The 248th AAS meeting (joint with HEAD and Laboratory Astrophysics Divisions) will be held 14-18 June in Pasadena, California.

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Join us in the exhibit hall at the NASA booth and attend the NASA sessions.

Monday, 15 June 2026

Time	Session	Location
10:00am ‑ 11:30am PT	NASA’s Future Large Gamma Ray (FLAG) Mission Concepts Working Group	NOTE: ROOM CHANGE Pasadena Convention Center ‑   Conference Center, 104

Summary

The Future Large Gamma-ray Mission Concepts working group will hold a hybrid work session to review progress and needed inputs for a technical report on gamma-ray instrumentation. Working group members will present updates and lead discussions to complete gathering of input on gamma-ray capabilities, mission concepts, and technologies. The group will work on identifying and filling gaps in the draft and refining the content of the report.

Topics	Working Group Documents
Cosmic Explosions	Target Observations Goals for Cosmic Explosions - Google Docs
Heavy Elements	Target Observations Goals for Heavy Elements in the Universe - Google Docs
Supermassive Black Holes	Target Observations Goals for Supermassive Black Holes - Google Docs
Fundamental Physics	Target Observations Goals for Fundamental Physics - Google Docs

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

Time	Topic	Location
10:00am ‑ 11:30am	HEAD: Foundations for Discovery: A Coordinated Fleet Approach to NASA Astrophysics	Conference Center 212

Summary

This session will discuss findings that demonstrate that most decadal science questions are optimally addressed through a coordinated fleet of∼ $1–2B missions (or flaglets) with a broad suite of capabilities, a significant guest investigator component, and operating concurrently with flagship missions to enable comprehensive, coordinated observations across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Time	Session	Location
11:40am ‑ 1:10pm	(XR SIG Special Session) HEAD: Toward the 2030 Decadal: Science Cases for Potential Future X-ray Mission Concepts	Pasadena Convention Center ‑  Conference Center, 212

XR SIG Special Session Agenda

Time	Topic	Speaker	Presentation
11:40am ‑ 11:50am	Introduction	Dave Pooley, Trinity University Breanna Binder, Cal Poly Pomona
11:50am ‑ 11:56am	High Angular Resolution X-ray Imager SAG: Updates & Results I	Kimberly Weaver, NASA/GSFC
11:56am ‑ 12:03pm	High Angular Resolution X-ray Imager SAG: Updates & Results II	Scott Randall, CfA
12:03pm ‑ 12:10pm	High Angular Resolution X-ray Imager SAG: Updates & Results III	Herman Marshall, MIT
12:10pm ‑ 12:20pm	Lynx 2030 SAG: Updates & Results I	Steven Ehlert, NASA/MSFC
12:20pm ‑ 12:30pm	Lynx 2030 SAG: Updates & Results II	Fabio Pacucci, CfA
12:30pm ‑ 12:36pm	Broad-Band X-ray Observatory SAG: Updates & Results I	Chien‑Ting Chen, USRA/NASA MSFC
12:36pm ‑ 12:43pm	Broad-Band X-ray Observatory SAG: Updates & Results II	Kristin Madsen, NASA/GSFC
12:43pm ‑ 12:50pm	Broad-Band X-ray Observatory SAG: Updates & Results II	Daniel Stern, JPL
12:50pm ‑ 1:10pm	X-ray Timing SAG: Updates & Results	Thomas Maccarone, Texas Tech

Thursday, 18 June 2026

Time	Session	Location
10:00am ‑ 11:30am	(Special Session) Planning for the Future of Astrophysics and the ASTRA Initiative	Pasadena Convention Center ‑  Ballroom G

ASTRA Initiative Special Session Agenda

Time	Topic	Speaker	Presentation
10:00am ‑ 10:10am	Introduction from the NASA Astrophysics Division Director	Shawn Domagal‑Goldman
10:10am ‑ 10:25am	The ASTRA Initiative: Overview & Path Forward	Jessica Gaskin, NASA HQ
10:25am ‑ 10:40am	Innovation for Astrophysics Workshop: Initial Findings	Kendra Short, JPL
10:40am ‑ 10:55am	Ad ASTRA Community Science Workshop	Peter Kurczynski, NASA/GSFC
10:55am ‑ 11:30am	Panel Discussion	Francesca Civano, NASA/GSFC

NASA Press Release