Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS)

Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS)
Name	Division for Planetary Sciences
Formation	1968
Type	Professional society division
Headquarters	American Astronomical Society
Region served	International

Contents

History

DPS traces roots to the late 1960s when planetary science matured alongside projects such as Mariner program, Apollo program, Venera program, and the establishment of laboratories at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lick Observatory. Founding members included scientists affiliated with California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Arizona, and federal laboratories like Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. Early debates within DPS mirrored policy and program discussions involving National Aeronautics and Space Administration leadership and advisory panels such as the National Academy of Sciences committees. Over decades the division engaged with community priorities reflected in decadal surveys produced by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, influenced instrumentation programs at European Southern Observatory, and responded to discoveries from facilities like Arecibo Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. DPS membership expanded as exoplanet science emerged from work at Keck Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, and space missions like Kepler (spacecraft).

DPS promotes research agendas that intersect with projects including James Webb Space Telescope, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, Spitzer Space Telescope, and ground-based arrays like Atacama Large Millimeter Array. Core objectives include advancing knowledge of bodies studied by Cassini–Huygens, Galileo (spacecraft), Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and sample-return missions such as OSIRIS‑REx and Hayabusa2. The division fosters coordination among stakeholders like NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and academic centers exemplified by Caltech, MIT, Harvard University, and University of Colorado Boulder. DPS advocates for community priorities in decadal surveys, supports instrumentation programs at observatories like Palomar Observatory and Subaru Telescope, and champions educational outreach tied to exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution and planetariums such as the Hayden Planetarium.

Membership comprises researchers, engineers, students, and educators associated with institutions such as NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ames Research Center, Lockheed Martin, and universities like Cornell University, University of Michigan, Brown University, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Texas at Austin. Governance follows an elected council model with chairs and committees that interact with bodies such as the American Astronomical Society Council, the National Science Foundation, and international agencies including European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Subcommittees address topics tied to missions like New Horizons, Mars Odyssey, and instruments on Hubble Space Telescope, as well as task forces aligned with panels from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

DPS organizes the annual DPS meeting, a gathering comparable in scope to sessions at meetings hosted by American Geophysical Union, International Astronomical Union, and thematic workshops associated with COSPAR symposia. Presentations often feature data and results from spacecraft missions such as Cassini–Huygens, New Horizons, Juno (spacecraft), Rosetta (spacecraft), and sample-return campaigns like OSIRIS‑REx and Hayabusa2. Keynote speakers have included scientists affiliated with Caltech, MIT, Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and agency leaders from NASA and European Space Agency. Meeting venues rotate through cities with major research centers including Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Denver, and Chicago, and often coordinate sessions with conferences hosted by American Astronomical Society and international meetings like the International Astronomical Union General Assembly.

DPS administers awards recognizing scientists whose careers span institutions such as California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Arizona, Cornell University, and federal labs including Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. Prestigious citations and lectureships parallel honors from bodies like the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Astronomical Society, and awards tied to missions such as Voyager program and Cassini–Huygens. Recipients often have ties to discoveries reported in journals and symposia associated with Astronomical Journal, Icarus (journal), Science (journal), and Nature (journal), and affiliations with observatories like W. M. Keck Observatory and Mauna Kea Observatories.

DPS communicates results through meeting abstracts, newsletters, and collaborations with publishers of periodicals such as Icarus (journal), Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal, Nature (journal), and Science (journal). The division works with agencies and institutions like NASA, European Space Agency, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and university presses to disseminate white papers submitted to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine decadal surveys and mission concept studies connected to New Frontiers program and Discovery Program. Outreach partnerships extend to museums and planetaria including the Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, and the Adler Planetarium to translate findings from missions such as Voyager 2, Cassini–Huygens, and New Horizons into public programs.

Category:Scientific organizations