Registration ends Friday 11/4 — no onsite registration. Register here:
https://aiaa-sf.org/registration/
Planetary Defense from Asteroids and Comets
This year’s annual banquet will be a luncheon event, with check-in starting at 12:00 pm on Saturday, November 5th, 2022. It will take place at the Chabot Space and Science Center, located at 10000 Skyline Blvd. in Oakland. Aside from lunch and our special guest speaker, the ticket also provides access to Chabot’s regular exhibits and planetarium shows through the end of the day.
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that pose local, regional, or continental impact threat. The realization that asteroid impacts are a modern-day possibility followed analyses proving that many of the craters on Earth were caused by cosmic impacts rather than by gradual geological process or volcanic eruptions. In the 1980s researchers discovered that the demise of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago coincided with a major asteroid impact, and in 1994 observers recognized similar-sized impacts when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter. If such an object were to hit Earth today, it could cause widespread devastation and profoundly affect life on Earth. Although major cosmic collisions with Earth are infrequent, their consequences could be severe. Hence, advanced planning is critical to mitigating future asteroid threats. And the best time to start preparing is now—well before any actual threat is detected.
Given this reality: What are the current risks? How would we deflect or destroy an asteroid or comet on a collision course with Earth? What are the technical and political risks? What are the obligations and strategic interests that would drive a decision to act? This talk describes results from recent international planetary defense conferences and tabletop exercises addressing these global questions through scientific studies and hypothetical scenarios. The talk also highlights evolving public and educational outreach, new simulation tools, recent space missions, and actions taken by the United Nations to support Planetary Defense.
Dr. Nahum Melamed is a project leader in the Embedded Control Systems Department in the Guidance and Control Subdivision at The Aerospace Corporation, a position he has held since 2003. As a technical lead in Launch Vehicle Software, 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 serves as the management, program office, customer, and contractor point of contact in the flight software area. In his work, Melamed monitors flight operations on day of launch, performs post-flight analyses, and participates in discussions concerning launch performance.
Schedule:
12:00pm – check in
12:30pm – presentation starts
Note: The event will be indoors.
Prices go up after 11/2 and the deadline to register is 11/4, so don’t wait!
Register here: