NASA
Join ASDC members and public engagement professionals for the last in the series of hugely successful ASDC Space Community Calls on 11th March 2026, from 3.30 to 5pm.
This call will focus on the latest updates on current space missions and cutting-edge research exploring habitable planets. Our speakers will share the most exciting developments in this rapidly evolving field and highlight engaging ways to bring these discoveries to your audiences.
We’ll also explore the newest advances in planetary defence, from ongoing research and upcoming missions to what the future holds for safeguarding our planet.
We’re delighted to welcome brilliant speakers from NASA, ESA and SaxaVord. See below for more information, and don’t forget to register for this special Space Community call.
Taking place during British Science Week, this year’s theme is “Curiosity – what’s your question?” Come along ready to ask yours, whether about planetary defence, the search for habitable worlds, next-generation telescopes, or future missions.
Keynote speakers:
Keeping the Earth safe from asteroids - Edward Baker, Planetary Defence and ISAM Advisor, European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications.
Edward Baker will be joining us to talk about his role advising the government on planetary defence and protecting our planet from asteroids. He will share the latest development in planetary defence and disaster management.
Edward Baker is the planetary defence lead at the UK Space Agency (UKSA) / National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC), lead the development of the UK Governments first planetary defence capability in 2024 and continues to be involved in its day-to-day operation. This enthusiasm for promoting planetary defence also lead to Edward leading the UK Governments effort to join the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) in 2025 continuing to promote planetary defence activities in the UK. This session will give you new insights into the national and global planetary defence efforts and offer an insight into the future developments.
Raissa Estrela, Research Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Raissa will be presenting the latest developments for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, including mission goals, the search for life, what they hope to discover and much more!
Raissa is a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. She holds a degree in Physics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), and a master's and doctorate in Geospatial Sciences from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Her doctoral thesis “Exoplanets Atmospheres and Habitability” was awarded as the best thesis of 2020 by the International Astronomical Union. Currently, Raissa works on the characterization of planets beyond our solar system and serves on the science committee for NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory, a flagship mission designed to search for signs of life on Earth-like planets. She is also a team member of NASA’s Earth Science mission EMIT, where she works on the detection of greenhouse gases and plastics pollution to support climate change mitigation.
Bryden Priest, Community Projects Officer, SaxaVord UK Spaceport
Bryden will talk about the upcoming launch and share education resources available to engage your audiences ahead of this historic event.
More to be confirmed!
ASDC have been hosting a series of online Space Community Calls with funding by UK Space Agency since January 2024 with contributions from colleagues at NASA, ESA, UKSA, the Astronomer Royal of Scotland and more. These events aim to equip our public engagement community with up-to-date, exciting space science content to share with their audiences. The attendees are a mix of science communicators and enthusiasts who come from a broad mix of organisations including science centres, museums, outreach organisations, community groups, and astronomy and planetarium societies, as well as researchers, PHD students and STEM ambassadors, who all share the same goal of inspiring and engaging audiences with STEM in fun and diverse ways.