Asteroid Track
Sometime in the Future...
Credit: NASA
Somewhere, an asteroid has our planet in its sights. It could kill hundreds of millions and cause trillions of dollars in damages, or even destroy all life on Earth. We cannot let that happen, so what steps should we take to minimize that risk? At the same time, asteroids contain incredible amounts of resources, enough to build settlements for a million times the Earth's current population, and more than enough to raise the standard of living of everyone on Earth to above the levels we currently enjoy in the U.S.A. Some of those resources are easier to reach than our Moon. But how do we reach them, and what must we do to safely utilize asteroid resources? Come to the Asteroid Track for the answers to these vital questions.
Preliminary Agenda and Scheduled Speakers
| Thursday: Planetary Defense. Room: Aventine Ballroom |
| Time: 10 am - 10:50 am |
| Panel Discussion: Asteroids: Threats or Resources? |
| It is clear that asteroids are a threat. Large ones cause extinction level events and global devastation, but even relatively tiny ones can cause significant injuries, deaths, and damage. It's equally clear that asteroids hold vast resources and offer the potential to fund and support humanity's expansion into the solar system. Unfortunately, the early markets for asteroid resources are in Earth orbit, implying that potentially dangerous quantities of asteroidal materials need to be moved close to the Earth - and that sounds dangerous. This panel will discuss the question: Do the riches outweigh the risks? |
| Mark Sonter (Bio) |
| Director, Mining and Processing, Deep Space Industries |
| Stephen J. Kortenkamp (Bio) |
| Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute. Instructor, Lunar and Planetary Lab, Univ. of Arizona. Author. |
| Dr. Martin Elvis (Bio) |
| Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Dr. Bong Wie (Bio) |
| Director, Iowa Asteroid Deflection Research Center |
| Time: 10:50 am - 11 am |
| Break |
| Time: 11 am - 11:50 am |
| Presentation Title: Asteroid Characterization for Planetary Defense |
| Effective planetary defense requires characterization: knowing whether a potentially hazardous object (PHO) is metallic, stony or carbonaceous, whether it is solid, fractured, or rubble, whether it is tumbling, and what size and shape it has, are all key inputs to threat mitigation decisions. At current rates it will take a century to characterize all ~20,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs) larger than ~100 m diameter (H < 22) with optical-near-IR spectra, light curves and accurate orbits (U < 3). Chelyabinsk-class (>= 15 m diameter) NEOs are even more challenging. NEO characterization is mission critical to threat reduction, and is a gating item - without characterization, a well-planned defense is not possible. |
| Dr. Martin Elvis (Bio) |
| Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Time: 12 pm - 2 pm |
| Lunch |
| Time: 2 pm - 2:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: Space Technology Overview for NEO Impact Threat Mitigation |
| This talk presents an overview of space technologies being developed for mitigating the future impact threats of NEOs (Near-Earth Objects). 65 million years ago, a 10-km asteroid struck near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and created the 170-km Chicxulub crater. Since 1990, most scientists believe that a global climate change caused by the 10-km asteroid impact may have caused the dinosaur extinction. Key technical issues associated with the deflection and/or disruption of an NEO which is in a collision course with the Earth are discussed. Although various deflection technologies, including nuclear explosions, kinetic impactors, and slow-pull gravity tractors, have been proposed during the past two decades, there is no consensus on how to reliably deflect or disrupt hazardous NEOs in a timely manner. Consequently, this talk will focus on the practical engineering aspects of such a technically challenging, complex engineering problem. |
| Dr. Bong Wie (Bio) |
| Director, Iowa Asteroid Deflection Research Center |
| Time: 2:50 pm - 3 pm |
| Break |
| Time: 3 pm - 3:10 pm |
| Special Presentation by To Be Announced Team |
| NASA/NSS Student Space Settlement Contest Presentation |
| Time: 3:10 pm - 3:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: Earth-Safe Asteroid Capture |
| Asteroids contain incredible quantities of resources, and wealth beyond imagination. Some of them are also horrific threats, capable of wiping out all life on Earth as they once wiped out the dinosaurs (and 90% of all species alive at that time). We have the technologies to move asteroids, and mine them for their ores, transforming threats into resources. However, even small asteroids such as the Chelyabinsk bolide can cause serious damage, injury, and fatalities - and people and machines make mistakes. Can we avoid the risks while gaining the riches? |
| Stephen D. Covey (Bio) |
| Director, Research & Development, Deep Space Industries |
| Time: 3:50 pm - 4 pm |
| Break |
| Time: 4 pm - 4:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: An Innovative Solution to NEO Impact Threat Mitigation |
