Aerospace Career Day Brought to you by Women In Aerospace (WIA) and Portland State Aerospace Society at Portland State University December 11, 2020

TRACK SCHEDULE Dr. Rob Manning Engineering, Strategy, Humans Dr. Shawna Pandya Dr. Jim Rice Panel 1 3:30-4:30pm PDT to Mars Dr. Erika Wagner Break 4:30-4:45pm PDT Dr. Angie Bukley Space Law, Business, Andrea Harrington International Relations, and Dr. Sara Langston, Esq., J.D., LL.M., Ph.D. Panel 2 4:45-5:5:45pm PDT Policy Panel William Pomerantz Break 5:45 to 6pm PDT Dr. Penny Boston Dr. Gary Fogel Peter McCloud Dr. Margaret Race Dr. Robina Shaheen Panel 3 6 to 7pm PDY Science and Data Dr. Carol Stoker Break 7 to 7:15pm PDT Dr. Sherry Cady Michael Cianconne Kerrie Daughtery Communications, Education, Janet Ivey Angela Peura Panel 4 7:15 to 8:15 PDT Culture, and History Artemis Westenberg This group of world renowned aerospace professionals has cumulatively been exploring, innovating, leading, ​ and teaching since the early 1970s. Between them are represented Mars missions from Pathfinder to , and studies from the Antarctic (surface and scuba) to Hawaii and reaching as far away as Australia, in disciplines, from engineering and to policy, mission management, communications, TV actors, historians, and astronaut candidates for upcoming missions. These individuals come from all backgrounds and upbringings, and can share how they rose against the odds to succeed in the demanding and exciting field of space exploration. They are artists, bicyclists, musicians, martial arts competitors, scuba divers, pilots, chili pepper connoisseurs, and more. They are humble, gregarious, quiet, daredevils, shy, and everything in between. These individuals were just like you before they began their journey to Aerospace Careers. Panel 1 Engineering, Strategy, Humans to Mars - 3:30pm PDT

Dr. Rob Manning is Chief Engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as ​ well as Chief Engineer for JPL’s Engineering and Science Directorate. An Engineering Fellow, he has been designing, testing and operating robotic spacecraft for nearly 40 years including Galileo to Jupiter, Cassini to Saturn and Magellan to Venus and many Mars missions. In the 90's, Rob became the Mars Pathfinder Chief Engineer where he led the Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) team, and co-conspired the idea to modify the Pathfinder and Sojourner Rover designs to become the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Spirit and Opportunity. While on MER he co-conceived the idea of skycrane landing that was later used by (MSL). After MER he became the Mars Program Chief Engineer where he helped plan and integrate the various Mars missions like Lander, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MSL and beyond. In 2007, Rob became the Chief Engineer for the MSL Project that successfully landed Curiosity Rover on Mars. Rob wrote about his experiences in a book called “Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity’s Chief Engineer”. Most recently Rob helped create a team to design and build an emergency use ventilator specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic. Rob has received four NASA medals, is in the Aviation Week Magazine Space Laureate Hall of Fame in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, has received two honorary PhDs, has a minor planet named after him and is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 2004, SpaceNews magazine named Rob as one of 100 people who made a difference in civil, commercial and military space since 1989. Rob is a graduate of Caltech and Whitman College where he studied math, physics, computer science, and control systems. He makes his home in Pasadena, CA with his wife Dominique and their daughter, Caline.

Dr. Shawna Pandya is a physician, speaker, martial artist, citizen-scientist ​ astronaut candidate with Projects PoSSUM & PHEnOM, and prime crew aquanaut with Project Poseidon. Through her involvement with Project PoSSUM, Dr. Pandya was part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in microgravity. She has also completed centrifuge studies, emergency spacecraft egress and sea survival training, and wilderness medicine training. She currently serves at the Life Sciences Team Lead for Association of Spaceflight Professionals and the Life Sciences Chair for the Canadian Space Society. Dr. Pandya holds degrees in Honors Neuroscience (BSc. Hons, University of Alberta), Space Studies (MSc., International Space University) and medicine (MD, University of Alberta) and is a licensed general practitioner. Prior to medical school, she attended Singularity University, where she co-founded CiviGuard, based on Singularity’s challenge to positively impact 1 billion people in 10 years using accelerating technologies. She is an accomplished speaker, having given talks at TEDxUAlberta, TEDxEdmonton and the University of Alberta’s Peter Lougheed Leadership College at the invitation of former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell. Dr. Pandya holds certifications in solo sky-diving, advance, open water, Nitrox and rescue diving, and is working towards her private pilot’s license. Dr. Pandya is fluent in English, French, Gujarati, and speaks introductory Spanish and Russian. She also sings, plays the piano and holds a black belt in Taekwondo and has trained annually at Muay Thai fight camps in Thailand since 2015, entering and winning her first amateur fight in 2017.

