities. Concepts for new investigations that will enable progress on these questions will then be presented as the bulk of the conference. The conference will culminate in a panel discussion of priorities and how they can best be addressed.

Details
The format of the three-day conference is a sequence of oral and poster presentations.  Participation is open to all, subject to a 150-person attendance limit, and contributed presentations are highly desired. Titles and abstracts for talks can be submitted by e-mail to ITMR@aero.org.

Topics
Open issues from the operational community
Outstanding scientific problems
Research tools
Concepts for new missions
Panel discussion of mission priorities

Milestones
Nov. 14, 2008:          First announcement and call for papers
Dec. 8, 2008:            Second announcement and call for papers
Jan. 16, 2009:           Deadline for submission of abstracts
Jan. 23, 2009:           Finalization of program

Organizers
J. Clemmons, The Aerospace Corporation
P. Anderson, University of Texas at Dallas
W. Bristow, University of Alaska
K. Hand, The Aerospace Corporation
O. de la Beaujardiere, Air Force Research Lab
T. Immel, University of California, Berkeley
J. Kozyra, University of Michigan
A. Mannucci, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
L. Paxton, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
R. Pfaff, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
A. Ridley, University of Michigan
R. Robinson, National Science Foundation
S. Solomon, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
J. Spann, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
J. Thayer, University of Colorado
R. Walterscheid, The Aerospace Corporation