Terik Daly

Dr. Terik Daly is a planetary scientist, science communicator, and planetary-defense leader. His work spans asteroid science, space missions, planetary-defense planning, scientific-community leadership, and public engagement. He supervises the Planetary Defense Applications section at APL, chairs the Small Bodies Assessment Group, and co-chairs the U.S. Node for Asteroids2029.

Daly has held major scientific and leadership roles on small-body missions. On NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, he led shape modeling of the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, served as deputy instrument scientist for the DRACO camera, and co-led the Nature paper reporting the successful kinetic-impact demonstration. He is now a co-investigator on NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX mission to Apophis, where he leads the Interior Structure Working Group and foundational shape and topography products, and he is a participating scientist on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration mission.

Daly’s work also connects planetary-defense science with decision-making, including international asteroid-impact exercises involving scientists, emergency-management organizations, international bodies, and government decision-makers. Public engagement has been woven throughout his career, from teaching and mentoring to public talks and media for audiences across the United States and worldwide.