Dr. Jim Rice was a Co-Investigator and Geology Team Leader on the Mars ​ Exploration Rover Project (Spirit and Opportunity) and also has mission experience working on the Mars Odyssey Orbiter and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Projects. Dr. Rice was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a fairly small town located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and is the oldest of five children, all five of whom obtained their degrees from the University of Alabama. He earned his BS degree in Geology and his MS at Northeast Louisiana University studying detailed geologic mapping of a region that contained evidence of enormous floods and possibly lakes on Mars. He was then accepted for an Astrogeology Internship position at the United States Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he continued his studies in Geological Sciences, earning his PhD from Arizona State University. Dr. Rice has organized and led several NASA sponsored field conferences to Mars analog sites around the world, and been a team member on numerous international geological field expeditions around the world including a 6 month long joint NASA/Russian expedition to Antarctica. This included being a member of the SCUBA diving team to first investigate the perennially frozen lakes of eastern Antarctica. Dr. Rice has extensive geological field experience (over 20 years experience in Antarctica, High Arctic, Iceland, Hawaii) studying a wide variety of Mars analog environments and geologic processes including volcanism and impact cratering, glacial, fluvial, periglacial, aeolian, and lacustrine geomorphology and surface physical processes. He is a Research Associate at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona where he served as Science Imaging Team Member of the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) and Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) systems onboard the Mars Polar Lander, following which he was responsible for the selection, prioritization, planning and targeting of observations for the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) experiments. Dr. Rice serves as a Mars Rover Co-Investigator, serving on the Geology and Strategic Long Term Planning Groups, and was the Associate Project Scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. He has also served on numerous NASA Science Analysis Groups for manned missions back to the Moon and Mars, and was a NASA Astronaut Candidate Finalist in 2000 and 2009. Dr. Rice joined the permanent science staff of PSI In 2013.

Dr. Erika Wagner serves as Payload Sales Director for Blue Origin, supporting ​ the development of technologies to enable human access to space at dramatically lower cost and increased reliability. Prior to joining Blue Origin, Dr. Wagner worked with the X PRIZE Foundation as Senior Director of Exploration Prize Development and founding Executive Director of the X PRIZE Lab@MIT. Previously, she served at MIT as Science Director and Executive Director of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program, a multi-university spacecraft development initiative to investigate the physiological effects of reduced gravity. Her interdisciplinary academic background includes a bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a master’s in Aeronautics & Astronautics from MIT, and a PhD in Bioastronautics from the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. She is also an alumna of the International Space University, a Trustee of Seattle's Museum of Flight, and a member of the National Academies' Space Studies Board. She was a semifinalist for the 2009 NASA astronaut selection process, and enjoys turning cardboard boxes into airplanes, rockets, and other vessels of exploration for her two kids. Today, she serves on the Boards of the Washington Aerospace Scholars and American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, as well as the National Academies Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space.

Panel 2 Space Law, Business, International Relations, and Policy Panel - 4:45pm PDT

Dr. Angie Bukley is the Assistant Principal Director of the Exploration Science ​ & Technology organization in the Human Exploration & Space Flight Division, Civil Systems Group at the Aerospace Corporation. She provides leadership across the HESF ES&T portfolio, which ranges from biosciences to STEM to astrophysics mission analysis to Nuclear Thermal Propulsion development. She is also a contributor to the Center for Space Policy and Strategy and an instructor for Aerospace University. With over 35 years of professional experience, Dr. Bukley’s career has spanned a broad range of defense and space systems research, analysis, design, and technical management. She holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Control Theory, from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and MS (EE) and double-BS (EE & Biomedical Engr) degrees at Mississippi State University. She is also a graduate of the International Space University Space Studies Program, specializing in Space Business & Management. She served as Associate Dean then Dean of ISU from 2009-2014. Dr. Bukley was a civil servant at the NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center from 1990-1997. Dr. Bukley has over 100 technical publications to her credit, including four books, and has received nearly 30 awards for teaching and technical merit. Dr. Bukley actively promotes STEM studies to K-12 students and was a member of the 1995 US National Mountain Bike Team, finishing in the top 10 in her division at the World Championships in Kirchzarten, Germany.

