KECK INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES

       

Large Constellations and Formations for Exploring Interstellar Objects and Long-Period Comets

October 29 - November 2, 2018
California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, CA 91125

Workshop Overview:

This workshop will investigate the best strategies for exploring planetary objects with very long periods such as ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar visitor ever observed, and comets coming from the Oort cloud.  Long-period comets are the most primitive witnesses of the early solar system. Interstellar visitors are suggested to be extrasolar planet fragments ejected upon catastrophic collisions. Hence the scientific value of exploring these objects is unbounded.

The exploration of long period objects (LPOs) is challenging for many reasons:

  1. the orbital properties of these bodies are not known with enough lead time to develop a mission;
  2. they have a broad range of inclinations;
  3. the encounter velocities are in excess of 50 km/s, hence the encounters may be very short;
  4. LPOs may be outgassing or surrounded by debris. 

The premise of this study is that the challenges identified above may be addressed by flying a very large number of spacecraft in a coordinated manner.  Constellations, formations, and swarms of small spacecraft have been identified as game changers for enabling new space science. In recent times, there has been a tremendous development in regards to the technology maturation level achieved by smallsats.

This workshop will explore how smallsats, and in particular advanced distributed spacecraft architectures, can be used to address the many challenges intrinsic to small body encounters in excess of 50 km/s and enable wholesome science investigations over a short observation window. 


Monday, October 29, 2018
Salvatori Seminar Room, South Mudd Building (3rd floor) - Caltech

Short Course:
Exploring Once-in-a-Lifetime Targets
Introductory Lectures - Open to all interested students, researchers and faculty

Time
Event
Speaker
8:15 - 8:45 Coffee and Refreshments
8:45 - 9:00 Logistics / Introduction Michele Judd
Team Lead
9:00 - 9:45 Fantastic Targets and How to Find Them
(5.2 MB .pdf)
Olivier Hainaut
9:45 - 10:30 Getting Close to Long-Period Objects - Lessons Learned from Past Missions
(2.7 MB .pdf)
Hope Ishii
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 11:45 Small but Powerful - State of the Art in Small Flight Systems
(3.85 MB .pdf)
Kristina Hogstrom
11:45 - 12:30 Stronger Together - Coordination Among Spacecraft for Novel Exploration Strategies
(12 MB .pdf)
Soon-Jo Chung
12:30 - 1:30 Short Course Ends: Informal Lunch is provided outside Salvatori Seminar Room

Invitation-Only Workshop Begins:
Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

1:30 - 1:45 Walk to Keck Center, pick up badge and welcome packet, find seat in the Think Tank
1:45 - 2:30 Workshop Logistics and Introduction to KISS Michele Judd and Tom Prince
2:30 - 3:00 Participant Introductions Michele Judd
3:00 - 3:30 Study Vision and Goals for this Workshop Team Leads
3:30 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 5:00 Finalize Study Vision and Workshop Goals via Plenary Discussion Team Leads
5:00 - 5:30 Solicitation of Lightning Talks Team Leads
5:30 - 6:00 Pack up and walk to the Athenaeum All
6:00 Dinner at the Athenaeum

Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 - 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day
Science definition, objective prioritization, and key science-driven requirements
Michele Judd
Team Leads
9:15 - 10:00

The Science of Long-Period Comets and Interstellar Objects
(58.75 MB .pdf)

Karen Meech
10:00 - 10:30

Lightning Talks (2):

1) Plasma and Dust-Plasma Environment
at Bodies with and without Outgassing - Christine Hartzell
(1.8 MB .pdf)

Christine Hartzell
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 11:15 Selection of Breakout Groups and Topic All
11:15 - 12:30 Breakout Groups Meet Groups
12:30 - 2:00 Group Picture and Lunch at the Athenaeum
2:00 - 2:45 Report outs from breakout groups (15 mins each) Groups
2:45 - 3:15 Lightning Talks (2) TBD by participants
3:15 - 3:30 Selection of Breakout Groups and Topics All
3:30 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 5:30 Breakout Groups Meet Groups
5:30 - 7:30 POSTER SESSION and Informal food truck dinner at the Keck Center
(dinner starts at 6:30 pm)

