Dan Durda is an American planetary scientist, astronomer, aerospace engineer, and artist known for his work in asteroid research, space mission design, and human spaceflight preparation.

Durda earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the University of Florida, specializing in asteroid dynamics and the evolution of small bodies in the solar system. His academic research focuses on the physical properties of asteroids, planetary collision processes, and space debris dynamics.

Durda is a senior research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. His work includes planetary defense, asteroid collision modeling, and space mission studies. He has contributed to NASA-funded programs on near-Earth object (NEO) studies, planetary surface evolution, and space exploration technologies.

A key area of his expertise is asteroid fragmentation and collision physics, where he has conducted laboratory and computational simulations to understand asteroid collisions. He has also participated in the development of space missions related to asteroid deflection and planetary defense.