# # Program information file # PROGRAM_ID 2023A010 PROGRAM_TITLE SpeX IR Spectroscopy of Candidate Obscured Stars With Ice Absorption Features PROGRAM_INV1 Matthew Ashby PROGRAM_INV2 Joseph Hora PROGRAM_INV3 Ho-Gyu Lee PROGRAM_INV4 Jaeyeong Kim PROGRAM_INV5 Sung-Yong Yoon PROGRAM_SCICAT galactic/interstellar medium PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_BEG We request 13 hr total time with SpeX in order to detect what is expected to be strong 3.0 um water ice absorption features toward a carefully chosen sample of 22 obscured IR-bright Milky Way sources. These targets, by virtue of their red infrared colors, bright IR fluxes, relative spatial isolation from bright neighbors, and positions behind or in projection against molecular clouds, ought to be ideal candidates for detections of water ice and other organic molecules by NASA's upcoming SPHEREx mission. Our proposed SpeX spectra will test that idea, and crucially, reveal the degree of sample contamination by bright Carbon stars, whose spectral features mimic the water ice absorption feature, allowing for an adjustment of strategy prior to SPHEREx launch. PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_END