The Côte d'Azur Observatory, together with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and ESA, is organising the first scientific workshop aimed at engaging the broader research community in the preparation of ESA’s NEOMIR mission.

The workshop will focus on the discovery and physical characterisation of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) observable at low solar elongations — a population that remains largely unexplored yet is of critical importance for planetary defence.

The workshop will take place at the Saint Paul Hotel in Nice on 15–16 September 2026 (https://neomir-nice.sciencesconf.org/?lang=en).

The meeting will bring together experts in observational astronomy, dynamical and thermophysical modelling, and survey design to address the challenges associated with detecting small NEOs from space based platforms, with particular emphasis on observations from the Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange point.

Topics will include:

• Detection techniques for NEOs using space based telescopes.
• Thermal background and zodiacal light modelling at low solar elongations.
• Thermophysical modelling of decametre scale Near Earth Asteroids observed near the Sun.
• Detectability and survey performance of small NEOs from L1.
• Reconstruction of impact trajectories, precovery, and ground based follow up.

The workshop aims to foster collaboration across the community, identify key scientific requirements for the mission, and strengthen broad engagement in the scientific preparation of NEOMIR.

NEOMIR’s artist representation. Credits: ESA