Astronomers have bold goals for the coming decades: to search for life on Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars, understand how galaxies, stars, and planets came to be, and probe the fundamental physics of the Universe.
The landscape of space science and exploration that enables these ambitious goals is transforming rapidly. Commercially developed spacecraft and launch capabilities are accelerating mission timelines and reducing costs, new public-private partnerships are emerging, and the Artemis program is creating fresh opportunities to do astrophysics from platforms on the Moon and in cislunar space.
This workshop will bring together the brightest minds from NASA, the space industry, other government agencies, non-profits, and the scientific community to reimagine what's possible in this new landscape. The workshop will explore:
We welcome multi-disciplinary participation by technologists, commercial innovators, policymakers, and scientists. Expect engaging panel discussions and plenty of time for collaboration and networking. We envision this workshop as the beginning of a conversation that will help shape inputs to the Astro2030 Decadal Survey and the future of astrophysics missions at all scales.
All attendees are expected to follow the Code of Conduct.
Registration is now open at this link. It will close April 15, 2026.
There is no registration fee for this workshop. This workshop will be in-person only; therefore, total attendance will be subject to the space constraints of the venue. We estimate that roughly 100 attendees can be accommodated. Registration does not guarantee attendance. The Organizing Committee will review all registrations and contact accepted attendees the week of April 20, 2026.
A preliminary agenda can be found here.
A limited number of rooms will be held at local hotels with varying price points. Please check back soon for hotel reservation links.
Join our email list! Or contact us at innovation2026@ipac.caltech.edu.
Image credit: ChatGPT
(last updated March 10th, 2026 14:30:09)
The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute is operated by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the Exoplanet Exploration Program.
