Press Events

Newsworthy Abstracts  

Upcoming Events

DART: Six Months After Impact

Monday, March 13, 12 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


On September 26, 2022, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, making history as humanity’s first demonstration of asteroid deflection. Since then, the team has been busy analyzing the data from the camera onboard the DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency’s Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube); making continued observations with Earth- and space-based telescopes; and modeling DART’s impact event, the ejecta evolution, and dynamics.

The team previously announced that Dimorphos’ orbital period was changed by the DART impact by 33 minutes, indicating that the ejecta contributed significantly to enhance the deflection produced by the spacecraft. This press event will share the latest results, from reconstructing the details of DART’s impact with the asteroid’s surface and simulating DART’s kinetic impact using that information to analyzing the rich LICIACube dataset and sharing the latest Hubble Space Telescope observations of the Didymos-Dimorphos system. These results are being used to fully understand DART’s impact event and its implications for future planetary defense applications if such a need should arise.


Panelists
  • Nancy ChabotDART Coordination Lead
    DART Results to Date and Recent 2023 Telescopic Views of the Didymos System
    Abstract #1623
  • Carolyn ErnstDRACO Instrument Scientist
    The Geometry of the DART Spacecraft’s Impact onto the Surface of Dimorphos
    Abstract #2529
  • Angela StickleDART Impact Working Group Lead
    Modeling DART’s Impact and Estimates of the Resulting Crater Size
    Abstract #2563
  • Maurizio PajolaLICIACube Science Team
    LICIACube and Close-up Observations of DART’s Impact
    Abstract #2125
  • Jian-Yang LiDART Investigation Team
    Ongoing Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Didymos System Since DART’s Impact
    Abstract #2115
NASA’s New Horizons: Distant Discoveries in the Outer Solar System

Tuesday, March 14, 12 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


More than 5 billion miles from home and 17 years into its historic mission – including the first close-up exploration of Pluto and the first encounter with a planetary object in the Kuiper Belt – NASA’s New Horizons continues to shed light on the mysterious worlds of the outer solar system. Mission team members will discuss discoveries that provide insight into the origins of Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth and the evolving geology of Pluto – and preview unique, distant observations of Uranus and Neptune that could influence how we observe ice giants beyond our planetary system.


Panelists
  • Alan SternNew Horizons principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute
    On the Properties and Origin of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth’s Large Mounds
    Abstract #1263
  • Oliver WhiteNew Horizons co-investigator, SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center
    Is True Polar Wander Recorded in Pluto’s Ancient Geology?
    Abstract #1286
  • Ishan Mishrapost-doctoral fellow, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
    How Widespread are the Bladed Terrains on Pluto?
    Abstract #1787
  • Will GrundyNew Horizons co-investigator, Lowell Observatory
    Exploring Ice Giants at High Phase with New Horizons
    Abstract #1549
Molecular Water in the Lunar Far South Using 6-Micron Spectral Imaging

Wednesday, March 15, 10:45 a.m. CDT (11:45 a.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) made extensive observations of the distribution of water on the lunar surface during its last year of operations. We present the results of SOFIA observations in February 2022, covering the south pole and a portion of the lunar far south up to -60 degrees latitude. These were the first observations to make fully sampled maps resolving individual mountains and craters down to 10 km size. We find that lunar water is associated with topographic features in detail, such that the shaded regions behind high-altitude features have more water than the exposed, sunward features.


Panelists
  • William T. ReachSOFIA Director of Science and Mission Operations
  • Casey HonniballResearcher at University of Maryland College Park
  • Paul G. LuceyProfessor at University of Hawai’i

Abstract #1121

First Direct Observation of Present Day Volcanic Activity on Venus

Wednesday, March 15, 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


Analysis of radar images from NASA’s Magellan mission shows a vent associated with Venus’ massive Maat Mons volcano that changed over an 8-month period between orbiter imaging opportunities, according to work being presented at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and published in the journal Science on March 15, 2023. While Venus has a geologically young surface and has long been suspected to be volcanically active, this new work provides the “smoking gun” that volcanic eruptions are occurring in the present day. This press event will discuss the results in context of what this means for our understanding of Venus and upcoming operations of the NASA VERITAS and ESA EnVision missions.


Panelists
  • Lori GlazeDirector, NASA’s Planetary Science Division
  • Robbie HerrickScience Team member on NASA’s VERITAS mission and the VenSAR instrument for the EnVision mission, University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • Scott HensleyProject Scientist for NASA’s VERITAS and ESA’s EnVision missions, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Abstract #1061

 

Past Events

DART: Six Months After Impact

Monday, March 13, 12 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center)


On September 26, 2022, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, making history as humanity’s first demonstration of asteroid deflection. Since then, the team has been busy analyzing the data from the camera onboard the DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency’s Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube); making continued observations with Earth- and space-based telescopes; and modeling DART’s impact event, the ejecta evolution, and dynamics.

The team previously announced that Dimorphos’ orbital period was changed by the DART impact by 33 minutes, indicating that the ejecta contributed significantly to enhance the deflection produced by the spacecraft. This press event will share the latest results, from reconstructing the details of DART’s impact with the asteroid’s surface and simulating DART’s kinetic impact using that information to analyzing the rich LICIACube dataset and sharing the latest Hubble Space Telescope observations of the Didymos-Dimorphos system. These results are being used to fully understand DART’s impact event and its implications for future planetary defense applications if such a need should arise.


