The International Astronomical Union WG Small Bodies Nomenclature (IAU WGSBN) has issued an announcement on July 9, 2026, naming a minor planet numbered 20501 after Professor Lu Xiaoping, Programme Director of the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the Faculty of Innovation Engineering (FIE), Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). This honors his outstanding contributions to the study of minor bodies in the Solar System. The asteroid, officially named (20501) Luxiaoping (provisional designation: 1999 RD10), was discovered on September 7, 1999, by the LINEAR team in Socorro. Minor planet naming is an international and permanent honor, representing a prestigious global recognition.

Asteroid Certificate

This international honor not only highly affirms Professor Lu’s personal academic achievements but also highlights MUST’s strong research capabilities and international influence in cutting-edge scientific research, particularly in the deep interdisciplinary integration of computer science and space science. Professor Lu has taught at MUST since 2007 and has long focused on asteroid shape modeling (such as the Cellinoid model), lightcurve inversion, and the study of binary asteroid systems. In recent years, he has actively combined his expertise in computer science with space science, leading multiple frontier research projects funded by the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT), including “Machine Learning Classification and Identification of Binary Asteroids,” “Deep Learning-Based Super-Resolution Enhancement Technology for Planetary Remote Sensing Images,” and “Asteroid Shape Inversion Algorithm Research Based on Radar and Lightcurve Data Fusion.” His academic achievements have been widely published in top international journals such as The Astrophysical Journal, The Astronomical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics, and IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

Asteroid Orbit Diagram

IAU Minor Planet Naming Committee Announcement: 

https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V006/WGSBNBull_V006_011.pdf

Parameter Information: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=20501