Colloquium Series

Chirag Parikh

Deputy Assistant to the President, Executive Secretary of the National Space Council

Mr. Chirag Parikh was appointed by the President as the Executive Secretary of the National Space Council on August 2, 2021. As Executive Secretary, he is responsible for advising the Vice President, in her role as Chair of the National Space Council, on developing national policies and strategies across the civil, commercial, and national security sectors. He is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of United States space policies and strategies and working across the United States Government as well as with industry, international, and academia partners to meet Administration objectives through the space sector.

Mr. Parikh joined the Administration from Microsoft Azure, where he led the creation of a company-wide business unit, known as Azure Space, to bring together the power of global cloud capabilities with evolving space sector. Prior to Microsoft, he had a U.S. government career that spanned more than two decades. He has served as a Senior Executive at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), leading collection and tasking of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) sensors and the analysis of GEOINT data. From 2010-2016, he served as the Director of Space Policy on the White House National Security Council overseeing U.S. national security space efforts. He has also served as the Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology and as an aerospace engineer at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. He holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

James Stoffel

EVA Human Performance & Analog Engineer, KBR, Inc.

Currently on an exciting adventure with various multidisciplinary teams assisting and leading in the development, testing, and evaluation of innovative endeavors getting us back to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. With my diverse background in rocket propulsion, emergency medical services, and extravehicular activity (EVA) flight training and support, I continue to apply my experiences and passion to help motivate, promote, and inspire these endeavors towards the future of Human Space Exploration off the Earth, for the Earth, and Beyond.

From LinkedIn: Support the Human Physiology, Performance, Protection, and Operations (H-3PO) Laboratory with the Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences (BR&ES) Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center. This includes performing multi-disciplinary laboratory research and provide operational expertise in several technical areas, including space suits, physiology, exploration systems, and concept of operations to address health and performance risks for future human exploration missions (Gateway, Moon, and Mars). Additionally, support evaluations of Advanced Exploration (AES) prototype systems and operations in analog field test environments that include terrestrial, underwater, parabolic flight, mechanical offloading, vacuum chamber, virtual reality test environments, and physiological testing to evaluate human performance during EVA.

Charles Dischinger

Team Lead, Human Factors & Integrated Logistics Engineering, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Charlie joined NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in 1994 as a Human Factors Engineer. He was fortunate to be able to work on International Space Station design, including delivery of the robotic arm (Canadarm) to the station and development of two modules. He worked with NASA's International Partners and multiple NASA contractors in a very dynamic time. He subsequently worked in systems engineering for Gravity Probe B and Space Shuttle and spent a year at NASA Headquarters in the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. Upon return to Marshall in 2008, he led the Human Factors Engineering Team, through Crew Launch Vehicle and then Space Launch System development. During nine of these years, he was the Deputy to the NASA Technical Fellow for Human Factors, where he helped lead the Agency implementation of Human Systems Integration. He is now leading an assessment of lighting effects on human EVA task performance at the Lunar South Pole.

Sheryl L. Bishop

Professor Emeritus, University of Texas Medical Branch

Sheryl L. Bishop, PhD is Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She also served as faculty at the International Space University, Strasbourg, France, since 1996. As an internationally recognized behavioral researcher in extreme environments, for the last 25 years Dr. Bishop has investigated human performance and group dynamics in teams in extreme, unusual environments, involving deep cavers, mountain climbers, desert survival groups, polar expeditioners, Antarctic winter-over groups and various simulations of isolated, confined environments for space, including a number of missions at remote habitats (e.g., Mars Desert Research Station, Utah, HiSEAS in Hawaii, and the FMARS and Mars Project on Devon Island, Canada). She has been a grant reviewer for the European Space Agency's Concordia Station, the Canadian Space Agency's Life Science Directorate, the Australian Antarctic Science Division, and the Czech Science Foundation. She has over 60 publications (including contribution to NASA's Historical Series on Psychology in Space) and over 50 scholarly presentations in both the medical and psychological fields. She is frequently sought out as a content expert by various media and has participated in multiple television documentaries on space and extreme environments by Discovery Channel, BBC, and 60 Minutes.

Troy Weekes

Human-AI and User Experience Researcher, Florida Institute of Technology

Troy Weekes is a Human-AI and User Experience Researcher who studies how to build user-facing AI systems with safe, responsible, and effective user experiences. His research interest focuses on the cognitive augmentation of knowledge workers using the Flow Choice Architecture, which is a neurotechnology agent that is personalized to sense and nudge knowledge workers based on their static traits and dynamic cognitive and affective states.

Troy currently works on the Adaptive Spaceship Cockpit Simulator to run experimental protocols that simulate a range of human spaceflight configurations for the Federal Aviation Administration's research in Commercial Space Transportation. In 2021, Troy co-authored a New Space journal article on human-centered design for spaceflight participant safety and experience using Blue Origin's suborbital flight as a case study.

