00-067

Cover Page/Proposal Summary

ROSS-99    NRA 99-OSS-01

Date Due: 5/3/99

NASA PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING PROPOSALS

This proposal shall be used and disclosed for evaluation purposes only, and a copy of this Government notice shall be applied to any reproduction or abstract thereof. Any authorized restrictive notices that the submitter places on this proposal shall also be strictly complied with. Disclosure of this proposal for any reason outside the Government evaluation purposes shall be made only to the extent authorized by the Government.

Proposal Type: New Proposal

Proposal Category: Atmosphere Structures and Particles

Major Equipment Proposal? No

Do you intend to submit an Education/Public Outreach (E/PO) proposal? No

Proposal Title:
Outer planet upper atmosphere/magnetosphere research

Abbreviated Proposal Title:
Outer planet upper atm/magn research

Principal Investigator:
Dr. Donald Shemansky
Department of Aerospca Engineering
Univ. Southern California
854 W 36th Place
RRB 222
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1191
Phone: 213-740-7184   Fax: 213-740-7228   E-mail: dons@hippolyta.usc.edu

SignatureDate
_________________________________________________

Co-Investigators and Collaborators:
Type    Name    Affiliation    E-mail
Sci Co-I   Dr Xianming Liu   Univ Southern California   xliu@jpluvs.jpl.nasa.gov
Sci Co-I   Dr. Pradip Gangopadhyay   Univ. Southern California   pradip@lism.usc.edu
Sci Collab   Dr. Joseph M Ajello   JPL   jajello@jpluvs.jp l.nasa.gov


Proposal Summary:

This program will examine selected topics in continuing research activity in outer planet atmospheric and magnetospheric processes. Work in support of the planned Cassini Program observations at Jupiter and Saturn is emphasized. A new model structure for H$_{2}$ developed in the current USC research program will be used to explore the physical chemistry of the ground (X) state with application to auroral and dayglow processes. Radiative transfer calculations carried out for Jupiter and Titan in the current research program are proposed to continue. Plasma chemistry of the Saturn magnetosphere will be examined in the light of observations definitively establishing high neutral densities of neutral gas as the dominant species throughout the magnetosphere to the orbit of Titan. The properties of active N2 at high altitudes in the Titan atmosphere will be examined.