The International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT) and the Space Computing Conference (SCC) gather system designers, engineers, computer architects, scientists, practitioners, and space explorers with the objective of advancing information technology, and the computational capability and reliability of space missions. The forums will provide an excellent opportunity for fostering technical interchange on all hardware and software aspects of space missions. The joint conferences will focus on current systems practice and challenges as well as emerging hardware and software technologies with applicability for future space missions.

Systems in all aspects of the space mission will be explored, including flight systems, ground systems, science data processing, engineering and development tools, operations, telecommunications, radiation-tolerant computing devices, reliable electronics, space-qualifiable packaging technologies. The entire information systems lifecycle of the mission development will also be covered, such as conceptual design, engineering tools development, integration and test, operations, science analysis, quality control.

See https://2024.smcit-scc.space/ for last year’s conference website, and https://2024.smcit-scc.space/archive.html for a list of prior editions of the conference.

Lt. Gen. Larry D. James USAF (Ret.)

Strategic Advisor, SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, Adelaide Distinguished Professor, Monash University, Melbourne

alt text

Lt Gen (USAF Ret) Larry D. James is the Strategic Advisor for SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in Adelaide Australia and a Distinguished Professor of Space Research and Innovation at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. At SmartSat CRC he provides advocacy, technical advice, and support for SmartSat’s R&D, innovation and educational activities. At Monash he engages with senior university leadership to further space curriculum expansion and development; help build government partnerships both domestically and globally; build research collaborations and opportunities; and support indigenous student development programs.

Prior to this assignment he served as Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2013 to 2024. As the Laboratory’s Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for the day-to-day management of JPL’s resources and activities. This included managing the Laboratory’s solar system exploration, Mars, astronomy, physics, Earth science, interplanetary network programs, and all business operations.

Prior to his retirement from active duty in 2013, Lt. Gen. James was the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) at the Pentagon. He was responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for policy formulation, planning, evaluation, oversight, and leadership of Air Force ISR capabilities and led more than 20,000 ISR officers, enlisted and civilians across the Air Force ISR Enterprise.

Lt. Gen. James received his Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering (1978) from the US Air Force Academy (Distinguished Graduate) and his Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics (1983) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. He was also a Draper Fellow at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Linda Elkins-Tanton

Principal Investigator of the NASA Psyche mission, Foundation and Regents Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University

Linda Elkins-Tanton is the Principal Investigator of the NASA Psyche mission, and Arizona State University Regents and Foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration. Elkins-Tanton was Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Science, and previously faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Elkins-Tanton’s research is on the physical and chemical growth and evolution of rocky planets and on volcanic activity and extinctions on Earth, as well as on effective teams and future-facing educational practices. She has led four field seasons in central Siberia. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Meteoritical Society, and the American Mineralogical Society. Elkins-Tanton received the 2020 Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship from the National Academy of Sciences, and the 2010 Lowell Thomas award from the Explorers Club. Asteroid (8252) Elkins-Tanton is named for her, as well as the mineral elkinstantonite. Elkins-Tanton received a Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from MIT.

Dr. Tom Cwik

Chief Technologist, NASA JPL

Dr. Tom Cwik is Chief Technologist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for research in advanced technology and serves as the focal point for technology interactions with NASA, companies, universities, and the external research community. This includes being responsible for the management and development of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate work at JPL and directing internal investments across the Lab. He is responsible for guiding the infusion of new technology into the Laboratory mission portfolio.

Tom has been at JPL for over 30 years working as Associate Chief Technologist, managing the Space Technology Office, working in technology development in a number of areas, developing flight systems for a number of missions, and leading formulation of the NASA Aquarius mission. He works with start-up companies and accelerators in the new-space sector. Tom’s technical interests include areas of computational electromagnetics using high-performance parallel architectures and the system design of mobile bots that will one day explore ocean worlds.