Andrea Harrington currently serves as Chair of Department of Spacepower ​ and Director of Schriever Space Scholars. Dr. Harrington previously served on the faculty of the University of Mississippi School of Law as the Associate Director of the LLM Program in Air and Space Law. She has also served as Associate Chair for the Policy, Economics, and Law Department of the International Space University’s Space Studies Program. Dr. Harrington was an Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellow in Space Governance at the McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL), where her doctoral research focused on insurance and liability issues for the commercial space industry. Dr. Harrington holds a DCL and LLM in Air and Space Law from the McGill IASL, as well as a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law, an MSc in European Politics and Governance from the London School of Economics, and a BA in International Relations and History from Boston University. She is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts.

Dr. Sara Langston, Esq., J.D., LL.M., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of ​ Spaceflight Operations at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She is an international aerospace lawyer, practical ethicist, and U.S. Army veteran with a technical aviation background. Moreover, as a consultant Dr Langston provides strategic advice to government agencies and private industry on space applications and commercial human spaceflight. Dr. Langston holds a Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science; a J.D. with specialization in Public International Law; an LL.M. in Air and Space Law; and a Space Studies Certificate in Physical Sciences from the International Space University. Dr. Langston serves as an UNOOSA Space4Women Mentor; is an active member of the International Institute of Space Law, the Royal Aeronautical Society, and the New York and District of Columbia Bars. She is also currently pursuing a private pilot’s license.

William Pomerantz is Employee #001 and the Vice President for Special ​ Projects at Virgin Orbit, Sir Richard Branson's satellite launch company. I had the honor of helping start Virgin Orbit while working at Virgin Galactic from 2011 - 2017. In classic start-up fashion, I've gotten to lead or contribute to just about every aspect of the business. I am also a co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, two prestigious mentorship and work experience programs focused on enabling more women and more Black students, respectively, to pursue aerospace careers. Additionally, I am a Trustee and the Chair of the Board of Advisors of SEDS-USA, the world's largest student space organization. I also mentor startup companies for Techstars, one of the world's largest accelerator programs, among other activities. I'm a graduate of Harvard, the NASA Academy, and the International Space University. From 2005 - 2011, I worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, serving as the primary author and manager of the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE and the $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander XCHALLENGE. I've also worked at Virgin Galactic, the Futron Corporation, Brown University, and the United Nations, among others. I was the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of SpaceAlumni.com, an early social network for space professionals. I have served on two US Federal Advisory Committees, one for the National Academies of Science and Engineering and one for theFederal Aviation Administration. In addition to countless presentations I've given on behalf of my employers, I've given a TEDx talk explaining why humans explore space. I'm a working father. I am married to Diana Trujillo, and we have two wonderful children.

Panel 3: Science and Data - 6pm PDT

Dr. Penelope Boston is the Director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute (NAI), at ​ NASA Ames since 2016. She leads the scientific activities of the Institute’s member teams and all operational aspects of the organization. Penny leads the NAI in fulfilling its mission to perform, support, and catalyze collaborative interdisciplinary astrobiology research; train the next generation of astrobiologists; provide scientific and technical leadership for astrobiology space mission investigations; and develop new information technology approaches for collaborations among widely distributed investigators. Prior to joining NASA, Penny, in 2002, founded and directed the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico, where she also served as a professor and led their Earth and environmental sciences department as chair. She also served from 2002 to 2016 as associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, a congressionally mandated institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico. She holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder, and was a Co-Founder of the Mars Underground with Dr. Carol Stoker, Dr. Chris McKay, and Dr. Carter Emmart.