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 ‐ 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day
Payload definition, key requirements on flight system and mission design
Michele Judd and Team Leads
9:15 - 9:45

Report Outs from Breakout Groups (10 mins each)

Groups
9:45 ‐ 10:30 Instrumentation for Small Spacecraft, A Review of the State of the Art Emerging Technologies Julie Castillo-Rogez
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 11:45 Lightning talks (3) TBD by participants
11:45 ‐ 12:30 Plenary Discussion, Selection of Breakout Groups and Topics All
12:30 ‐ 2:00 Lunch at the Athenaeum
2:00 - 3:30 Breakout Groups Meet All
3:30 ‐ 4:00 Break
4:00 - 4:45 Report outs from breakout groups (15 mins each) Groups
4:45 - 5:30 Plenary Discussion on Participant Wants and Needs
Selection of Next Day's Breakout Groups
All
5:30 - 6:15 Tour of Soon-Jo Chung’s Lab (walk to lab, 30 minute tour) All
6:15 Workshop Day #3 Ends
6:30 OPTIONAL: No-Host Dinner in Pasadena

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 - 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day
Development of a Portfolio of Mission Concepts (Prioritized)
Michele Judd and Team Leads
9:15 - 10:00

Coordinated spacecraft architectures

Soon-Jo Chung + TBD
10:00 - 10:30 Lightning talks (2) TBD by participants
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 12:30 Breakout Groups Meet All
12:30 - 2:00  Lunch ON YOUR OWN
2:00 - 2:30 FREE THINK TIME (individual, or self organizing small groups) All
2:30 - 3:15 Report outs from breakout groups (15 mins each) Groups
3:15 - 3:30 Plenary Discussion, Selection of Breakout Groups All
3:30 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 5:30 Break Out Sessions Groups
5:30 Workshop Day #4 Ends All
6:00 Dinner at the Athenaeum (with spouses and significant others)

Friday, November 2, 2018

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 - 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:10 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day
Identifying Technology Gaps and Way Forward
Michele Judd and Team Leads
9:10 - 9:40

Breakout Groups Report Out

All
9:40 - 10:30 Open Discussion of Breakout Group Recommendations All
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 11:30 Outline of Final Report All
11:30 - 12:30 WRITING SESSION: Prioritized Key Points for Each Section of Final Report All
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch at the Institute
1:30 - 2:00 GAPS: What was missed in the final report sections? All
2:00 - 3:00 Break Out Groups / Advocacy / Illustrations / Key Take Away Material All
3:00 - 3:30 Report outs All
3:30 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 4:45 Final Study Activities and Assignments All
4:45 - 5:00 Workshop Closeout Michele Judd
5:00 Workshop Concludes

Workshop Participants:

  • Francesca Baldini - Caltech
  • Marc Buie - Southwest Research Institute
  • Julie Castillo-Rogez - JPL
  • Soon-Jo Chung - Caltech
  • Charles Elachi - Caltech
  • Olivier Hainaut - ESO
  • Christine Hartzell - University of Maryland
  • Alexei Harvard - Caltech
  • Ben Hockman - JPL
  • Kristina Hogstrom - JPL
  • Jennifer Hudson - Western Michigan University
  • Mitch Ingham - JPL
  • Hope Ishii - University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • James Keane - Caltech
  • Jan Kleyna - University of Hawaii / RCUH
  • Damon Landau - JPL
  • Joseph Lazio - JPL
  • Kai Matsuka - Caltech
  • Karen Meech - Universtiy of Hawaii
  • Robyn Millan - Dartmouth College
  • Erica Molnar-Bufanda - University of Hawaii, Manoa
  • Yashwanth Kumar Nakka - Caltech
  • Charles Norton - NASA HQ Science Mission Directorate
  • Sean Raymond - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux
  • Driss Takir - NASA JSC
  • Michael Wolf - JPL