The NASA Research Announcement (NRA) for new investigations and investigators for the Earth Observing System was distributed via the Internet (through both the Mission to Planet Earth and EOS Project Science Office home pages on World Wide Web) on September 22, and proposals were due by December 1. A total of 336 proposals were received in response to this solicitation, which can be categorized as follows:

Due to the 3-week government furlough, which included NASA, followed by the second largest snow storm this century in the Washington, DC, area, the evaluation and selection process will likely not be completed until April.

On December 15 the NASA Program Management Council (PMC), consisting of the NASA Chief Scientist, Comptroller, Associate Administrators, and chaired by the Deputy Administrator, met to reexamine the reshaping of the EOS program that was reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Sustainable Development last July and described in the last issue of The Earth Observer. The PMC was very supportive of the community consensus process that was pursued in developing the EOS strategy for technology infusion and evolution in the second and third series of spaceflight missions. Furthermore, they approved the approach of periodic (biennial) reviews of the EOS program, and recommended drafting the Program Management Agreement, the "contract" between the Associate Administrator of Mission to Planet Earth and the NASA Administrator for the implementation of the EOS program, around the 24 critical EOS measurements set. This important strategic set of key measurements is now available on World Wide Web, along with the latest EOS mission profile that is consistent with the EOS reshaped program.

In an effort to foster effective communication within the EOS community, electronic mail distribution lists were established a couple of years ago by the Project Science Office. The latest revision to these lists (see below) makes it possible to rapidly communicate to any EOS Panel or Working Group, the Investigators Working Group (IWG), the Science Executive Committee (SEC), or a subset of EOS investigators constituting the Principal Investigators and Team Leaders of interdisciplinary or instrument science teams, both of which have recently been established. These lists are constantly being revised, and include up-to-date membership and e-mail addresses. One can readily find out who is subscribed to a given list server by accessing World Wide Web at http://spso.gsfc. nasa.gov/spso_ homepage.html, and checking under Directory for List Server. In addition, one can do a search for the address, phone, fax, and e-mail address of any individual using our on-line EOS Directory, also available through World Wide Web. Please note that Goddard has implemented a centerwide list server, known as listserv, so all mail should now be addressed to listserv, e.g., iwg-payload@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov, instead of the previous ltpmail address.

An EOS Science Executive Committee (SEC) meeting was held in Annapolis on the evening of November 30. The chairman of the SEC, Prof. Eric Barron, reminded the SEC that his two year term as chairman ends January 1996. Following much discussion, the SEC decided that the chairman, like all other panel chairs, could be reelected for a second (succeeding) term. Following an election in December, Eric Barron was reelected chairman of the SEC for one more term. The SEC also discussed progress that has been made to date on the EOS Science Implementation Plan, discussed the schedule for completing the seven science theme chapters, and assigned lead chapter authors for the final three science integration chapters. The target for completion of this comprehensive document is April-May 1996, at which point it will be distributed to the EOS community as well as posted on World Wide Web.

Finally, the Payload Panel met in Annapolis on November 28-30 to focus on three important items: (i) The Office of Mission to Planet Earth's (MTPE) plans for an integrated observing strategy including new sensor technology as well as convergence with operational observing systems; (ii) EOSDIS in light of the recent NRC Board on Sustainable Development (BSD) recommendation to develop a system based on a "federation of partners selected through a competitive process;" and (iii) the EOS strategy for study of atmospheric chemistry in regards to the BSD recommendation to focus Chemistry-1 on tropospheric ozone and its precursors. Due to the furlough in December, the completion of the Payload Panel Report has been delayed, and will therefore appear in the next issue of The Earth Observer.

Electronic Mail Distribution Lists
e-mail name	distribution
iwg	Investigators Working Group (all EOS PIs, Co-Is, Team Members, and Team Leaders)
Iwg-atmospheres	Atmospheres Panel
iwg-biogeochem	Biogeochemical Cycles Panel
iwg-land	Land Panel
iwg-oceans	Oceans Panel
iwg-modeling	Modeling Panel
iwg-climate_and_hydrology	Physical Climate & Hydrology Panel
iwg-data_quality	Data Quality Panel
iwg-eosdis	EOSDIS Panel
iwg-cryo_working_group	Cryosphere Working Group
iwg-SWAMP	Science Working Group for the AM Platform (SWAMP)
iwg-payload	Payload Panel
iwg-sec	Science Executive Committee
iwg-everybody	Union of everyone subscribed to any e-mail distribution list managed by the Project Science Office
iwg-management	Management (Headquarters and Goddard Space Flight Center)
ids_pi	Interdisciplinary Science PIs
instr_pi_and_tl	Instrument PIs and Team Leaders

note: To distribute a message to one of the lists, use the following format in the To: field of your message: e-mail name@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (e.g., iwg-sec@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov)

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