(6/29) AIAA LA Planetary Defense and Asteroid Exploration mini-Conference 2024

Dr. Nahum Melamed

(Moderator / Event Lead, and Speaker)

AIAA Distinguished Lecturer/Speaker

Project Leader, Guidance and Control Subdivision,

The Aerospace Corporation

(In-Person)

Nahum Melamed is a project leader in the Embedded Control Systems Department in the Guidance and Control Subdivision at The Aerospace Corporation. He joined Aerospace in 2003. As a technical lead in Launch Vehicle Software, Dr. Melamed coordinates and guides a team of interdepartmental technical experts, and supports validation and mission readiness certification of the flight software and mission parameters for NASA’s Artemis missions. He conducts planetary defense technical and policy studies, co-chairs planetary defense conferences, serves on exercises exercise organizing committees, and speaks at these venues. He earned a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. 

Prof. Michael C. Nolan

(Speaker)

Research Professor

OSIRIS-APEX Deputy Principal Investigator

Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona

"Twenty years of Bennu: From Arecibo to Orbit (and on to Apophis)"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Dr. Michael Nolan is a Research Professor at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Deputy Principal Investigator of the APEX mission to the asteroid Apophis. He spent twenty years at the Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico working with the Planetary Radar system to image asteroids and other Solar System objects.

Brief description:

I will talk about my work on the OSIRIS-REx mission from radar observation to arriving there with the spacecraft and returning a sample to Earth. I will then talk about plans for the APEX extended mission to Apophis in 2029.

Luisa Fernanda Zambrano Marin, M.S.

(Speaker)

Data Analyst, Florida Space Institute

"Rocks in Space with Radar!"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Luisa Fernanda specializes in near-Earth Asteroids using the Arecibo Planetary Radar System, focusing on fast rotating objects, Binary Systems, and asteroid Shape modeling. She curates a comprehensive Arecibo Planetary Radar observation repository, ensuring community access. Her expertise also encompasses academia-industry relations, teacher and K-12 student engagement, and curriculum development. Originally from Colombia, Luisa Fernanda moved to Puerto Rico during her teenage years. She earned an Applied Physics degree and conducted research for the Kepler Mission in Italy with the Vatican Observatory Group. During her Masters in Space Studies at the International Space University, she worked on Juno, Voyager 1 and 2 Missions, and explored the application of space technologies for heritage site preservation. Luisa Fernanda managed the development of the Cristina Torres-Memorial Astronomical Observatory, fostering educational initiatives at the University of Texas at Brownsville. After returning to Puerto Rico, she advised businesses in the emerging space economy and organized events to integrate Puerto Rico into the space industry. She established the Arecibo Observatory Space Academy, guiding over 350 local students in Human Space Settlement studies. Following the Arecibo Observatory’s collapse, she served as Co-Chair of the Salvaging Survey Committee, demonstrating her resilience and leadership.

Brent W. Barbee

(Speaker)

Aerospace Engineer, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

"Planetary Defense: NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Brent Barbee is an aerospace engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland's Department of Aerospace Engineering, where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. His current work includes leading interagency spacecraft mission design research for planetary defense against hazardous asteroids and comets. He was also a member of the Investigation Team for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which demonstrated the kinetic impact technique for asteroid deflection for the first time. Main-belt asteroid 120208 was renamed "Brentbarbee" in honor of his contributions to asteroid missions and planetary defense. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Brief description:

A detailed overview of NASA’s DART mission and how, for the first time in history, it demonstrated our ability to deflect an asteroid’s orbit.

Arushi Nath

(Speaker)

Founder, Monitor My Planet

Grade 9 student and a citizen scientist

"PhAst: Accelerated Asteroid Characterization through Novel Photometric Integration Using Ground and Space-Based Sky Surveys"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Arushi is a Grade 9 student and a citizen scientist. She loves to dabble with science, maths, hardware, and algorithms to solve hard problems for the public good. Over the last seven years, she has built robots, battlebots, rockets, and rovers and participated in over 50 hackathons, winning many national and international awards, including the Top Young Scientist in Canada Award in both 2022 and 2023.

Brief description:

The pace of asteroid discovery surpasses the rate at which their physical properties can be analyzed. To date, phase curves, which are crucial for asteroid characterization, have been generated for a few thousand of the 1.3 million known asteroids as they necessitate observations from multiple phase angles over several years. This hinders our planetary defense capabilities against near-Earth asteroids and limits our understanding of the solar system’s evolution. My novel methodology PhAst combines several years of sparse photometry of serendipitous asteroid observations from ground and space-based all-sky surveys with dense photometry from professional and citizen scientists to accelerate asteroid characterization. Open-source PhAst training modules have been developed for citizen scientists to accelerate asteroid characterization and strengthen planetary defense.

Morgan Goodwin

(Speaker)

Executive Director, Planetary Sunshade Foundation

Director, Sierra Club's local Los Angeles Chapter

"Introducing the Planetary Sunshade"

(In-person Presentation)

Morgan Goodwin is the Executive Director of the Planetary Sunshade Foundation. He also serves as director for the Sierra Club's local Los Angeles chapter. Morgan's background in climate advocacy has included international climate conferences, global advocacy and local political service as Mayor of Truckee.

