AIAA’s Uniquely Interdisciplinary Space Conference—ASCEND—Poised for a Memorable Vegas Event

Next month, ASCEND 2025 kicks off in Las Vegas for the fifth annual event. AIAA’s on-ramp-to-space gathering prides itself on its interdisciplinary focus: attendees will include leaders in commercial and government space as well as non-traditional disruptors in the worlds of drug discovery, agriculture, and other industries that increasingly are betting big that space will transform their future.

ASCEND stands out, attracting thought leaders with a program that enables dialogue, eliminates silos, and accelerates solutions. That’s how we realize our space ambitions sooner. 

The global space economy continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, driven by a multitude of converging forces. From increased public and private investment to rapid technological innovation and the rise of new market entrants, the space community must stay well informed to respond. ASCEND provides the platform for the vital learning, technical exchange, and in-depth dialogue that’s needed.

On 22–24 July, ASCEND will convene at Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, for the world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space event designed to build our off-world future—faster.

Defense Resiliency

Increasingly, national security hinges on space resiliency and connectivity. Whether gathering intelligence, receiving advance warnings of natural disasters or missile attacks, or ensuring troops have situational awareness on the ground, space is key. Advances in autonomy and AI will play an increasing role in this contested arena.

Today’s geopolitical realities have prompted ASCEND to increasingly focus on national security space. The Aerospace Corporation, together with the analytics and engineering consulting firm BryceTech, will jointly present a session on navigating the threat landscape in space. Additional sessions will explore advancements in closing the kill chain across space and multi-domain operations.

This defense focus also extends to ASCEND’s multidisciplinary workshops, always an attendee favorite. The session on wargaming space assets will give participants a hands-on paper experience using ground, sea, air, and space assets to develop combat scenarios.

AI Revolution in Space

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of space innovation, enhancing autonomy, efficiency, and system resilience. AI-driven insights are enhancing mission planning, defense intelligence, and space exploration.

ASCEND is planning an insightful look at the frontiers for AI and autonomy in space. We’ll discuss how we’re harnessing the power of AI to mitigate evolving space security threats with speakers from the Office of Space Commerce, LeoLabs, and The Aerospace Corporation. We’ll also look at the role high-performance computing in space and defense is playing to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Sustained Human Presence in Space

ASCEND will explore how to embark on a transformative era in human spaceflight, with more diverse crews, advanced technologies, and complex missions than ever before. Sessions will explore how we must prepare professional crews for long-duration missions, including learning how to thrive on the lunar surface.

Crew health and performance—a bedrock of ASCEND over the years—will include a cross-cutting panel of NASA experts addressing the latest priorities in human physiology, mission resilience, and research strategies for Moon and Mars exploration.

Living and Working on the Moon

We’re witnessing a lunar renaissance from innovators around the world. Multiple commercial and government missions are accelerating a sustainable lunar ecosystem and economy that continues to spark public interest.

The next lunar missions with landers, rovers, and habitats are being designed today. Commercial lunar lander missions are paving the way for a sustainable lunar economy and what comes next as NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) enters a new phase. We’ll gain direct insights from leaders at Intuitive Machines, ispace, and Firefly Aerospace.

We’ll also hear from space robotic designer, GITAI, and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory on the critical next steps following lunar landings to establish a sustainable infrastructure for long-term human presence.

More Topics, More Session Formats

Dozens of technical papers on lunar technologies will be presented by industry and academic researchers spanning topics from precision landing systems and thermal management to in-situ resource utilization and advanced mobility platforms. This level of technical depth at ASCEND is a feature our community relies on at all AIAA events.

Additional program highlights include a session on wildfire tracking. Speakers will show how space can help improve life on Earth in the way we combat natural disasters. Hands-on workshops on multiple topics will give attendees unique opportunities to engage with one another for enhanced learning in the spirit of collaboration toward our shared goals in space. We’ve doubled the workshops this year in response to their popularity.

Building a Community

Beyond experiencing all this great content, I am most excited by the community building. When you bring the world’s best minds together, amazing actionable things happen. And that’s good for our sector and humanity’s future.

ASCEND creates a bridge between engineers and scientists and thought leaders. Commercial innovators, government decision makers, program managers, academics, and investors all come together to share insights and forge collaborations. We’re grateful to Lockheed Martin for serving as the premier sponsor of ASCEND.

We’re also looking beyond this year’s ASCEND, moving to a new location and a new dates—Washington, D.C., 19–21 May 2026. We’re reimagining the event with new event partners—Commercial Space Federation (CSF), the Space Force Association (SFA), and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC),  for a transformative ‘Space Week’, creating enormous synergies for the space community showcasing the full spectrum of space policy, commerce, security, and innovation to build our off-world future. Save the date!

For me, this will mark my first ASCEND as AIAA’s new senior director for Space. I can’t wait to connect with this enthusiastic community. Together, we will advance the state of the art while planning for what’s next. See you there.

About the Author Natalia Larrea Brito serves as senior director for Space at AIAA, where she provides strategic thought leadership on the Institute’s space initiatives and priorities. Prior to joining AIAA, she spent nearly a decade at Novaspace, serving as U.S. Director and advising government and private stakeholders worldwide on space policy and business strategy.