Damon Landau
Papers
9
Total Citations
168
H-Index
8
About
Damon Landau is a mission design engineer whose career has centered on some of the most ambitious concepts in solar system exploration, particularly asteroid capture, near-Earth object (NEO) characterization, and deep space logistics. His most influential work contributed directly to NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission, including foundational feasibility studies examining whether robotic spacecraft could autonomously capture and return entire near-Earth asteroids to cislunar space for scientific investigation and resource assessment — research that attracted over 90 combined citations and helped shape NASA's asteroid initiative strategy in the 2010s. Landau has also made meaningful contributions to Mars exploration logistics, investigating how solar electric propulsion (SEP) systems and cycler architectures could sustainably supply a crewed Mars base. His work on small satellite communications in deep space addresses a growing challenge as low-cost SmallSats become more prevalent in planetary science missions. More recently, he has explored navigation strategies for rapid flybys of interstellar objects, reflecting an expanding frontier in his research. Across his career, Landau has consistently bridged cutting-edge propulsion technologies with practical mission architecture, making complex deep space concepts both technically credible and operationally viable.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Asteroid Return Mission Feasibility Study39 citations · 2011
- 3
- 4Cargo logistics for a Notional Mars Base using Solar Electric Propulsion17 citations · 2018
- 5Navigation evaluation for fast interstellar object flybys10 citations · 2021
- 6Feasibility of Capturing and Returning Small Near-Earth Asteroids10 citations · 2011
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- 8
- 9Human cargo resupply logistics at mars using 150kW SEP tug cyclers3 citations · 2017