| This talk describes the current research activities at the Asteroid Deflection Research Center of Iowa State University for mitigating the most probable impact threat of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with a short warning time (e.g., much less than 10 years). An asteroid intercept mission carrying nuclear explosives is the only practical mitigation option in such last-minute situations. Although a less destructive, standoff nuclear explosion can be employed, the momentum/energy transfer created by a shallow subsurface nuclear explosion is at least 100 times larger than that of a standoff nuclear explosion. However, the existing penetrated subsurface nuclear explosion technology limits the impact velocity to less than approximately 300 m/s because higher impact velocities destroy prematurely the detonation fusing devices. Consequently, significant advances in Hypervelocity Asteroid Intercept Vehicle (HAIV) technology needs to be achieved soon to enable a last-minute asteroid disruption mission with intercept velocities as high as 30 km/s. This talk also presents the conceptual development and design of a near-term flight validation mission for intercepting a small (50-m class) asteroid using a HAIV. |
| Dr. Bong Wie (Bio) |
| Director, Iowa Asteroid Deflection Research Center |
| Time: 5 pm - 5:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: NEAs - Threats AND Resources (A Survey) |
|
Of the 19,500 NEAs between 100 m � 1km, statistically 2925 (15%) will hit us eventually.
There is worse news: Of the approximately 1,000,000 NEAs 35-100 meters across, fully 150,000 WILL hit the Earth.
We have a choice: 1) wait till they hit us or 2) learn to "tame" their orbits & harvest them for metals, minerals, carbon, & volatiles. |
| Al Anzaldua (Bio) |
| President, Tucson L5 Space Society. Board Member, The Moon Society. |
| Friday: Asteroid Mining Project. Room: Aventine Ballroom |
| Time: 10 am - 10:50 am |
| Panel Discussion: Asteroid Mining Prospects |
| This panel discusses asteroid mining, especially asteroid (target) selection, mining approaches, technologies, timing, and challenges from the viewpoints of leaders of the two primary asteroid mining companies. |
| Chris Lewicki (Bio) |
| President and Chief Engineer, Planetary Resources |
| David Gump (Bio) |
| CEO, Deep Space Industries |
| Moderator: Dr. Martin Elvis (Bio) |
| Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Time: 10:55 am - 11:05 am |
| Break |
| Time: 11 am - 11:50 am |
| Presentation Title: A Miner's Approach to Asteroid Mining |
| After summarizing the immense resources of the Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), Mark describes some potential approaches to asteroid mining, and compares asteroid mining projects to actual terrestrial mining ventures. Along the way, he reveals vital insights on the valuation of asteroid ores and the "Economic Imperative" of asteroid mining missions. |
| Mark Sonter (Bio) |
| Director, Mining and Processing, Deep Space Industries |
| Time: 12 pm - 2 pm |
| Lunch |
| Time: 2 pm - 2:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: Applied Astronomy - the Need for a New Discipline for Near-Earth Asteroid Resource Extraction |
| In the age of asteroid mining the ability to find promising ore-bearing bodies will be valuable. This will give rise to a new discipline- "Applied Astronomy". Just as most geologists work in industry, not in academia, the same will be true of astronomers. Just how rare or common ore-rich asteroids are likely to be, and the skills needed to assay their value, are discussed here, with an emphasis on remote telescopic - methods. Also considered are the resources needed to conduct extensive surveys of asteroids for prospecting purposes, and the cost and timescale involved. The longer-term need for applied astronomers is also covered. |
| Dr. Martin Elvis (Bio) |
| Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Time: 2:50 pm - 3 pm |
| Break |
| Time: 3 pm - 3:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: The Arkyd-100 |
| Chris will presents a technical update of the Arkyd-100 spacecraft. The Arkyd Series 100 Leo Space Telescope (Leo) will provide Planetary Resources with the core spacecraft technologies necessary for asteroid prospecting while creating the first space telescope within reach of the private citizen. Leo contains the critical structures, avionics, attitude determination and control, and instrumentation that enable low-cost asteroid exploration. |
| Chris Lewicki (Bio) |
| President and Chief Engineer, Planetary Resources |
| Time: 4 pm - 4:10 pm |
| Special Presentation by To Be Announced Team |
| NASA/NSS Student Space Settlement Contest Presentation |
| Time: 4:10 pm - 4:25 pm |
| Presentation Title: Lunar Swingby to Increase Accessibility of NEOs |
|
This presentation addresses two related problems in orbital mechanics. One is an "Outbound Problem", in which lunar swingby is used to increase the number of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) accessible to a spacecraft of given mass and propulsion system. Alternatively, a less capable (cheaper) propulsion system may be used to send the spacecraft to a particular NEO. The second is an "Inbound Problem", in which lunar swingby is used to help capture a spacecraft or, (more interestingly) a small NEO or piece thereof, into Earth or lunar orbit.
