KECK INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES

       

Nebulae: Deep-Space Computing Clouds

August 26 - 30, 2019
California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, CA 91125

Map

Workshop Overview:

The purpose of this workshop is to study how to reduce risk in future missions, accelerate science discovery, and enable a new class of high-data-rate, deep space science missions by taking advantage of high-performance spaceflight computing and data storage. We imagine a paradigm shift that resembles the concentration of computing resources into "clouds" (both centralized and distributed) – yet in deep space – and so we name such an arrangement after the deep space clouds, Nebulae.

We are motivated by the fact that down-link limits have severely constrained the types of science instruments we fly. For example: The CRISM and HiRISE instruments were able to image only a tiny fraction of the Mars surface for detailed study. Could on-site storage have allowed us to collect data over the whole of Mars, and been combined with onboard summary, compression, or prioritization to enable new serendipitous discoveries? Could this paradigm extend and scale to enable data-capture missions like “CRISM or Hyperion for all of Titan”?

This workshop seeks to Identify new science missions enabled by a Nebula; to quantify benefit to traditional, existing, and planned science missions; and to identify candidate mission architectures, interfaces, data standards, and demonstration milestones for follow on technology development.


Monday, August 26, 2019 Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall, Guggenheim Building - Caltech

Short Course: A World of Data – The Scale of Space Science Data Processing
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

Big Planets, Big Questions, Big Data:
Planetary Remote Sensing Data Challenges
(76.5 MB .pdf)

Valerie Fox

9:45 - 10:30

Reinventing the Role of Computing in Space
(9 MB .pdf)

Rich Doyle
10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 11:45

Today’s Deep Space Communications System:
The Earth-Based Elements
(3.4 MB .pdf)

Les Deutsch

11:45 - 12:30

Future Computing Architectures for Signal Processing, AI, and Autonomy for Space Vehicles
(1.3 MB .pdf)
(38.3 MB .pdf)

Jason Tichy and Lukas Mandrake

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
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, August 27, 2019

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

Michele Judd and Team Leads

9:15 - 9:45

Orbital Insight - High Level Architectural Overivew / What Can Be Done Now / Top Challenges Ahead

Guest Speaker: Jason Lohn

9:45 - 10:30

Introduction to Imaging Spectroscopy Measurement and Analysis (includes 15 min Q&A)
(86 MB .pdf)

David Thompson
10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 11:15

Selection of Breakout Groups and Topics

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:
Dragonfly (1.4 MB .pdf)
Dmitriy Bekker, Morgan Cable and Alice Cocoros
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-ish SESSION and Informal food truck dinner at the Keck Center
(dinner starts at 6:30 pm)

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

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

Michele Judd
Team Leads

9:15 - 9:45

Team Pulse - One good thing you have taken out of the workshop already, one thing you want by Friday

Michele Judd

9:45 - 10:15

Report outs from breakout groups (10 mins each)

Groups
10:15 - 10:30

Lightning talk (1)

TBD by participants

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 11:45

Machine Learning and Artifical Intelligence for Science Data
(18.6 MB .pdf)

Ashish Mahabal

11:45 - 12:00

Lightning talk (1)

TBD by participants

12:00 - 12:30

Plenary Discussion, Selection of Breakout Groups and Topics

All
12:30 - 2:00  Lunch at Athenaeum
2:00 - 3:30 Breakout Groups Meet All
3:45 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 4:30 Report outs from breakout groups (10 mins each) Groups
4:30 - 4:45 Selection of Breakout Topics / Groups All
4:45 - 6:00 Breakout Groups Meet All
6:00 Workshop Day #3 Ends
6:15 OPTIONAL: No-Host Dinner in Pasadena (KISS pays for grad students and postdocs)

Thursday, August 29, 2019

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

Michele Judd
Team Leads

9:15 - 9:45 Report outs from breakout groups (10 mins each) All
9:45 - 10:30

Lightning talks (3)

Speaker Name or TBD by participants
10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 11:15

Selection of Breakout Topics / Groups

All

11:15 - 12:30

Breakout Groups Meet

All
12:30 - 2:00

Lunch on your own

2:00 - 3:00

Breakout Groups Meet (continued)

Groups

3:00 - 3:30

Report outs from breakout groups (10 mins each)

Groups
3:30 - 4:00

Break

4:00 - 4:30

Group Discussion and Selection of Breakout Topics / Groups

All
4:30 - 6:00

Breakout Groups Meet

All
6:00

Workshop Day #4 Ends

6:15 Dinner at the Athenaeum (with spouses and significant others)

Friday, August 30, 2019

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

Michele Judd
Team Leads

9:15 - 10:00 Breakout Groups Report Out All
10:00 - 10:30

Open Discussion of Breakout Group Recommendations and Group Feedback

All
10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 12:30

Possible Break Outs to determine next steps during study session before workshop #2?

All

12:30 - 1:30

Lunch at the Institute

1:30 - 2:00

Breakout Groups Report Out

All

2:00 - 3:30

Summary of the Week's Accomplishment and Goals

All
3:30 - 4:00

Break

4:00 - 4:45

Final Study Activities and Assignments - Group Discussion

All
4:45 - 5:00

Workshop Closeout

Michele Judd
5:00 Workshop Concludes

Workshop Participants:

  • Leon Alkalai - JPL
  • Dmitriy Bekker - Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
  • Morgan Cable - JPL
  • Julie Castillo - JPL
  • Alice Cocoros - Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
  • Les Deutsch - JPL
  • James Dickson - Caltech
  • Andrew Dittrich - USAF
  • Richard Doyle - JPL
  • David English - Lockheed Martin Space
  • Valerie Fox - Caltech
  • Eric Frew - University of Colorado
  • Joseph Goldfrank - Stanford University
  • Trent Hare - U.S. Geological Survey
  • Shayn Hawthorne - Amazon Web Service
  • Jason Hofgartner - JPL
  • Robert Hood - ASRC Federal/NASA Ames
  • Ashish Mahabal - Caltech
  • Lukas Mandrake - JPL
  • Sreeja Nag - NASA Ames / BAERI
  • Mario Parente - University of Massachusetts
  • Raphael Some - JPL
  • David R Thompson - JPL
  • Jason Tichy - NVIDIA
  • Joshua Vander Hook - JPL