Exo-Planet Task Force (ExoPTF) Stephen Ridgway (NASA) Dana Lehr, Michael Briley (NSF) Garth Illingworth (AAAC)

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/062 Publications and Planets

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/063 One year of ExoPlanet Conferences October , 2006 –6th workshop of the European Astrobiology Network Association –Lyon, France October , 2006 –From Brown Dwarfs to Planets –Leiden, Neederland November , 2006 –TPF/Darwin Workshop –Pasadena, CA, USA December , 2006 –Disks, Winds, and Jets: From Planets to Quasars –Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Australia December 27, January 05, 2007 –The Lives of Low-Mass Stars and their Planetary Systems –Jerusalem, Israel January , 2007 –Evolution and Exploration of Solar Systems –Irvine, CA, USA January , 2007 –209th AAS Meeting –Formation and Detection of Habitable Planets session –Next Generation Radial Velocity Planet Surveys session –Seattle, WA, USA January , 2007 –Gravitational Microlensing Workshop –Daejeon, Republic of Korea February 19 - March 03, 2007 –Winter School on Extrasolar Planets & Astrobiology –Split, Hrvatska March , 2007 –ESO Workshop on Observing Planetary Systems –Santiago, Chile April , 2007 –From Stars to Planets: Connecting our Understanding of Star and Planet Formation –Gainesville, FL, USA May 28 - June 08, 2007 –Summer School: Circumstellar Disks and Planets at Very High Angular Resolution –Porto, Portugal June 09 - July 06, 2007 –Summer School on Extrasolar Planets and Brown Dwarfs –Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italia June , 2007 –Transformational Science with ALMA: Through Disks to Stars and Planets –Charlottesville, VA, USA June , 2007 –Extreme Solar Systems –Santorini, Hellas July , 2007 –Bioastronomy 2007: Molecules, Microbes, and Extraterrestrial Life –San Juan, Puerto Rico October , 2007 –From Planets to Dark Energy: the Modern Radio Universe –Manchester, UK October , 2007 –IAU Symposium 248 : A Giant Step: From Milli- to Micro- arcsecond Astrometry –Shanghai, Popular Republic of China October , 2007 –IAU Symposium 249: Exoplanets: Detection, Formation and Dynamics –Suzhou, Popular Republic of China

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/064 IAU Colloquium 200

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/065 Active ExoPlanet/Exosystem Observational Programs Radial velocity monitoring Transit searches Microlensing YSO’s, preplanetary and debris disks

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/066 Recent Results for ExoSystems Many detections Rich variety of exosystems Multi-planet systems Lower masses Closer to solar system analogues Potentially Earth-like planets may be common

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/067 Status of Major NASA ExoPlanet Missions Kepler - exoplanet study by transits –Statistics of short-period planets - down to Earth-size –In implementation SIM - exoplanet study by astrometry + astrophysics –Detection of nearby candidate Earth-like planets –In formulation –Advanced stage of engineering readiness –Currently delayed - engineering/prototyping/science preparation continues TPF - exoplanet study by spectroscopy; astrophysics –Direct study of candidate Earth-like planets –In pre-formulation –Key (enabling) technical demonstrations completed in infrared interferometry and visible coronagraphy –Currently deferred - technical/scientific development continues Navigator

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/068 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decade Review AAAC ExoPlanet Task Force

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/069 The ExoPTF Charge (draft) This letter is to request that the AAAC establish an Exo-Planet Task Force as a subcommittee to jointly advise NSF and NASA on the future of the search for and study of exo-planets, planetary systems, Earth-like planets and habitable environments around other stars.

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/0610 The ExoPTF Charge (draft) The ExoPTF is asked to recommend a 15-year strategy to detect and characterize exo-planets and planetary systems, and their formation and evolution, including specifically the identification of nearby candidate Earth-like planets and study of their habitability. The strategy may include planning and preparation for facilities and missions beyond the 15-year horizon.

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/0611 The ExoPTF Charge (draft) 1.The key scientific questions and issues, in the context of recent developments in exo- planet science and planet formation; 2.Measurement techniques, their enabling technologies, and their implications for future survey and measurement directions and priorities; 3.Specific types of experiments (e.g., radial velocity measurements, transit searches, microlensing, adaptive optics, coronagraphy) with respect to their expected scientific return and contributions; 4.The potential and complementary science return from measurements at different wavelengths; 5.Major decision points in the exo-planet study process; 6.Important steps, precursor instrumentation on the ground or in space, R&D, and other work required in preparation for, in support of, or alternative to, these and related experiments and missions; 7.Identification of the nature and scope of investments in key technologies relevant to the scientific goals of the program; 8.The complementary ground-based and space-based research opportunities, coordination between funding agencies and possible synergistic advances; 9.Opportunities for cooperation, coordination or synergy with international programs, such as the Darwin mission at the European Space Agency, or the Ground-based European Nulling Interferometer Experiment (GENIE) and Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) projects at the European Southern Observatory; 10.Cost effectiveness and affordability.

S. Ridgway - AAAC - 10/12/0612 Notional Schedule Dec First telecon, invite white papers, form working groups Jan briefings and discussion Mar briefings and discussion May recommendations, report outline, assignments July recommendations and writing Sept review, wordsmithing, concurrence Oct deliver report