A PhD student in Astronomy at the University of Chile is internationally recognized for her proposal to defend the Earth against asteroids

Her project, titled “YOSO (You Only Stack Once) for Detecting Unseen NEO Threats,” proposes a new way to identify small, fast, and faint asteroids that pose a real risk to Earth but are often missed by traditional search methods.

“My proposal dealt with a moving object detection algorithm that I developed, a new, faster and more reliable way to find small and faint asteroids that current search methods often miss,” explains Nitya, originally from India, who from 2021 is pursuing a PhD in Science mention in Astronomy at the University of Chile.

For example, she cites the asteroid that hit the Chelyabinsk area (Russia) in 2013, a smaller type that is very common but equally dangerous, but attempts to detect its trajectories have become a complex task.

Pandey’s proposed method eliminates the computationally expensive processes of estimating multiple velocities to combine astronomical images. Instead, it stacks image sequences so that moving objects leave visible traces. Then, a deep learning model identifies those traces, even when they are faint or curved. In addition, Nitya developed a new mathematical filter that amplifies faint asteroid signals, allowing their detection even if they are barely visible in an individual image, so it can be used on smaller computers. 

César Fuentes, academic at the Department of Astronomy (DAS) of the University of Chile and Pandey’s guiding professor, points out: “Nitya has developed several novel methods that apply artificial intelligence to the search and detection of solar system objects. Her proposal had the virtue of requiring low computational resources, which makes it especially suitable for space observatories, where these resources are limited,” he explains.

 

Fuentes added that the project had multiple plus points. “I consider the main strengths to be its ease of implementation and its low need for computational resources, which makes it particularly attractive for operation in space, where these resources are limited,” he says.

Applying for a unique contest

Nitya learned about this competition through being part of the LSST Solar System Science Collaboration, where she was told about the award. “I realized that the idea I had been working on fit well with their goals. So I thought why not apply,” she says.

So she spent his summer vacation preparing her application and then made the presentation of the project. “We had 3 stages of the application, the first was to propose the idea in 500 words; later I was called for an interview and so I passed to the finalist with the best proposals, and at the last I delivered another elaborated proposal of 1,000 words, with the ideas on future application”. Although she did not get the main prize, but the honorable mention. which makes her proud. “Being recognized among so many talented international candidates gives even more value to the direction of my research. Additionally, it reaffirms that what I do is important not only at an academic level, but also contributes to the global effort to protect our planet from the threat of asteroids,” comments Nitya.

The committee also put her in touch with Sam Waldman, CEO of Neutralino Space Ventures, a company preparing an experiment to test new synthetic tracking techniques. “This connection opens up the possibility of my work being applied in the real world, which is very exciting,” she says.

About the Schweickart Prize

The Schweickart Prize (https://www.schweickartprize.org/about-the-prize) is named in honor of Apollo 9 astronaut and co-founder of the B612 Foundation, Rusty Schweickart, which seeks to encourage ideas that make a concrete contribution to the defense of the Earth from asteroid impacts. Each year, the main award includes an authenticated meteorite and a cash prize of $10. 10,000, which this year went to researchers Jordan Stone (Imperial College London), Jim Buhler (University of Santiago de Compostela), Youssef Saleh (Cairo University), and Kosuke Ikeya (Imperial College London), for their proposal to create an international body, the Asteroid Orbit Alteration Panel, to address unintended changes in the orbit of asteroids in the face of future special exploration plans.

In addition to Nitya Pandey’s project, Chloe Long (University of Colorado at Boulder), Anivid Pedros-Faura (University of Colorado at Boulder) and Rahil Makadia (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), on an asteroid impact guidance and information system, were selected for honorable mention.