Introduction:
The Director has accepted the recommendation by the Working Group on Strategic Planet Initiatives to undertake a joint JWST/HST Director’s Discretionary program to characterize the atmospheric properties of terrestrial-mass exoplanets around nearby low-mass stars. Up to 500 hours of JWST time and 250 orbits of HST time will be devoted to the SMEA program starting in 2024 (Cycles 3 and 32) and likely extending through early 2027. The observations will include mid-infrared observations of multiple secondary eclipses of more than a dozen transiting exoplanets and characterization of selected host star properties at UV wavelengths. The data taken will be rapidly released to the community and STScI will produce high-level data products.
STScI as an institution must maintain the highest level of integrity in its treatment of the observations, analysis tools and high-level data products associated with the SMEA program. STScI staff members are entitled to pursue scientific research with public JWST and HST data. However, additional considerations apply when they have access to calibration and analysis tools or to high-level data products that are being developed with HST or JWST Project funds and are not yet public. STScI Policy III-B-7 gives general guidelines on ethical use of data; this document covers issues that are specific to the SMEA program.
Structure:
The final design and implementation of the data program and the production of high-level data products will be undertaken by a Core Implementation Team (CIT), working in conjunction with Science Advisory Committee (SAC). The overall program will be coordinated by the CIT Lead and their Deputy, who has the final authority for decisions. The CIT Lead is the Exoplanet Mission Scientist, Nestor Espinoza and Hannah Diamond-Lowe will serve as the Deputy. They will be assisted by an observing technical lead and data technical lead. The JWST Mission Head, Tom Brown, the Interim HST Mission Head, Julia Roman-Duval, and the Multi-Mission Project Scientist, Neill Reid, will serve as a Program Advisory Council (PAC) to provide advice on high-level issues, as needed.
Core Implementation Team
The CIT will be responsible for preparing the APT observing proposals, designing and implementing the observing schedule, processing the data, and preparing the high-level data products. CIT members will be drawn from the STScI staff. The CIT Lead may convene topic-specific working groups related to the implementation. The CIT Lead or their designate will keep the general community informed of progress, including regular briefings to the Space Telescope User Committee, and will provide an avenue for receiving their input.
Science Advisory Council
The SAC comprises 8-10 research scientists from the community who are committed to providing scientific advice to the CIT on scientific aspects of the implementation process. Specifically, they will advise on
- Selection of the appropriate targets
- Definition of the appropriate number of observations of each target
- Relative priorities for any data analysis tools developed by the CIT
The SAC will provide advice to STScI on interactions with the broader community, particularly with regard to the equitable release of all data products.They will not provide functional support for basic operations, but they will assist in the science verification on high-level science products generated by the CIT, including advice on potential program adjustments. They will therefore have limited access to high-level data products.
SAC Membership
The SAC membership will be representative, as far as is possible, of the broader exoplanet community, particularly spanning a range of institutional affiliations and career stages. Given the likely duration of the program, SAC membership is not open to graduate students but postdoctoral fellows will be considered.
