Venus listserve 0525-02 - A letter from the VEXAG Chairs

[Izenberg, Noam]

To the Venus exploration community,

Times continue to be tumultuous and unpredictable, and many of us are carrying uncharacteristically heavy burdens of uncertainty and unsettledness. In the Venus community in particular, our much-anticipated upcoming missions and current and planned research may feel, or even be, at risk. VEXAG sees itself as both a resource for and part of the connective tissue of the science and exploration communities that comprise it. With representative and custodial efforts, VEXAG works to build networks, share knowledge, and develop the next generation of Venus-savvy and interested scientists and engineers. We advocate for Venus research and missions, both for the community and to and for NASA, and we defend the science, research, technology, and missions to the best of our ability within our purview. 

We have been alarmed by the removal of LPSC abstracts and meeting proceedings, as well as web documents and materials, including those of VEXAG in recent months, and are working with LPI to restore as much of that information as possible in the current environment. We are also at work with the other AGs to provide the community additional resources for communication and archiving, with fewer restrictions.

The “skinny budget” released this month signals extreme challenges ahead for the entire planetary community, and some of the rumored details of what may be in the President’s budgetary recommendations are dire for Venus science specifically, as well as other areas. VEXAG and the community are watching for those details, and readying to respond. Our support and commitment to VERITAS, DAVINCI, and EnVision is unified and undiminished. Those missions are all in delayed, early phases, and must continue be supported, as must R&A and the critical aspects of NASA science. NASA is aware of this, and we will continue to remind Headquarters of it.

The nature of the AGs and their relationship with NASA is bound to change as the fiscal year ends and a new support structure is established with NASA. AGs no longer report to the now-disbanded Planetary Advisory Committee, and currently communicate to Headquarters primarily via our NASA liaisons. VEXAG will evolve to keep and communicate the interests of the Venus community the best it can. The community’s concerns are by definition our concerns, and we hope to be responsive and representational as the questions of budgets and NASA priorities are addressed in the coming months. 

Sincerely,

Noam Izenberg, VEXAG Chair

Debra Buczkowski, VEXAG Deputy Chair

[Izenberg, Noam]

Hi Kas,

Yes, this happened around LPSC. All the SMD advisory committees were disbanded and a single unified AC is to replace them. I have heard no progress on that. The meaningless excuses for it include cost reduction. 

^Noam

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From: Josh-or-Kas Knicely <knicel...@gmail.com>

Date: Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 12:27 AM

To: Izenberg, Noam <Noam.I...@jhuapl.edu>

Cc: ve...@psi.edu <ve...@psi.edu>

Subject: [EXT] Re: [Venus] Venus listserve 0525-02 - A letter from the VEXAG Chairs

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Hi Noam (and et al.), 

This is the first I've heard of the Planetary Advisory Council (PAC) being disbanded. That seems pretty alarming. Was there a reason given for this? 

Thanks, 

Kas Knicely, Ph.D. (she/her)

Co-Chair of the Planetary Workforce Integration, Development, and Empowerment (PWIDE) Community Alliance

We acknowledge the Alaska Native nations upon whose ancestral lands our campuses reside. In Fairbanks, our Troth Yeddha' Campus is located on the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. Land acknowledgements like this are only a first step in addressing the troubled history of the U.S. and its treatment of native american peoples.

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