PLANETARY DEFENSE AND ASTEROID/COMET EXPLORATION MINI-CONF (AIAA LA/LV Section), June 24, 2023, Lawndale, CA/online, 1:30-8:00 pm ET

The AIAA Los Angeles/Las Vegas Section will hold a hybrid mini-conference on “Planetary Defense and Asteroid/Comet Exploration” on June 24, 2023 from 10:30 am – 5:00 pm PACIFIC Time (1:30-8:00 pm Eastern). The in-person event is at the Lawndale Library, 14615 Burin Avenue, Lawndale, CA.

The event includes a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the discovery of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.

More information is on the event’s website, which says:

“2022-2023 marked another amazing year in Planetary Defense and Asteroid / Comet Exploration! 2023 is also the 30th Anniversary of discovering (1993) the important Shoemaker-Levy 9, a year toward the 30th Anniversary of the alarming, awakening, and gigantic impact/explosion on Jupiter (1994). Let’s celebrate it together with its co-discoverer, Dr. David Levy. It’s also vital to examine the readiness and status/progresses of the technologies/research to keep mankind and the civilizations safe. The 1st NASA Asteroid Sample Return Mission with OSIRIS-REx is on track to deliver a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, completing a seven-year mission. The OSIRIS-APEX mission will reprise the discoveries of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at a second asteroid, Apophis, an hour after Apophis’s dramatic close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029. You will also learn about the updates from the Planetary Defense Conference (PDC) in Vienna (Wien), Austria, in April 2023. There have been exciting progresses on NEO Surveyor, and Comet observations using the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. Please join AIAA LA-LV Section and enjoy this fun filled event that brings us closer to subject(s), issues, and threats/readiness on Planetary Defense!”