By lunar swingby we mean any combination of the following here: single lunar swingby, double lunar swingby, and lunar swingby(s) combined with Earth swingby. Also considered are swingbys resulting in heliocentric escape that targets a later Earth-Moon encounter for subsequent capture (or escape to a NEO). Also, an important subset of these possibilities involve a pair of swingbys joined by a trajectory loop that extends up to several lunar distances from Earth. At such distances, the 4th-body solar perturbation can be utilized to shape the trajectory to our benefit, and these trajectory segments are termed "Solar-Perturbed Loops" (SPLs). This presentation will compare the above methods in terms of V-infinity (or C3) that can be gained or lost relative to a "straight" (no swingby) escape or capture. There are also limits to changes in inclination and other orbit elements that can be achieved by the various methods. Geometric considerations, i.e., restrictions to the angles between Earth, Moon, Sun, and spacecraft position and velocity, will further limit their application in different ways. Ultimately, we would like to relate all of the above considerations to expanding the orbital element space of accessible NEOs. |
| Dr. Chris Cassell (Bio) |
| Co-Founder, Deep Space Industries |
| Time: 4:30 pm - 4:50 pm |
| Presentation Title: The Nearest of the Near-Earth Asteroids |
|
Currently we know of about 10,000 objects in the inner solar system with
orbits that cross or approach the orbit of Earth. Collectively these
small solar system bodies are referred to as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).
While their orbits may cross the path of Earth, very few NEOs actually
approach near to Earth itself. A large fraction of NEOs spend most of
their time orbiting the sun in the asteroid belt beyond Mars. However,
there is a small subset of NEOs orbiting the sun on orbits which allow
for repeated close-encounters with Earth. These objects are locked in a
co-orbital resonance with Earth, orbiting the sun in exactly one year.
This unusual resonance causes the NEOs to appear to be orbiting Earth
and gives them their name; quasi-satellites.
Despite their close proximity to Earth, the discovery of quasi-satellites is hindered by their very slow motion against the stellar background. Only recently have astronomers observed the first quasi-satellites. These are the asteroids 2003 YN107, 2004 GU9, and 2006 FV35. Computer simulations of these asteroids as well as a larger theoretical population demonstrate that quasi-satellite asteroids always remain exceptionally close to Earth, often just 20-60 times farther than the moon. Future missions to asteroids could exploit the quasi-satellite resonance as a source of nearby extraterrestrial material, thus keeping mission costs relatively low. Furthermore, if human exploration of an asteroid is to be NASA's next venture beyond low-Earth orbit, then a quasi-satellite that naturally maintains it's position just beyond the orbit of the moon would make an ideal target and allow for rapid return to Earth in the event of an emergency. |
| Stephen J. Kortenkamp (Bio) |
| Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute. Instructor, Lunar and Planetary Lab, Univ. of Arizona. Author. |
| Saturday: Room: Portofino Room |
| Time: 10 am - 10:10 am |
| Special Presentation by To Be Announced Team |
| NASA/NSS Student Space Settlement Contest Presentation |
| Time: 10:10 pm - 10:50 am |
| Presentation Title: The New Kid on the Asteroid Block |
|
NASA intends to send astronauts to a near Earth object (NEO) in or
around 2025. This could involve a six month mission with a few weeks
stay-time at the NEO. Problems with this concept include lack of abort
modes, vulnerability to solar flares, and lack of resupply
opportunities. Studies by the authors (the Asteroid Mining Group), a
recent workshop at JPL organized by the Keck Institute, and a new NASA
initiative opens the door to an alternative that addresses these
problems and creates additional opportunities. These groups investigated
the feasibility of bringing one of more small NEOs into Earth or Lunar
orbit. Particularly for High Earth Orbits(HEO) or High Lunar Orbits
(HLO), this appears feasible with near-term technology, especially
high-propellant-velocity, low-thrust solar electric propulsion (SEP) in
space vehicles. This paper compares the originally planned mission with
an alternative:
Bringing one or more NEOs into HEO or HLO using SEP and lunar gravity assist. An astronaut mission to the NEO is then similar to a mission to the Moon without a landing. Trip times are measured in days, the NEO can be used for solar flare protection for most of the mission, and resupply within a few days is practical. Furthermore, materials derived from the NEO, e.g., propellant, water, radiation shielding, metals, silicon, and others, are available for projects in cis-lunar space, including satellite refueling, habitats, and space solar power. The alternative mission also develops much of the technology, experience, and infrastructure needed to protect Earth from potentially hazardous NEOs. As an outcome of these studies we are proposing a process whereby early missions can lead to large-scale industrialization of cis-lunar space based on solar energy and asteroidal resources. |
| Al Globus (Bio) |
| Senior Research Engineer, San Jose State University |
| Time: 10:50 am - 11 am |
| Break |
| Time: 11 am - 11:20 am |
| Presentation Title: Mining Asteroid Materials for Manufacturing in LEO and for Valuable Minerals |
|
There is a pressing need for large amounts of building material in Earth
orbit for structures and radiation shielding of large space structures,
hotels, and habitats. Current cost of launching material to Low Earth
orbit (LEO) is about $10,000/kg. New commercial ISS vehicles will
probably not reduce these costs below $3,000/kg.