Dr. Gary Fogel is Chief Executive Officer of Natural Selection, Inc. a machine ​ learning company in San Diego, California. Dr. Fogel received his B.A. in biology with a minor in earth science from UC Santa Cruz in 1991 and Ph.D. in biology from UC Los Angeles in 1998. Since that time, he has applied computational intelligence to real-world problems in medicine, defense, and industry. For 10 years he served as editor-in-chief for the Elsevier journal BioSystems and has served as an associate editor for 10 other journals including current service for IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence. An author of over 150 peer-reviewed publications, and member of the Administrative Committee for the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, Dr. Fogel is an IEEE Fellow. However, Dr. Fogel also has a life-long passion for aeromodelling. Having started in free flight models at a young age, he soloed on RC gliders at age 9 and has continued flying them ever since. He has established 12 world records and over 50 national records for aeromodels and is a Fellow of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. With a passion to encourage youth interest in aerospace, Dr. Fogel is adjunct faculty at San Diego State University and teaches a popular freshman course in aerospace engineering. He also serves as a part of the non-profit AeroED Group bringing STEM programming to K-12 students. He has authored three aviation history books, many articles mainly in the history of gliding and soaring and is a member of the AIAA History Committee. For his efforts in aerospace he is also an AIAA Associate Fellow.

Peter McCloud is a contracted Aero/Aerothermodynamics Engineer at NASA JSC, ​ with 15 years of experience on human spaceflight programs from Space Shuttle, CST-100 and Orion, and is currently developing technology for VTOL large scale drones and ultralight aircraft. McCloud is an Industry Adviser for the Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS), and has manufactured some Launch Vehicle 3 (LV3) parts, such as fin frames and plugs for the nosecone molds. Prior to JSC, McCloud worked as an Aerosciences and Aerothermodynamics Engineer, at Boeing, generating solutions for Boeing’s CST-100, including integrated vehicle ascent, launch abort, plume-induced environments, entry aero/thermal environments and venting. McCloud earned a B.S. in Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering and a B.S. in Physics at the University of California, Davis and his M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He is also an FAA Certified Pilot.

Dr. Margaret S. Race is a Sr. Scientist, & Risk ​ Communication at the SETI Institute. Dr. Race is concerned with protecting the planets. Actually, protecting all the planets: but especially Earth and Mars. Her work focuses on the scientific, technical, legal and societal issues of ensuring that missions to the Red Planet and other solar system bodies do not either inadvertently bring terrestrial microbes along, which would complicate our search for indigenous , or return any microbes to Earth. Recently, she’s done a research study on the environmental impact reviews and public communication associated with high-containment biosafety labs – the type that will eventually be used for the quarantine of returned samples from Mars. Her interest in extraterrestrial organisms is linked closely to her long term ecological research on exotic and invasive species. She’s also actively involved in education and public outreach about astrobiology. Since her early work with the Environmental Protection Agency as a Public Information Specialist, and her tenure at San Francisco television station KQED, Margaret has had a strong interest in the communication of science via the mass media. Dr. Race earned her B.A., in Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, her M.S., in Energy Management and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D., in Zoology (Ecology), at the University of California at Berkeley. She has been teaching since her undergraduate, and has mentored students at institutes from University of California at Berkeley, the College of Notre Dame, Stanford University, and other non traditional educational institutes. She is a committed supporter of STEM programs, teaching, designing, and fund raising for programs and institutes including Trustee, Lafayette Library and Learning Center, Astrobiology Summer Science Experience for Teachers, National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology, JPL Solar System Ambassador, Expanding Your Horizons, and Sally Ride Science Workshops for Girls, Project ASTRO, NASA-National Park Service, Earth to Sky: Park Rangers and Interpreters’ Workshops, Contra Costa Libraries, Chabot Space and Science Center, Astronomy in A Box, Lawrence Hall of Science Fellow, NASA-Univ. of Hawaii, and many more.

Dr. Robina Shaheen is a Project scientist II, University of California San Diego, ​ USA. and physical chemist and data scientist studying atmospheric processes on Earth and Mars. She uses sulfur and oxygen isotope anomalies to investigate troposphere and stratosphere chemistry, which include gas phase and heterogeneous chemistry, physicochemical and photochemical transformation on nano surfaces. She completed a Postdoctoral fellowship at University of California San Diego, and at the Max Planck Institute, Heidelberg, Germany. Prior to her doctorate, she was a Research fellow at University of Lausanne, Switzerland, following her work at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Laboratories in Austria. Dr. Shaheen has received numerous awards including a Diversity and Equity Award for inclusion of minorities and women in STEM education (2013) from University of California San Diego, the American Chemical Society Award for the outstanding scientific content and presentation in 2012, the Cozzarelli Award for the best paper of the year in physical sciences by the National Academy of Sciences (2011), and she was selected by COMSTECH (Commission on Science and Technology) to represent women in Science from underdeveloped countries at the White House, Washington DC (June 2011). Dr. Shaheen's passion is data science and she would like to use novel data science tools such as neural networks and machine learning algorithms to study human influence on the chemistry of the planet.

