See also Day 1
Day 2 Agenda
Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 9:00 AM
9:00 AM Terik Daly Welcome
Mission Updates (Chairs: Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Daniella DellaGiustina)
9:05 AM Alia AlMansoori Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt
2nd Justitia occultation campaign performed yesterday. Asteroid mining goals- will inform bioprocessing (mineral dissolution and ore concentration via microorganisms). Please participate in more occultation measurements: contact T. Oakey rxr4nd@virginia.edu
9:15 AM Michael Kueppers Comet Interceptor
A new late 2028/2029 launch, due to ARIEL delay. Mission CDR (Critical Design Review) passed, in construction. Launch profile means higher fuel fill? More delta-V means more mission flexibility.
9:25 AM Ernesto Palomba Tianwen-2
Comet Pan-STARRS ejecta mechanism(s)? DIANA volatiles sensor (QCM- Quartz Crystal Microbolometer). COSPAR papers coming.
9:35 AM Jim Bell Psyche
All systems healthy. Completed lasercom (DSOC) demos. Gamma-ray paper: Neights et al. 2026 (doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2019). 3I observations included hi-phase and perihelion, still in postprocessing. Secondary Mars science!
9:45 AM Simone Marchi Lucy
Donaldjohanson rotation solution found- YORP effect required. Signs of landslides, crater erasing. Donaldjohansen is a CM meteorite analog? Paper has been submitted.
9:55 AM Julia de Leon Hera
Successful DSM (Deep Space Maneuver), CubeSat checkouts. Mission, spacecraft is nominal; DSM2 in Feb.
10:05 AM Yuya Mimasu Hayabusa2# Mission
Cruise is an engineering demo- extended, low-cost operations. Torifune flyby will be Planetary Defense demo and science, this July 5. Flyby precision: within a few x00 m, flyby range 10 km to a goal of 1 km. Project has new autonav software, tests in Feb.
10:15 AM All Open Mic
Planetary Protection of asteroids? Still in flux.
10:35 AM Break
Mission Updates, Continued (Chairs: Anne Verbiscer, Daniel Mazanek)
10:50 AM Kelsi Singer New Horizons
Spacecraft taking dust, particles data in deep sleep but can’t downlink it. Dust still present, even “past” Kuiper Belt where not expected. KBO Target search continuing- included Vera Rubin commissioning shots. Multiple meetings in 2026 and beyond.
11:00 AM Dani DellaGuistina OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer
Rare opportunity, Apophis goes “into the Sun” after Earth close approach. Spacecraft is surviving perihelion passages. Cruise science: observations of Earth as an exoplanet. It’s APD funded, will inform the coming HWO (Habitable Worlds Observatory). Bennu tagging left the camera lenses dusty, must recalibrate.
11:10 AM Monica Lazzarin RAMSES
Official H3 rocket funding request made to Japanese government. Will make a “movie” (1 min cadence) during Earth flyby. Instruments now fixed- new CHANCES hi-res camera, RPS (Plasma Spectrometer). But CubeSat 2 less set-will land on Apophis, or not? Upcoming 2026 meeting Jun 15-17/18-19 in Padova, Italy.
11:20 AM Gerhard Kminek SMPAG Apophis WG
Pending CNSA details of their (concept?) Apophis mission. Second meeting will be next week; continuing reporting at COSPAR, COPUOS meetings.
11:30 AM Amy Mainzer NEO Surveyor
Baselining a Sep 2027 launch. (Extensive) data pipeline now in testing. All spacecraft subsystems now in some sort of shape, some in early testing.
11:40 AM All Open Mic
12:00 PM Lunch
Community Updates and Recent Results (Chairs: Flaviane Venditti, Davide Farnocchia)
1:30 PM Lance Benner Radar Update
Goldstone (DSS-14) offline with damage, repairs until May 1. Refurbishment to begin August, for 2 yr. (in time for Apophis).
1:40 PM Petr Pravec Recent Results from Photometry and Lightcurves
Project NEOsource: lightcurves (rotation, shape- satellite?), colors
1:50 PM Casey Lisse Results from SphereX
Checkout mostly OK, initial Solar Sys objects, science papers. Complements JW, HST field of view. Comet, 3I obs- “everything in the Solar System” but “moving targets are difficult”
2:00 PM Greg Heckler Deep Space Network Update
Pushing back for maintenance, capacity funds. Mission flexibility benefits all (incl ESA, JAXA etc.). Some construction! Plus heavy refurbs. Mars planning…
2:20 PM Gerbs Bauer Planetary Data System Small Bodies Node Update
Flight missions archiving; ground observers mostly conforming to ADES standard. New surveys coming! Coming Apophis apparition…
2:30 PM Cynthia Phillips, Mike Bland Ocean Worlds Working Group Update
LPI site shut down and redacted- now has new (PSI) site (workforce.psi.edu/owwg) and mailing list (google groups). Seeking experts in chem, exospheres
2:40 PM Break
Future Directions (Chairs: Lorraine Fesq, Masatoshi Hirabayashi)
2:55 PM Vicki Toy-Edens Tech Talk: Artificial Intelligence in Small-Body Research: A Spectrum of Modern Use Cases
Large datasets and patterns
3:05 PM Panos Tsiotras Tech Talk: Vision-Based Autonomous Relative Navigation around Small Celestial Bodies
Shape modeling and orbiter navigation
3:15 PM John Rayner NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) Update and Strategic Planning
Unusual funding. New accessories, entirely new instruments (SPECTRE funded, building…)
3:25 PM All Open Mic: Visions for SBAG’s Future
4:00 PM End of Day 2 Community Meeting
4:00 PM Steering Committee Closed Session