Tom received his doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has been a co-founder of a start-up company, consults, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Washington. He was named a distinguished alum at the University of Illinois, ECE Department, and is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA and a Fellow of the IEEE

Research Papers: Call for Submissions

View track page for all details

CALL FOR IEEE SMC-IT/SCC 2025 SUBMISSIONS

11th International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT)

16th International Conference on Space Computing (SCC)

California Science Center - Los Angeles, California

Important Dates

SCC abstract submission deadline for feedback: Dec 13, 2024 [optional]*
SCC abstract feedback response: Dec 31, 2024
Deadline for full papers (SMC-IT and SCC) and SCC presentation-only abstracts: Feb 3, 2025
Author acceptance notification: Mar 21, 2025
Registration site open: Apr 4, 2025
Final camera-ready versions papers deadline: May 30, 2025
Final presentations deadline: June 27, 2025
Conference: July 28 – August 1, 2025

*To help authors prepare their papers for submission, we offer to provide feedback on abstracts submitted in advance. This step is not compulsory, and authors may submit papers without previously submitting an abstract.

Sponsored by: IEEE Computer Society - Technical Committee on Software Engineering and Technical Committee on Computer Architecture

We invite submissions for the IEEE International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT) and the IEEE Space Computing Conference (SCC). These conferences gather professionals, such as system designers, engineers, computer architects, scientists, practitioners, data scientists, and space explorers, who are committed to advancing information technology and improving the computational capabilities and dependability of space missions. These forums provide a valuable opportunity for in-depth technical dialogues covering various aspects of space mission hardware and software.

Systems in all aspects of the space mission will be explored, including flight systems, ground systems, science data processing, engineering and development tools, operations, telecommunications, radiation-tolerant computing devices, reliable electronics, and space-qualifiable packaging technologies.
The entire information systems lifecycle of the mission development will also be covered, such as conceptual design, engineering tools development, integration and test, operations, science analysis, and quality control.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) space applications of the following:

SMC-IT

Robotics, Cybersecurity, Networking, Memory and Storage, Advanced Ground Control, Advanced Modeling & Digital Twins for Onboard Systems, Data Analytics and Big Data, Fault-Tolerant Processing, Trustable Intelligent/Autonomous Systems, Smart Instruments, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and HCI, Manufacturing and Assembly of Large Structures, Improved Operations, Software Reliability for Mission-Critical Applications and Safety of Life.

SCC

High-Performance Onboard Computing, Components, Radiation, and Packaging, Computing Architectures, Flight Data Processing, Avionics Systems, Machine Learning/Neural Computing, Crew Interfaces, Extreme Environments Computing, Distributed Computing, Infusion and adoption of industry standards for space applications.

The organization committee is planning a closed-door session. If you are interested in submitting work for that session, please contact the chairs at: smcit-scc_chairs@jpl.nasa.gov.

Process and Format

• The SMC-IT/SCC 2025 Technical Committee is seeking two kinds of submissions at this time: full papers (BOTH SMC-IT AND SCC) and presentations (ONLY SCC).

• SMC-IT/SCC 2025 will use a single-pass, full-paper review process.

• The full paper is required and peer reviewed prior to deciding on acceptance for the conference, even if an abstract has been submitted.

• Full papers can be up to 10 pages, not including references. The paper template can be found on the SMC-IT/SCC 2025 website.

• All accepted papers will be published in the IEEE conference proceedings, indexed with the IEEE Xplore database. Note that IEEE has a “Podium and Publish” policy for conferences, which means that no manuscript will be published in IEEE Xplore without first being presented at the conference.

• Authors of SCC presentations without a corresponding paper need to submit a 1-page abstract, which will allow the conference organizers to determine if the proposed presentation is germane for the conference, determine which track/session the proposed presentation belongs, and ensure the author is in contact with the track/session chair for feedback prior to the final submission. All presentation-only abstract submissions must be submitted by the full paper deadline.