Dr. Carol Stoker is a Research Scientist, Space Science Division, NASA Ames ​ Research Center. Her interest in space began in childhood, but really launched after reading Carl Sagan’s first book, “Intelligent Life in the Universe”. She earned a Physics degree from the University of Utah, then went on to University of Colorado - Boulder, where she met like minded students (Penny Boston, Chris McKay, and Carter Emmart) and together they formed the Mars Underground. Dr. Stokers Ph.D. dissertation and early work modeled the vertical structure and moist convection in the atmospheres of the giant planets using data from the Voyager missions. Other work posited the origin of life on early Mars and showed microbes can grow on Titan . After graduate school she took a postdoctoral position at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado where she worked with Dr. Steve Schneider, a famous climate scientist. Dr. Stoker co-organized (along with the Mars Underground) a series of conferences on human Mars exploration called The Case for Mars, and later led field experiments to extreme environments in the Antarctic, deserts in the southwestern US and drilling studies of subsurface life in Spain that developed and tested instruments and robotic systems to pave the way to search for life on other planets. On the Mars Pathfinder mission, she led a team that developed virtual reality based data visualization to support mission operations. On the Mars Phoenix mission she led the habitability science working group and the synthesis of mission results showing the high latitude ground ice is periodically habitable for life. Dr. Stoker has participated in numerous mission studies and played leading roles in Discovery mission proposals, most recently a mission to drill at the Phoenix site for of modern life. She co-led a mission study of Mars Sample Return using new SpaceX technology to simplify operations and lower mission cost. In 2020 she led laboratory simulations of the plumes of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, to determine the impact on aqueous microbes when suddenly ejected into the vacuum of space. This study supports instrument development for missions targeting searching for signs of life on the tiny moon that has a liquid water ocean under an ice crust.

Panel 4: Communications, Education, Culture, and History - 7:15pm PDT

Michael Cianconne has worked in the spaceflight industry for over 35 years. He ​ was the Safety Manager for the Electrical Power System of Space Station Freedom (1989-1993) and the Lead Safety Engineer for payloads on the MSL-1 mission of Space Shuttle (1993-1997). He subsequently served as Executive Director of the ISS/Shuttle Payload Safety Review Panel (1997-2006) and as a member of the Constellation Program Safety and Engineering Review Panel (2006-2011). More recently, Michael worked as the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Lead for the European Service Module of Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) (2011-2020). Michael is currently the NASA Reliability Lead for Orion. Michael also spent a year at NASA HQ as a Technical Policy Analyst in the Office of Space Station (1988-89). Michael received a BS in Engineering (Fluid & Thermal Sciences) and a BA in Psychology from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio, USA). He is active in the field of early spaceflight history as Chair of the American Astronautical Society (AAS) History Committee and as a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) History Committee. He recently published Foreword to Spaceflight: An Annotated Bibliography of pre-1958 Publications on Rocket Development and Spaceflight (Apogee, 2018). Other fun stuff: Michael is the founder of the NASA Hot Pepper Club for employees who share an interest in the cultivation and ingestion of hot peppers and hot pepper products.

Dr. Sherry Cady, is the Chief Scientist, Biogeochemical Imaging at the ​ Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and an expert on how microbes and their organic remains alter the minerals and sediments that precipitate and accumulate in their presence. Such research has implications in the search for microbial life throughout Earth’s geological record and will inform the search for evidence of microbial life beyond Earth. In addition to her research at PNNL, Dr. Cady is the Editor-in-Chief of Astrobiology. She began her career in 1987 with a B.S. (Honors) Geology, at University of California Berkeley and finished in 1994 with her Ph.D. in Geology, from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Cady has served on multiple missions and committees including Member, scientific committee for 3rd Conference on Terrestrial Mars Analogues, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2012 Member, National Research Council Committee to Review of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions, 2008 Member, National Research Council Committee to Review the Next Decade Mars Architecture, 2006. Member, joint NASA Astrobiology Institute / MEPAG Mars Science Laboratory Caching Working Group, 2007.

