NASA To Hold June 18 Public Forum on Asteroid Retrieval Mission

NASA will hold a public forum in Washington, D.C. on June 18 to provide an update on its planning for the new Asteroid Retrieval Mission.  Although the announcement says the meeting will “encourage feedback and ideas from the global community and the public,” the half-day agenda is filled by briefings to the audience by NASA officials except for the final 10 minutes.

The meeting is from 9:15 am – 12:00 pm ET in the James E. Webb auditorium at NASA Headquarters and will be streamed live.  The announcement, which refers to it more generally as the “asteroid initiative,” shows the agenda as follows.  (The announcement is in the Federal Register that is dated May 28, but is available already electronically.)

9:15-9:30 Welcome–Deputy Administrator Garver
9:30-9:55 White House Perspective–Tom Kalil
9:55-10:15 Asteroid Initiative–Associate Administrator Lightfoot
10:15-10:35 Target Identification and Planetary Defense–Dr. John Grunsfeld
10:35-10:50 Mission–Technology Approach–Mike Gazarik
10:50-11:05 Mission–Human Exploration–William Gerstenmaier
11:05-11:20 Extensibility–Steve Stich
11:20-11:35 Partnership and Innovative Methods–Mason Peck
11:35-11:50 Summer Engagement Calendar–TBD

Anyone who wishes to attend must register in advance online at www.nasa.gov/asteroid (beginning May 28); seating is limited to 150 people.