What we’re about
Welcome to SJ Astronomy Meetup. We are an active group with a lot of events organized by the San Jose Astronomical Association. All events posted to this Meetup are open to the public but please note that joining this meetup does not automatically make you a member of SJAA. Becoming a formal member of SJAA provides members-only benefits, so we do encourage you to join. Please check out the membership benefits at https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/ to learn more and to join the club.
Also, please note that we need a profile picture for security reasons to join this group. Please consider uploading one before you send a request to join the group. Looking forward to sharing this cool hobby with all of you!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Deep Space Optical NavigationHouge Park, San Jose, CA
Come join us for our monthly Astronomy talk!
7:30pm-8pm: Social time with snacks
8pm: Talk beginTitle: Deep Space Optical Navigation
Abstract:
A critical aspect of all interplanetary missions is answering the following questions: where is the spacecraft now, where has it been, where is it going, and what needs to be done to get it where it needs to go. This is the job of the navigator, a role with origins at JPL alongside the Deep Space Network in early 60s. While most interplanetary missions can be flown using just radiometric tracking data from the Deep Space Network, some missions require the addition of optical navigation data. With heavy overlap with the field of astronomy, optical navigation is the practice of using an imager onboard the spacecraft to image and observe a target body. With this data, navigators can pinpoint the orbits of asteroids for precise flyby or determine a spacecraft’s precise orbit based on surface features and altogether enable ambitious investigation of unknown worlds.Bio:
Declan Mages is a navigation engineer in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s outer planet navigation group, specializing in optical navigation. He graduated with a master’s in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and got his start at JPL as an intern working on optical navigation for the New Horizons flyby of Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth where he researched and implemented dim target registration techniques. Starting full time in 2020 he worked with JAXA to navigate Hayabusa 2 on its sample return trajectory and on optical navigation for the DART and LICIACube missions to Dimorphos. Current mission work includes optical navigation for JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission to return samples from Phobos and Mars Sample Return. His recent research interests have included rapid response missions to interstellar objects, Uranus aerocapture concept development, and autonomous optical navigation.About the event:
Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/
