The preliminary website and call for papers for the 2013 IAA Planetary Defense Conference has been released. The conference will be 15-19 April 2013 in Flagstaff, Arizona (near Meteor Crater). This a continuation of the Planetary Defense conferences that have been held in the past few years (in 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2011). Here is more information on the 2011 conference (presentation from Bill Ailor) and the 2011 conference website.
From the IAA website for the 2013 Planetary Defense Conference...
Papers are solicited for the 2013 IAA Planetary Defense Conference sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and The Aerospace Corporation (information on sponsorships is available at http://iaaweb.org/content/view/497/666/ ). The theme for the conference is “Gathering for Impact!”
Papers are solicited in the following areas:
Potentially Hazardous Objects – Recent Progress
· Current funded projects
· Discovery statistics and projections (ground-based & space-based)
· Orbital refinements including non-gravitational effects and keyholes
· Lessons learned from recent discoveries and close approaches
· Physical characterization that informs mitigation
Discovery and Tracking Resources and Plans
· Program status and plans (e.g., NASA’s NEO program, ESA’s SSA program)
· Survey completion estimates; ground-based and space-based surveys
· The status of next generation surveys (e.g., PanSTARRS and LSST)
· The discovery and tracking of 50-meter class PHOs
· Threat evolution with time – refining the threat
· Advancements in utilizing archival and historical data
Impacts, Consequences and Education
· Information from the geological record and recent history
· Consequences of ocean and land impacts
· Planning for a short or no warning time event
· Public/media education on NEO detection, impact effects, mitigation missions, impact warnings
Mission & Campaign Planning & Technologies
· Mission and campaign designs aimed at deflection/disruption, and related to their TRL.
· Human and robotic campaigns that inform all three NEO issues: science, exploration and planetary defense
· Decision tree, timelines and decision-to-act criteria (e.g., Impact probability thresholds)
· What do we do if a threat is detected tomorrow?
Disaster Mitigation
· Actual local, regional, international disasters that provide insights for NEO impact warning and mitigation
· Current international agreements and coordination activities
· Organizing and managing an international effort noting the consequences of false alarms
· Impact of public opinion on decision to act and choice of mitigation method
Moving Forward on Planetary Defense
· Funding levels and priority actions to build and maintain readiness
· Current national and international funded activities that support planetary defense
Link: International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) website for the 2012 IAA Planetary Defense Conference
