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METHODS article

Front. Astron. Space Sci.
Sec. Cosmology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspas.2024.1401785
This article is part of the Research Topic The Dynamic Universe: Realizing the Potential of Time Domain and Multimessenger Astrophysics View all 13 articles

NASA's Astrophysics Cross-Observatory Science Support (ACROSS) Initiative: Enabling Time-Domain and Multimessenger Astrophysics

Provisionally accepted
Thomas B. Humensky Thomas B. Humensky 1*Christopher J. Roberts Christopher J. Roberts 1T Barclay T Barclay 2R Caputo R Caputo 2Stephen B. Cenko Stephen B. Cenko 2Francesca M. Civano Francesca M. Civano 1Jason E. Derleth Jason E. Derleth 1C Hedges C Hedges 2M C. Hui M C. Hui 3Jamie A. Kennea Jamie A. Kennea 4D Kocevski D Kocevski 3Judith Racusin Judith Racusin 2B Rani B Rani 2Rita Sambruna Rita Sambruna 2J Slutsky J Slutsky 2
  • 1 Physics of the Cosmos Program Office, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, United States
  • 2 Astrophysics Science Division, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States
  • 3 Astrophysics Office, ST12, Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States
  • 4 The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, Pennsylvania, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Astro2020 Decadal Survey recommended an investment in Time-Domain and Multimessenger Astrophysics (TDAMM) as the top-priority sustaining activity in space for the coming decade. One aspect of NASA's response to this recommendation is a pilot project, the Astrophysics Cross-Observatory Science Support (ACROSS) initiative, designed to provide support to both missions and observers as they pursue TDAMM science. Here, we present our observations of needs in the community and initial plans for ACROSS activities, including services to facilitate and improve cross-mission follow-up planning and execution; a multimessenger web portal with links to existing mission resources, community tools, and information targeted for TDAMM general observers; development of "Smart target-of-opportunity submission page" proofof-concepts; and ongoing development of a potential TDAMM general observing competitive grant solicitation. As the ACROSS pilot phase begins, we invite discussion of our plans with both missions and observers to better understand their needs and concerns.

    Keywords: time domain, Multimessenger, infrastructure, Realtime, Software

    Received: 15 Mar 2024; Accepted: 18 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Humensky, Roberts, Barclay, Caputo, Cenko, Civano, Derleth, Hedges, Hui, Kennea, Kocevski, Racusin, Rani, Sambruna and Slutsky. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Thomas B. Humensky, Physics of the Cosmos Program Office, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, United States

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