We propose to continue to write, edit, and produce planetary science research discoveries (psrd), our online science magazine that has been funded by the cosmochemistry program since 1996. We now…

This federal contract award, with ID NNX16AM37G, was granted by NASA to the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH) to continue operating the online Planetary Science Research Discoveries (PSRD) magazine. PSRD covers exciting discoveries in planetary science research, aiming to share this information with the public, teachers, and students to generate interest in science and space exploration.

The $457,490.83 grant has an ultimate completion date of July 5, 2021 and is part of NASA's Planetary Science Research program. UH, as the prime contractor, has extensive expertise in fields like astronomy, oceanography, and earth sciences, and has received numerous federal contracts and grants, including from NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. This award does not have a set-aside designation, as UH is a large educational institution. Through PSRD, UH aims to effectively communicate the scientific basis and public value of NASA's planetary research to both the scientific community and general public.

We propose to continue to write, edit, and produce planetary science research discoveries (psrd), our online science magazine that has been funded by the cosmochemistry program since 1996. We now intend to explicitly extend our coverage to all the subfields funded through solar systems workings, emerging worlds, and the data analysis programs. Psrd focuses on sharing the exciting discoveries made by planetary scientists with the public, teachers, and students. Our objective is to seize their imaginations and make them want to learn more about science, and to appreciate the value of planetary science research. IT is not enough for the scientific information to stay with the technical people we aim to help disseminate the information widely to interested parties who can use and enjoy IT. Psrd content provides accurate information based on published research aligned with NASA SMD activities. Find the site at http://WWW.psrd.hawaii.EDU. We base our articles on peer-reviewed, published journal articles, and include citations to primary sources. Supplemental materials (links to other pertinent articles, web sites, printable PDF versions) are included in each article. We use shorter-format cosmosparks reports to draw attention to current topics and results, further showing the interdisciplinary scope of planetary research. We maintain an easily searchable site and have an archive organized by topic of all articles and reports published. We use graphics to explain and support the content of each article and report. Load time of psrd pages is reasonably fast because we make the size and resolution of graphics appropriate for general use. We also link to higher-resolution images used in the articles. To further assist educators in using our materials in the classroom and planetary scientists when they make presentations weve provided annotated slide sets with articles since 2007. The web site also contains an ever-expanding glossary. In the past five years, psrd averaged 45,000 pages viewed per month. This project addresses important education and outreach goals in nasas strategic plan and the SMD 2014 science plan. Specific to SMD planetary research programs, we effectively communicate the scientific basis for each study to the broader scientific community and the excitement of new results to the general public, increasing public awareness about the value of our field in particular and of fundamental scientific research and space exploration in general. One of the chief principles enunciated in the 2014 science plan is that nasas mandate includes broad public communication.