Research PapersIEEE SMC-IT/SCC 2026

Accepted Papers

Call for Papers

12th International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT)
17th International Conference on Space Computing (SCC)

Hilton Pasadena - Pasadena, California
August 3-6, 2026

Important Dates:

• Paper abstract submission deadline for feedback: January 3, 2026 [optional]*

• Abstract feedback response: January 16, 2026

• Deadline for full papers and presentation-only abstracts: April 18, 2026 (EXTENDED)

• Registration site opens: April 4, 2026

• Author acceptance notification: April 25, 2026 May 9, 2026 (EXTENDED)

• Final presentations deadline: June 27, 2026

• Final camera-ready versions papers deadline: July 7, 2026

• Conference: August 3-6, 2026*

Sponsored by: IEEE Computer Society - Technical Committee on Software Engineering and Technical Committee on Computer Architecture

*To help authors prepare their papers for submission, we offer to provide feedback on abstracts submitted in advance. This step is not compulsory, and authors may submit papers without previously submitting an abstract.

The International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT) and the Space Computing Conference (SCC) gather system designers, engineers, computer architects, scientists, practitioners, and space explorers with the objective of advancing information technology, and the computational capability and reliability of space missions. The forums will provide an excellent opportunity for fostering technical interchange on all hardware and software aspects of space missions. The joint conferences will focus on current systems practice and challenges as well as emerging hardware and software technologies with applicability for future space missions.

Systems in all aspects of the space mission will be explored, including flight systems, ground systems, science data processing, engineering and development tools, operations, telecommunications, radiation-tolerant computing devices, reliable electronics, space-qualifiable packaging technologies. The entire information systems lifecycle of the mission development will also be covered, such as conceptual design, engineering tools development, integration and test, operations, science analysis, quality control.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) space applications of the following:

SMC-IT

Robotics, Cybersecurity, Networking, Memory and Storage, Advanced Ground Control, Advanced Modeling & Digital Twins for Onboard Systems, Data Analytics and Big Data, Fault-Tolerant Processing,Trustable Intelligent/Autonomous Systems, Smart Instruments, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and HCI, Manufacturing and Assembly of Large Structures, Improved Operations, Software Reliability for Mission-Critical Applications and Safety of Life.

SCC

High-Performance Onboard Computing, Components, Radiation, and Packaging, Computing Architectures, Flight Data Processing, Avionics Systems, Machine Learning/Neural Computing, Crew Interfaces, Extreme Environments Computing, Distributed Computing, Infusion and adoption of industry standards for space applications.

The organization committee is planning a closed-door session. If you are interested in submitting work for that session, please contact the chairs at: smcit-scc_chairs@jpl.nasa.gov.

Process and Format

• The SMC-IT/SCC 2026 Technical Committee is seeking two kinds of submissions at this time: full papers (BOTH SMC-IT AND SCC) and presentations (ONLY SCC).

• SMC-IT/SCC 2026 will use a single-pass, full-paper review process.

• The full paper is required and peer reviewed prior to deciding on acceptance for the conference, even if an abstract has been submitted.

• Full papers can be up to 10 pages, not including references. The paper template can be found on the IEEE website: https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html.

• All accepted papers will be published in the IEEE conference proceedings, indexed with the IEEE Xplore database. Note that IEEE has a “Podium and Publish” policy for conferences, which means that no manuscript will be published in IEEE Xplore without first being presented at the conference.

• Authors of SCC presentations without a corresponding paper need to submit a 1-page abstract, which will allow the conference organizers to determine if the proposed presentation is germane for the conference, determine which track/session the proposed presentation belongs, and ensure the author is in contact with the track/session chair for feedback prior to the final submission. All presentation-only abstract submissions must be submitted by the full paper deadline.

• All submissions are uploaded via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=smcitscc2026

• Note: It is not required to submit an abstract prior to the paper submission.

CONFERENCE CHAIRS:

• General Chair: Mariam Malek (JPL)
• General Co-Chair: David Henriques (JPL)
• Program Chair (SMC-IT/SCC): Jack Lightholder (JPL)
• Program Co-Chairs: David Rutishauser (NASA JSC), Andrea Guerrieri (HES-SO)
• SMC-IT/SCC Program Committee Members