We propose launching a simple robotic mining system dubbed "Cornucopia," designed to immediately return very large amounts of regolith into LEO. The Cornucopia missions are designed using the simplest possible technologies and the highest possible Technology Readiness Level (TRLs) for guidance and controls to launch within the next few years. The goal is to have our first return vehicle back to Earth before the end of this decade. This Mission will significantly increase our level of preparedness for intercepting and deflecting incoming asteroids. |
| Michael Buet (Bio) |
| Star Technology and Research, Inc |
| Jerome Pearson (Bio) |
| President, Star Technology and Research, Inc. |
| Narayanan Komerath(Bio) |
| Professor, Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Time: 11:20 am - 11:40 am |
| Presentation Title: Excavating Asteroid Regolith |
|
The microgravity environment of Near-Earth Asteroids results in several challenges for asteroid exploitation, including the difficulty of processes - such as digging - that we take for granted on the Earth�s surface. Most large asteroids are likely gravel piles, very loosely held due to their low self-gravity. To excavate a bucket of regolith, a down force must be applied to push the blade of a bucket into the regolith - and that down force thrusts the excavator upward, away from the asteroid. The same thing happens when drilling is attempted. In order to begin drilling, the drill head is pressed into the regolith, an action that immediately results in the drilling machine pushing away from the asteroid. Obvious solutions - attaching the spacecraft in some way to the asteroid - are cumbersome if the spacecraft must be able to traverse the asteroid�s surface gathering material.
The Electromagnetic Regolith Excavator (ERE) is a proposed method of excavation (including drilling) that circumvents these problems. The ERE uses travelling waves of magnetism to draw magnetic materials interspersed in the asteroid regolith and then to direct their movement. It takes advantage of the magnetic nature of most chondrite asteroids (whether in nickel-iron grains or in ferromagnetic minerals such as magnetite) to rapidly move large volumes of material. Non-magnetic materials are carried along with the magnetic portion, thanks to collisions, friction, inertia, and the careful timing of magnetic pulses. |
| Michael Zwach (Bio) |
| Director, Deep Space Industries NeoSquad |
| Time: 11:40 am - 12 pm |
| Presentation Title: An Asteroid Deflection System |
| This talk presents a xenon propelled Space tug which aims at deflecting the potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis from its actual trajectory to earth orbit using phenomenon of gravitation and then harnessing it for useful minerals. |
| Navdeep Sharma (Bio) |
| Research Fellow, Dept. of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University |
| Dhara Rakshak |
Speaker's Bio
President, Tucson L5 Space Society. Board Member, The Moon Society.
Al Anzaldua is the President of the Tucson L5 Space Society, a chapter of the NSS. Al is currently very active in several space-oriented organizations including: The Planetary Science Institute, Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association,Moon Society, and The Planetary Society. During his lengthy career with the U.S. Department of State, Al applied his knowledge and expertise in support of Science and the Environment. Since the mid-1980�s, Al has participated in many science related programs before live audiences, as well as on radio and on TV, in the United States, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Barbados.
Star Technology and Research, Inc. Staff Member, Kepler Space Institute.