Brief description:

The biggest threat to modern civilization is the climate crisis, and a planetary sunshade can address the worst symptoms of an overheated globe. The space industry has a critical role to play in saving our planet and by doing so, creating the path toward human development of space. 

Nancy C. Wolfson and Kevin Barry

(Speakers)

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SAT-OC (Nancy C. Wolfson) Business Analyst (Kevin Barry)

"Asteroid Day and Lessons From The Montreal Protocol for Planetary Defense"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Nancy C. Wolfson is a Washington, D.C., US-based scholar, lecturer, and researcher. Over 18 years of professional managerial experience combined with her contribution as a peer-review published author in space exploration, sustainability, and planetary defense-related topics has cemented her as an esteemed personality in the space industry. She is the President of Disrupting Space, a company dedicated to developing strategies to assist enterprises in new space-space exploration-related activities. Nancy was elected Vice-Chair of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Technical Committee on Planetary Defense (PD) and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) 2019-2021. She is currently the Vice-Chair of the IAF Risk Management Committee, which involves concentrated efforts toward researching space and defense activities to identify and mitigate potential threats and exploit opportunities that can assist decision-makers. Nancy’s contribution to planetary defense and Near-Earth objects (NEOs) fields includes the implementation of new initiatives and research projects, including the founding of the IAF’s Planetary Defense and Near-Earth Object Symposium (E10), approved by 30 members of two IAF committees, the IAF bureau, and supported by larger Planetary Defense-NEO community in 2021. Nancy is the Director of the Greenbelt Observatory NEO Detection Program, which is primarily focused on fostering citizen science and engaging amateur astronomers in NEO observation efforts.

Brief description:

Have you ever wondered about the potential threats from outer space? Asteroid Day speaker Nancy C. Wolfson will explore the importance of Asteroid Day (AD), a United Nations-sanctioned initiative raising awareness about asteroid impact hazards. Discover how to create your online AD event and become part of the global movement spearheaded by the Asteroid Foundation in Luxembourg. But the discussion doesn't stop there. Kevin Barry and Nancy C. Wolfson also explore the groundbreaking Montreal Protocol – a shining example of successful international collaboration. This treaty achieved historic universal ratification, paving the way for a united approach to environmental challenges. By examining the Montreal Protocol's innovative mechanisms, we can unlock valuable lessons for designing effective international collaboration and enable decision-makers to be involved in addressing the risks posed by asteroids.

Prof. Madhu Thangavelu

(Speaker)

Conductor, ASTE527 Graduate Space Concepts Studio,

USC Viterbi School of Engineering and USC School of Architecture

"Preliminary Planetary Defense Concepts from USC and ISU"

(In-person Presentation)

Madhu Thangavelu conducts the ASTE527 Graduate Space Concept Synthesis Studio in the Department of Astronautical Engineering within the Viterbi School of Engineering, and he teaches Space Architecture in the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California. He has a background in both disciplines. He is on the faculty of the International Space University based in Strasbourg, France, an institution that trains promising young space professionals for leadership in international space activities. He is a former AIAA Vice Chair for Education. He on the board of directors of the National Space Society and is Vice President of NSS for India Region and the North American activities coordinator for the Moon Village Association.

Brin Bailey

(Speaker)

Jr Specialist

Deepspace Group

Department of Physics

University of California, Santa Barbara

NASA Ames Science Collaborator

"Ground effects simulations of terminal asteroid disruption via fragmentation"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Brin Bailey is a researcher within the Deepspace Group at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where they specialize in the group's experimental planetary defense project, Pulverize It (PI). Their work spans various simulation efforts, including: hypervelocity asteroid interception, utilizing LLNL's ALE3D code through the High-End Computing Capability at NASA Ames; investigation of the radiological effects of nuclear asteroid mitigation using LLNL's LWAC, a neutron transport and transmutation code; and analysis of the optical and acoustical ground effects following terminal asteroid disruption using custom codes. They also manage a variety of outreach efforts, working with local museums and schools to educate others on asteroids and planetary defense. They earned a B.S. in Geophysics from UCSB in 2022.

Brief description:

An overview of the terminal mitigation phase of Pulverize It (PI), a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Phase II study for planetary defense. PI represents the first planetary defense approach that is capable of mitigating threats in both short-warning and extended warning scenarios. I will discuss the details and consequences of using PI in a short-warning (terminal) scenario in which the fragment cloud (following asteroid disruption) intercepts Earth's atmosphere.

Alexander (Sasha) N. Cohen

(Speaker)

Research Specialist

UCSB Deepspace Group

Department of Physics

University of California, Santa Barbara

"Hydrocode simulations of asteroid disruption and deflection for planetary defense"

(On-line, Remote Presentation)

Alexander Cohen is a researcher within the Deepspace Group at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He specializes in hydrocode simulations of hypervelocity impact events for planetary defense from asteroids. His other specializations include computer aided design (CAD) and finite element analysis (FEA). He earned a B.S. in Physics from UCSB in 2019.

Brief description:

We will present simulation results studying the effectiveness of rubble pile asteroid disruption and deflection via hypervelocity impacts with 10:1 aspect ratio cylindrical tungsten penetrators, as per the PI method for planetary defense, using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) hydrodynamics code ALE3D run with the High-End Computing Capability (HECC) at NASA Ames Research Center.