Kerrie Dougherty is a Senior Policy Advisor with the Australian Space Agency, ​ and Curator for the Agency's Australian Space Discovery Centre, opening in early 2021. She is also a member of the Global Faculty of the International Space University since 2001. Kerrie's path to her current position has taken many twists and turns, but it began with a childhood passion for space. At university, Kerrie decided to pursue a career in cultural heritage and studied archaeology, anthropology, archives administration and public history. This led her to a thirty year career at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, where she reconnected with space, to become Australia's first museum curator of space technology, and the developer of major exhibitions on space exploration, science fiction and popular culture. Kerrie is a space historian, curator, educator, science communicator and author and a recognised authority on the history of Australian space activities. She has written two books on Australian space history, as well as many other academic papers, articles and book chapters on Australian and international space history and space education. A lifelong science fiction fan, Kerrie has also co-written three Star Wars guidebooks and a Doctor Who reference book. Kerrie is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics and serves on its History of Astronautics and Space Museums Committees, as well as a member of the Space Education and Outreach Committee of the International Astronautical Federation. Kerrie has been a co-recipient of the Dibner Award for Excellence in the Presentation of the History of Technology and received the Year 2000 Australian Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society of Australia. In 2015 she was awarded the Sacknoff Prize for Space History and in 2020 was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Janet Ivey Janet Ivey Is the President of Explore Mars, is a Citizen Astronaut ​ Candidate for Space For Humanity and has served as a NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador since 2018. Prior to joining Explore Mars, Janet has been enriching the lives of children through education and programming. With over 17 years in the media, Ivey has captivated Nashville and beyond with her work and she has received 12 Regional Emmy®s and 5 Gracie Allen awards for her work. Most notably she is the Creator and CEO of Janet’s Planet, Inc. an interstitial series thar airs on 140+ public television stations nationwide. Janet received the STEM-FLORIDA Award for Exploring Microgravity, a 35 minute documentary for students 3-8. She serves on the Board of Governors for the National Space Society, has done 2 Tedx Talks, AWE Inspired Science & How To Inhabit Your Very Own Planet #PlanetYou.

Angela Peura is a Communications Specialist at NASA Space Communications ​ and Navigation, and a student at the International Space University. As a policy consultant at the Space Foundation, Angela has provided research, editing, fact-checking, and support for The Space Reports for 2014, 2015, and 2016. She has interviewed international space agency attachés and others to compile the reports. Anglea is a graduate of George Washington University, with a Master of Arts (MA) in International Science and Technology Policy and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Archaeological Studies at Boston University. Angela “wants to explore this world and facilitate the exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds through sound policy-making and international cooperation.”

Artemis Westenberg is the CEO of Explore Mars Europe. Since early in her ​ career, she gained knowledge in the working of governments as member of the Dutch government delegation to the UN conference on the status of women, in 1980, and as president of the Council of Women for Rotterdam, as campaign manager Dutch Libertarian Party, next to her extensive interactions with the USA Congress on matters of policy. Artemis worked as account manager, project manager and spokesperson for Multinationals, Dutch Government, Policy groups putting her degree in General Management from the Dutch Entrepreneurial Society to good use as an influential lobbyist and advocate. Westenberg is a well-known Mars and space ambassador, often as a Netherlands spokesperson among the national and international space community and serves as inspirational speaker and host on conferences. She served as president of the Mars Society NL and as a Steering Committee member for the Mars Society Inc. Subsequent to her work as logistics manager for the Arctic Research Station (FMARS) Westenberg took on management of the Mars Analogue Stations as Mission Director where she turned the project into a completely self-sufficient and financially independent venture. Currently, Westenberg is working to entice the EU to participate in the Human Missions to Mars plans of NASA. Next to that she serves as CFO Of the Moon-Mars Astronautics Academy & Research Centre, which project is situated next to the Mojave Space Port, California. Westenberg is multilingual, speaking Dutch, English, French, German regularly, with fluency in others. She is dedicated to put humans on Mars within her lifetime, preferably by 2033.

This event is supported by The Viking Mars Missions Education and Preservation Project (VMMEPP) a 501c3 nonprofit https://vikingpreservationproject.org