EE - LSSBB, veteran of Aerospace engineering and design, with over 25 years of high-tech, cutting edge creative engineering design and management experience with AT&T-Bell Labs, Loral Electronics, IBM, DeCrane Aerospace and Boeing, transitioning R&D into manufacturing. Michael and Star Technology and Research are currently developing a straight-forward robotic Asteroid Mining for launch within this decade in close cooperation with Georgia Tech School of Aerospace Engineering and the Kepler Space Institute. Michael is also currently participating in the design and manufacturing of the STAR Electro-Dynamic Debris Eliminator (EDDE), a self-powered tether satellite system for intercepting and recovering all Earth-orbiting debris by moving them into a safe orbit for later recycling into space structures. Michael is currently working on his PhD in Space Engineering Projects.
Co-Founder, Deep Space Industries
Chris has had a long-standing interest in space resource utilization, and did his PhD work in the use of lunar swingby, hoping to apply it to capturing NEOs into Earth orbit. He currently works for a large aerospace company where he's gained much orbit and mission analysis experience on commercial, NASA, and other government satellite programs.
Director, Research & Development, Deep Space Industries
Stephen is a space advocate and futurist, aspiring asteroid miner, physicist by education, consultant by career, entrepreneur, and former Director of R&D for Applied Innovation Inc.. He currently serves as the Director of Research & Development for Deep Space Industries.
Stephen received a Bachelor's in Physics from Wabash College. As a software and Internet consultant, his clients included the Air Force, Army, and Navy. He has authored papers on topics ranging from "Optical Ethernet" to "Considerations for Asteroid Capture Into Earth Orbit" and "Design Considerations for Orbital Settlements." A speaker at multiple conferences, he has given presentations related to capturing asteroids into Earth orbit and what we should do with them. He is chairman of the Asteroid track at the 2013 International Space Development Conference in San Diego.
His educational website about minerals (www.galleries.com) averages 300,000 visitors per month, and presents information on primordial rocks and minerals, including asteroids and comets. He also writes science fiction, techno-thrillers, and a futurist (pro-space) blog, RamblingsOnTheFutureOfHumanity.com. Stephen is a member of the NSS, the World Future Society (WFS), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is an editor for the NSS Space Settlement Journal (https://space.nss.org/national-space-society-space-settlement-journal/).
Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Born in the UK, Martin Elvis got his PhD at the University of Leicester in 1978. He moved to the USA full time in 1980 to work on the first true X-ray telescope, the "Einstein Observatory", at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
With the demise of the Einstein Observatory in 1981 he pursued active galactic nuclei (AGN) at other wavelengths using a wide variety of telescope (IUE, IRAS, IRTF, MMT, VLA, UKIRT, JCMT) leading to the 1994 "Atlas of Quasar Energy Distributions", which has served as a standard since and has been cited almost 1000 times. He later developed a model for the structure of quasars (the "Quasar Atmosphere", cited 1000 times) which remains a major focus of his research.
The change of direction for the human space program at NASA - from the Moon to asteroids as the first step towards Mars - seemed to him to offer a strategic potential for cheaper, larger space observatories. He has begun to work on near-Earth asteroids (NEOs) - their detection and their properties - with a view to helping NASA's exploration forward. Eventually, he is convinced, the commercial potential of the asteroids will transform our space endeavors to a truly large-scale, and will, in the process, make access to space cheap and routine.
Dr. Elvis has published over 300 papers in refereed journals and, with over 15,000 citations, is one of the 250 most Highly Cited Researchers in astronomy and space physics, as determined by ISI.
Senior Research Engineer, San Jose State University
Al Globus started as a musician, playing guitar, bass, saxophone and singing around LA, San Francisco and Boston. He was a music major at UC Santa Cruz and attended Berkeley College of Music for a year. It's safe to say Al played every dingy, funky club in a 40 mile radius from anywhere he lived. Then it was time for a change. While earning his BA in Information Science at UC Santa Cruz, in 1978 Al's roommate was hired to clean out someone's garage. He was given, and brought home, a stack of Co-Evolutionary Quarterly issues, including one on space settlement. It blew Al's mind. He knew we just had to build these things, so he went to NASA Ames Research Center to write software, eventually working on the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, the effect of zero-g on bone, visualization of fluid flows around launch vehicles, molecular nanotechnology, and much else. See Al's website for details, including full text of most of his research papers.
