Now for the annual Smallsat Conference (smallsat.org), hosted as always by Utah State University, August 11-13. See the overview: https://smallsat.org/conference/schedule/ https://smallsat.org/conference/keynote/https://smallsat.org/conference/flash-talks/https://smallsat.org/conference/posters/ In case you don’t see the connection: Hera is currently flying with the Milani and Juventas 6U CubeSats, to… Read More »Smallsat meeting, 2025
Yes, it’s time for the 33rd Meeting of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG). https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/sbagjune2025/ See the schedule: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/sbagjune2025/technical_program/?session_no=101 Really, the overarching theme was the strangling of planetary science, and not just at small bodies. We are talking about… Read More »Summer 2025 SBAG Meeting, Day 1
…see Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 It’s now Day 5 of a weeklong conference: wrapping up loose ends. Here, the less technical but no less important soft sciences. And posters; lots and lots of posters. Panel Session… Read More »2025 Planetary Defense Conference, Day 5
…see Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 And now on Day 4 of the PDC, we get to the dramatic, unlikely (and hopefully never likely in our era) part of planetary defense: mitigation. That’s action taken when the impactor has… Read More »2025 Planetary Defense Conference, Day 4
…see Day 1 The last post was the first day of a big, multi-day conference: lots of pleasantries and generalities. Here now we get into some real meat of the matter. Session 1: Hypothetical Threat Exercise Technical SessionThe international… Read More »2025 Planetary Defense Conference, Day 2
That Robin Andrews is a busy writer: April 16, 2025 Robin George Andrews www.newscientist.com/article/2476805-the-race-to-visit-the-asteroid-making-the-closest-pass-by-earth/ Asteroid (99942) Apophis was, a generation ago, calculated to have a slight chance of hitting Earth, in 2029. At under a kilometer in size, it would… Read More »Apophis Mission Grist
The (formerly threatening) asteroid Apophis will make its (safe) pass by the Earth on April 13, 2029. (No coincidence, the UN has also declared 2029 to be the Year of Planetary Defense.) That means four years to prepare scientific observations,… Read More »Apophis T-4 Years Meeting
Coming in a few short weeks: a Chinese Space Science conference. The 2025 International Conference of Deep Space Sciences will have asteroidal relevance: [ICDSS2025] SPECIAL SESSION: APOPHIS 2029Abstract deadline: March 3, 2025 The 2025 International Conference of Deep Space Sciences… Read More »‘25 Intnl. Conf. of Deep Space Sciences
… see also SBAG Day 1 and Day 2 … And now let’s conclude this writeup of the early-‘25 SBAG (Small Bodies Assessment Group) meeting, the 32nd: Thursday, January 9, 2025 Publishing Updates 10:00 AM Maria Womack Centaurs Book10:10… Read More »32nd SBAG, Jan 2025 pt. 3
The RAMSES mission is (unofficially) going forward. The prime contractor, OHB Italia, has been awarded funding– many millions of Euros. RAMSES, if you aren’t in the loop, is a mission to scout out potentially-hazardous asteroid (PHA) 99942 Apophis before its… Read More »RAMSES’ important figure