• All submissions are uploaded via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=smcitscc2025

• Selected papers may be invited to appear in a special issue of a reputable journal. More details will be made available in the future.

• Note: It is not required to submit an abstract prior to the paper submission.

• Note: The SMC-IT/SCC program committee can be found on the conference website.

Conference Chairs

General Chair: Ivan Perez (KBR @ NASA ARC)
General Co-Chair: Jim Butler (JPL)
Program Chair (SMC-IT): Lukas Mandrake (JPL)
Program Co-chair (SMC-IT): Jack Lightholder (JPL)
Program Chair (SCC): David Rutishauser (NASA JSC)
SMC-IT/SCC Program Committee Members

Workshops: Call for Workshops

View track page for all details

CALL FOR IEEE SMC-IT/SCC 2025 WORKSHOP PROPOSALS

11th International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT)
16th International Conference on Space Computing (SCC)

California Science Center - Los Angeles, California
July 28 – August 1, 2025

Important Dates:

Workshop proposal submission deadline: Dec 13, 2024
Workshop proposal feedback response: Dec 31, 2024
Workshop agenda deadline: Mar 8, 2025
Workshop paper submission deadline: Apr 4, 2025
Registration site open: Apr 4, 2025
Workshop paper acceptance notification deadline: May 2, 2025
Final camera-ready workshop papers deadline: May 30, 2025
Conference: July 28 – August 1, 2025

Sponsored by: IEEE Computer Society - Technical Committee on Software Engineering and Technical Committee on Computer Architecture

We invite workshop proposal submissions for the IEEE International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT) and the IEEE Space Computing Conference (SCC). These events seek to gather professionals, such as system designers, engineers, computer architects, scientists, practitioners, and space explorers, who are committed to advancing information technology and improving the computational capabilities and dependability of space missions. This forum provides a valuable opportunity for in-depth technical dialogues covering various aspects of space mission hardware and software.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) space applications of the following:

SMC-IT: Robotics; Flight Software; Cybersecurity; Networking; Memory and Storage; Advanced Ground Control; Data Analytics and Big Data; Fault-Tolerant Processing; Intelligent and Autonomous Systems; Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Human-Computer Interaction; Technology for Accessibility in Space; Manufacturing and Assembly of Large Structures; Advanced Computing for Novel Instruments and Improved Operations; Software Reliability for Mission-Critical Applications and Safety of Life; Open-Source for Space Systems.

SCC: High-Performance Onboard Computing; Computing Architectures; Flight Data Processing; Avionics Systems; Machine Learning/Neural Computing; Crew Interfaces; Extreme Environments Computing; Distributed Computing Infusion and Adoption of Industry Standards for Space Applications; Components, Radiation, and Packaging; Overcoming Barriers to Infusing Multicore Systems in Flight.

To submit a workshop proposal, kindly provide a 1-2 page abstract outlining the theme, scope, and objectives of your workshop, along with any prospective speakers you’ve already identified. Also, please ensure that your proposal clearly defines the intended format of the proposed workshop. You should specify whether the workshop format includes presentations only, papers, posters, working sessions or a combination of them. Additionally, please specify your preference for a full-day workshop or one/two half-day time slots. You can access a workshop proposal template at:

https://2025.smcit-scc.space/getImage/orig/2025+WorkshopProposalTemplate.docx

Proposals can be submitted through EasyChair at:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=smcitscc2025

CONFERENCE CHAIRS:

Workshop Chair: Meera Towler (Southwest Research Institute (SwRI))

Workshop Co-chair: Wesley Powell (NASA)

General Chair: Ivan Perez (KBR @ NASA ARC)

General Co-chair: Jim Butler (JPL)

Program Chair (SMC-IT): Lukas Mandrake (JPL)

Program Co-chair (SMC-IT): Jack Lightholder (JPL)

Program Chair (SCC): David Rutishauser (NASA JSC)

Program Co-chair (SCC): Christopher Green (NASA GSFC)