SPACE SYMPOSIUM AGENDA
Salon Luncheon: Exploration Laboratories LLC
The State of Planetary Defense, protecting Earth and building repeatable deep-space mission capability
State of Planetary Defense, protecting Earth and building repeatable deep-space mission capability, is an annual strategic forum on humanity’s readiness to detect, characterize, and defend against asteroid threats, and the emerging public-private models that will scale planetary defense and asteroid science. Launching at the 2026 Space Symposium and continuing each year through 2029, the series culminates during asteroid Apophis’ historic close approach to Earth, a milestone that will elevate planetary defense from a niche discipline to a global priority.
The 2026 program is structured in two parts: Part I focuses on today’s planetary defense readiness, what’s working, what’s missing, and how industry will coordinate to close the gap. Part II shifts to the next era, new partnership and mission models that enable repeatable asteroid missions and sustained deep-space science programs.
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Moderator: James Orsulak, Co-Founder, ExLabs, Chairman, Planetary Defense Trust
- Speakers:
- Dr. David Bearden, Manager, Office of Strategic Planning, NASA JPL(confirmed)
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Hon. Jim Bridenstine, Former NASA Administrator, Managing Director, The Artemis Group
- Dr. Edward Lu, Head, Asteroid Institute & Founder, B612 Foundation
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Matt Schmidgall, CEO, ExLabs, Apophis EX Mission
If interested in being invited, contact [email protected], and we will forward your request to the sponsor.
By Invitation Only
Co-Sponsor
