Request for Cootinator for Plaentary Astronomy Concepts With a Future 2.4-meter Telescope

NASA is exploring the use of a 2.4-m mirror system recently gifted to them by the National Reconnaissance Office; this system could be the nucleus of a new ultraviolet-optical (UVO) space telescope. Information is available at the website of a recent Princeton meeting:

http://www.princeton.edu/astro/news-events/public-events /new-telescope-meeting/

including a program with links to the presented talks. The first letter of intent to use this system focuses on astrophysics applications. NASA has indicated that broader usage (including planetary science) will be considered in a future announcement. Paul Scowen (Arizona State University) has offered to coordinate initial studies for non-astrophysics uses. He requests information about the requirements planetary scientists would have for a 2.4m UVO space telescope. The task would be to outline what performance specifications planetary astronomers would like/need in terms of imaging quality, resolution, throughput, wavelength bandpass, spectral resolution and coverage, field of view, and limiting surface brightness detection in, say, 1000 seconds. Someone is needed to coordinate responses from the planetary community and provide them to Paul, and responses are needed for the coordinator to coordinate. If you are interested being this coordinator, please contact Heidi Hammel (hbh@alum.mit.edu).