DIDYMOS OBSERVER WORKSHOP 2018 To be held 2018 June 19-21 in Prague, Czech Republic http://didymos2018-mtg.asu.cas.cz/ BACKGROUND The binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos is a planned target for the Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA, https://www-n.oca.eu/michel/AIDA/) mission. AIDA will be the first space experiment to demonstrate asteroid impact hazard mitigation by using a kinetic impactor to deflect an asteroid. It is an international cooperation, consisting of two mission elements: the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART, http://dart.jhuapl.edu/) mission and the ESA Hera (previously known as AIM) rendezvous mission. The primary goals of AIDA are (i) to test our ability to perform a spacecraft impact on a potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid and (ii) to measure and characterize the deflection caused by the impact. The AIDA target will be the secondary member (satellite) of the binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos, with the deflection experiment to occur in late September or early October, 2022. The DART mission is a full-scale kinetic impact to deflect a 150m diameter asteroid with known impactor conditions. The DART impact on the secondary at 7 km/s is expected to alter the binary orbit period by about 4 minutes and this period change will be measured by Earth-based observatories. The Hera spacecraft will characterize the asteroid target and observe results of the impact in situ at Didymos. PURPOSE Remote (mostly Earth-based) observations of Didymos are an important part of the mission. Their two main goals are following: 1) A pre-characterization of the target binary asteroid, which is necessary for designing and planning the spacecraft mission. 2) Measurement of a change of the secondary orbital period caused by the DART impact, which provides a back-up for a case Hera does not happen or fails. In this workshop, we will discuss, among other things, following main topics: (i) Observations in the 2019 apparition of Didymos. We will discuss expected outcomes and detail plans for the upcoming observations. (ii) Observations in the 2020-2021 apparition of Didymos. We will set up goals for the observations in the apparition, which will be the last one before the DART impact apparition of 2022, and discuss preliminary observing plans for how to reach the goals. (iii) Observations in the 2022 apparition of Didymos ---both before, during, and after the DART impact--- will be discussed on an intentions & ideas level. FORMAT We intend to keep to a true "workshop" style, where there is more than adequate time for discussion. We would expect talks to be 15-20 minutes with 10 minutes of discussion. We expect all or most talks to be contributed, although speakers can assist the audience, especially students, by including adequate background and adopting a "big-picture" approach in their presentations. Talks on related, non-observational topics are also welcome. PROGRAM The meeting will span 5 half-day sessions. Abstracts will be accepted via online submission through the meeting website. Instructions will be provided later on the web page. We expect the abstract deadline to be near mid-May. VENUE The workshop will be held in Vila Lanna (http://www.vila-lanna.cz/) in Prague, Czech Republic. LODGING The primary conference hotel will be the venue Vila Lanna. There are three suitable overflow hotels close to Vila Lanna, see http://didymos2018-mtg.asu.cas.cz/#Accommodation ORGANIZERS Local Organization Committee: Petr Pravec (AI AS CR, Ondrejov, Czech Republic) Petr Scheirich (AI AS CR, Ondrejov, Czech Republic) Petr Fatka (AI AS CR, Ondrejov, Czech Republic) Colin Snodgrass (The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK) Manuel Scherf (Space Research Institute, Graz, Austria) Scientific Organization Committee: Cristina A. Thomas (Northern Arizona University, AZ, USA) Paul Abell (Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA) Line Drube (German Aerospace Center DLR, Berlin, Germany) Shantanu Naidu (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA) Petr Pravec (AI AS CR, Ondrejov, Czech Republic) Andy Rivkin (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA) Petr Scheirich (AI AS CR, Ondrejov, Czech Republic) Colin Snodgrass (The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK) REGISTRATION Registration to the workshop is open now at http://didymos2018-mtg.asu.cas.cz/#Registration The number of participants will be capped at 50. So please register early. The participation fee is 4800 CZK (approx. 190 EUR, or 220 USD). The registration will be closed on April 18 or when the number of participants reaches 50. The Europlanet RI 2020 will support participation in the workshop for about 13 observers (both professional and amateur) from the EU inclusiveness states and early career scientists (including students) from the EU, by reimbursing their participation fees and travel and hotel expenses. Participants interested to apply for the support can find details at the workshop web page. SOCIAL EVENTS We are planning three evening social events as part of the workshop: - Monday, June 18 Welcome Reception - Tuesday, June 19 Banquet - Wednesday, June 20 Dinner Their cost is included in the participation fee. OPTIONAL FIELD TRIP We plan to organize a post-conference field trip to the Ries and Steinheim impact craters in Germany. Details will be provided at the workshop web page later. TRAVEL There are direct flights to Prague (Vaclav Havel) Airport from many European as well as some overseas/Asian cities. Prague is accessible also by train or car. Car parking is available at the conference hotels. FURTHER INFORMATION More information is included on the web site http://didymos2018-mtg.asu.cas.cz/ and will be updated as time goes on. We don't plan regular email updates, though we may send out occasional emails to indicate if the limit of 50 participants is approaching, or registration and abstract deadlines. Dr. Petr Pravec (LOC chair) Astronomical Institute AS CR Ondrejov Observatory Czech Republic petr.pravec@asu.cas.cz Dr. Cristina A. Thomas (SOC chair) Northern Arizona University cristina.thomas@nau.edu 2018 January 20