Panelists
  • Nancy ChabotDART Coordination Lead
    DART Results to Date and Recent 2023 Telescopic Views of the Didymos System
    Abstract #1623
  • Carolyn ErnstDRACO Instrument Scientist
    The Geometry of the DART Spacecraft’s Impact onto the Surface of Dimorphos
    Abstract #2529
  • Angela StickleDART Impact Working Group Lead
    Modeling DART’s Impact and Estimates of the Resulting Crater Size
    Abstract #2563
  • Maurizio PajolaLICIACube Science Team
    LICIACube and Close-up Observations of DART’s Impact
    Abstract #2125
  • Jian-Yang LiDART Investigation Team
    Ongoing Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Didymos System Since DART’s Impact
    Abstract #2115
NASA’s New Horizons: Distant Discoveries in the Outer Solar System

Tuesday, March 14, 12 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


More than 5 billion miles from home and 17 years into its historic mission – including the first close-up exploration of Pluto and the first encounter with a planetary object in the Kuiper Belt – NASA’s New Horizons continues to shed light on the mysterious worlds of the outer solar system. Mission team members will discuss discoveries that provide insight into the origins of Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth and the evolving geology of Pluto – and preview unique, distant observations of Uranus and Neptune that could influence how we observe ice giants beyond our planetary system.


Panelists
  • Alan SternNew Horizons principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute
    On the Properties and Origin of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth’s Large Mounds
    Abstract #1263
  • Oliver WhiteNew Horizons co-investigator, SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center
    Is True Polar Wander Recorded in Pluto’s Ancient Geology?
    Abstract #1286
  • Ishan Mishrapost-doctoral fellow, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
    How Widespread are the Bladed Terrains on Pluto?
    Abstract #1787
  • Will GrundyNew Horizons co-investigator, Lowell Observatory
    Exploring Ice Giants at High Phase with New Horizons
    Abstract #1549
Molecular Water in the Lunar Far South Using 6-Micron Spectral Imaging

Wednesday, March 15, 12 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) made extensive observations of the distribution of water on the lunar surface during its last year of operations. We present the results of SOFIA observations in February 2022, covering the south pole and a portion of the lunar far south up to -60 degrees latitude. These were the first observations to make fully sampled maps resolving individual mountains and craters down to 10 km size. We find that lunar water is associated with topographic features in detail, such that the shaded regions behind high-altitude features have more water than the exposed, sunward features.


Panelists
  • William T. ReachSOFIA Director of Science and Mission Operations
  • Casey HonniballResearcher at University of Maryland College Park
  • Paul G. LuceyProfessor at University of Hawai’i

Abstract #1121

First Direct Observation of Present Day Volcanic Activity on Venus

Wednesday, March 15, 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT, GMT -5)
The Woodlands Room at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center


Analysis of radar images from NASA’s Magellan mission shows a vent associated with Venus’ massive Maat Mons volcano that changed over an 8-month period between orbiter imaging opportunities, according to work being presented at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and published in the journal Science on March 15, 2023. While Venus has a geologically young surface and has long been suspected to be volcanically active, this new work provides the “smoking gun” that volcanic eruptions are occurring in the present day. This press event will discuss the results in context of what this means for our understanding of Venus and upcoming operations of the NASA VERITAS and ESA EnVision missions.


Panelists
  • Lori GlazeDirector, NASA’s Planetary Science Division
  • Robbie HerrickScience Team member on NASA’s VERITAS mission and the VenSAR instrument for the EnVision mission, University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • Scott HensleyProject Scientist for NASA’s VERITAS and ESA’s EnVision missions, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Abstract #1061


Newsworthy Abstracts

  • Mineralogical Evidence for Environmental Change in the Clay-Sulfate Transition at Gale Crater, Mars (Abstract #1554)
    Elizabeth Rampe, NASA Johnson Space Center
  • Exploring the Jezero Delta Front: Overview of Results from the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover's Second Science Campaign (Abstract #1652)
    Amy Williams, University of Florida
  • Not Headed Downhill Yet: Celebrating 10 Years of Curiosity at Gale Crater (Abstract #1683)
    Ashwin Vasavada, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • LICIACube: The Close-Up Observation of the DART Impact (Abstract #2125)
    Elisabetta Dotto, INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
  • Sampling by the NASA Perseverance Rover for Mars Sample Return (Abstract #2185)
    Christopher Herd, University of Alberta
  • Considerations for High Latitude Landing Sites in Conjunction with Artemis Landings at the Lunar South Pole (Abstract #2230)
    Harrison Schmitt, Albuquerque, NM and Noah Petro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Characterization of the DART Impact Site on Dimorphos (Abstract #2529)
    Carolyn Ernst, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact (Abstract #2563)
    Angela Stickle, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
  • A Search for Changes on Europa Between the Galileo and Juno Observations (Abstract #2719)
    Cynthia Phillips, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Stratigraphy Relationships of the Delta and Crater Floor in Jezero Crater from RIMFAX GPR
    Observations (Abstract #2975)
    Patrick Russell, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Masursky Lecture: The Scientific Legacy of the InSight Mission, Monday, March 13
    Bruce Banerdt, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • NASA Headquarters Briefing, Tuesday, March 14
    Sandra Connelly, Lori Glaze, Joel Kearns, NASA HQ
  • NASA Headquarters Artemis Town Hall, Wednesday, March 15
    Sarah Noble, Jake Bleacher, NASA HQ
  • NASA Headquarters Mars Sample Return Town Hall, Thursday, March 16
    Jeff Gramling, NASA HQ
  • A Relict Glacier Near Mars’ Equator: Evidence for Recent Glaciation and Volcanism in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus (Abstract #2998)
    Pascal Lee, Mars Institute/SETI Institute
    SETI-News-MarsRelictGlacier-Lee-et-al-20230315-Final.pdf

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