In the early 80s Al conducted research into teleoperation of lunar rovers and in the early nineties designed the Lewis One space settlement. He's published on space settlement, space solar power, asteroid mining and more. In the mid-90s, he initiated the annual NASA /NSS Student Space Settlement Design Contest, which continues today with over 1,000 kids a year. Early in 2006 he was invited to be chairman of the National Space Society's Space Settlement Advocacy Committee and sits on the board. See this site for his space settlement work. Mr. Globus is currently a Senior Engineering Associate for Human Factors Research and Technology at San Jose State University at NASA Ames Research Center. He's been a visiting research associate at the Molecular Engineering Laboratory in the chemistry department of the University of California at Santa Cruz, his alma mater. He has won many awards, including NASA Software of the Year and the 1997 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for Theoretical Work.
CEO, Deep Space Industries
David co-founded three companies in commercial space, including Astrobotic Technology for the exploration and development of lunar resources. Astrobotic in its first four years gathered $12 million in NASA technology development contracts and put a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle under contract for its first mission. NASA also recognized David's expertise with multiple invitations to deliver presentations at its conferences and workshops including the agency's 2012 Global Exploration Conference. As president of Transformational Space Corp. (t/Space), David led a team that NASA selected to provide it with advice and technology development for its return to the Moon. NASA then selected t/Space as a finalist for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program that SpaceX and Orbital Sciences won in the next round. In addition, David negotiated and directed the first TV commercial filmed on the International Space Station, as well as creating space entertainment software sold by Walmart, Best Buy, and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.
Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
Steve Kortenkamp is a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona. He is also an adjunct instructor in the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona and an accomplished children's author, having published 21 children's science books. Kortenkamp's research background is in computer simulations of planet formation and orbital dynamics of asteroids, comets, and interplanetary dust.
President and Chief Engineer, Planetary Resources
Mr. Lewicki has been intimately involved with the lifecycle of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix Mars Lander.
Lewicki performed system engineering development and participated in assembly, test and launch operations for both Mars missions. He was Flight Director for the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the Surface Mission Manager for Phoenix. The recipient of two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, Lewicki has an asteroid named in his honor: 13609 Lewicki. Chris holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona.
At Planetary Resources, Mr. Lewicki is responsible for the strategic development of the company's mission and vision, engagement with customers and the scientific community, serves as technical compass, and leads day to day operations.
Research Fellow, Dept. of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University
Director, Mining and Processing, Deep Space Industries
Mark is Director of Mining and Processing for Deep Space Industries. He previously founded Asteroid Enterprises in 1986, after giving an asteroid resource recovery talk at an Aussie Space Engineering Conference (Sydney 1986), and founded his day-job company, Radiation Advice & Solutions Pty Ltd, in 1995. Mark is a miner - and well-known consultant to mining companies across the globe - as well as an asteroid expert whose paper, "The Technical and Economic Feasibility of Mining the Near-Earth Asteroids," is often cited in peer-reviewed papers. Here are his views on Asteroid Mining.
Vance Coffman Endowed Chair Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University, Director of both the Asteroid Research Deflection Center (ADRC) and the Space Systems and Controls Laboratory (SSCL).
Dr. Bong Wie is the Vance D. Coffman Endowed Chair Professor of Aerospace Engineering and the founding Director of the Asteroid Deflection Research Center at Iowa State University (http://www.adrc.iastate.edu). He received his B.S. in aeronautical engineering from Seoul National University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in 1978 and 1981, respectively. In 2006, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) presented Professor Wie with the Mechanics and Control of Flight Award for his innovative research on advanced control of complex spacecraft such as agile imaging satellites, solar sails, and large space structures. He is the author of an AIAA textbook Space Vehicle Dynamics and Control (second edition, 2008). He has co-authored 150 technical papers and 60 peer-reviewed journal articles in the area of space vehicle guidance, control, and dynamics. His current research, funded by a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase 2 program, focuses on developing space technologies for mitigating the impact threat of hazardous asteroids and comets.
Director, DSI NeoSquad
Michael Zwach is a graduate of Purdue University Electrical Engineering with specialization in electromagnetics, radiation, astrophysics, and entrepreneurship. Mike gained his expertise by competing in Science Olympiad and FIRST robotics competitions before working on the Lunar Micro Rover Project at NASA Ames Research Center for four years where he served as team leader for the Telecommunications and Radiation Testing sub-teams. Later, as a Co-Op student at NASA Johnson Space Center with Jacobs, Mike worked on the lithium ion battery pack for Robonaut 2. Mike currently serves as the national Chair of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). Mike will be catering his expertise in space robotics and EM innovations to Deep Space Industries as Director of the NeoSquad among working as a member of the engineering team.
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