Troy has landed numerous awards and accolades, including the National Innovation Award, Pride of Workmanship Award, Research Fellow of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, and National Expert in Mobile Innovation under the United Nations World Summit Awards. He is the founder of four startups and the Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Program, which partnered with the World Bank Group and the Caribbean Development Bank, to serve over 1,200 entrepreneurs and 250 startups from 19 countries.

To complement his extensive experience in technology innovation, Troy is a certified private pilot. Troy holds a Ph.D. in Human-Centered Design from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Florida Tech. He completed his M.Sc. in Aviation Human Factors and B.Sc. in Aeronautical Science from the College of Aeronautics at Florida Tech.

Ted Southern

President, Final Frontier Design

Ted Southern is the President and co-founder of Final Frontier Design (FFD), a space suit design and manufacturing company based in Brooklyn, New York. Ted manages teams of up to 12 from project proposal to completion and delivery, with both NASA and the commercial space industry. FFD was formed from a successful partnership in NASA's 2009 Astronaut Glove Competition, together with his co-founder, Nikolay Moiseev. Mr. Southern has served as Principal Investigator for 6 NASA SBIR contracts for FFD, between 2011-2020 for space suit component development, including pressurized gloves, arm mobility joints, and radiation protection for space suits. He has published his reports on pressurized gloves in peer reviewed journals including the Journal of Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine (ASEM) and the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES). Mr. Southern was the PI for a fixed-price contract to develop next-generation Mechanical Counter Pressure Gloves for NASA, and for a NASA sponsored microgravity flight campaign (via the Flight Opportunities Program) in 2017. In addition, Ted has overseen a 6-year Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA to human rate FFD's IVA space suit. Ted is currently managing development of a complete internal EVA space suit system and multiple fixed-price contracts with NASA for their Lunar xEMU EVA space suit.

Paul Abell

Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center

Paul Abell is the Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. His main areas of interest are physical characterization of near-Earth objects (NEOs) via ground-based and spacecraft observations, examination of NEOs for future robotic and human exploration, mitigation of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets, and identification of potential resources within the NEO population for future in situ utilization.

He was a science team member on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa near-Earth asteroid sample-return mission and participated in the successful recovery of the spacecraft's sample return capsule, which returned to Woomera, Australia in June 2010. Paul is currently a team member of the Hayabusa2 mission and is aiding the cooperation between Hayabusa2 and NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft teams as they investigate and sample their respective near-Earth asteroids.

Since 2006 Paul has been a member of an internal NASA team that has been examining the possibility of sending astronauts to NEOs for human missions. He is also an investigation team member on both NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission (NEOSM) planetary defense missions, and a team member on ESA's Hera planetary defense mission. Asteroid 8139 (1980 UM1) is named Paulabell in recognition of Paul's contributions to NEO research and exploration studies.

Paul is a 1993 Space Studies M.S. graduate.

Louis Carfagno

Former Life Support Systems Engineer, Air Force, and Former Spacesuit Engineer, United Space Alliance

Dr. Carfagno was a Life Support Systems engineer with the Air Force, in charge of getting pressure suits and survival equipment ready for the high altitude pilots. Then he became a space suit engineer, working for United Space Alliance supporting the Space Shuttle program. Dr. Carfagno would end up preparing astronauts for 11 different Space Shuttle missions. Along with candidates in training, he estimates he suited up roughly 100 astronauts from all around the world during his 15 years in his position. He won the Silver Snoopy Award from NASA, bestowed to less than one percent of the aerospace community, for his work on STS-112, an 11-day mission to the International Space Station by the shuttle Atlantis in October 2002.

Miguel San Martin

Guidance & Control Section Chief Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mr. Miguel San Martin participated in the Magellan mission to Venus and the Cassini mission to Saturn. He was later named Chief Engineer for the Guidance, Navigation, and Control system for the Pathfinder mission. He assumed the same role for the mission that landed the robotic vehicles Spirit and Opportunity on Mars in 2004. Most recently, he was the Chief Engineer for Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed Curiosity on the surface of Mars in 2012. He was a co-architect of Curiosity's innovative SkyCrane landing architecture and also served as its Deputy Chief for Entry, Descent, and Landing. Throughout his career, San Martin has served as a panel consultant for various missions including Topex, Mars Polar Lander, Deep Impact, and Phoenix. Mr. San Martin has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University and an M.S. from MIT in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering with a specialization in Guidance, Navigation, and Control for interplanetary space exploration.

For his contributions, Mr. San Martin was awarded two NASA Exceptional Achievement in Engineering Medals, named JPL Fellow in 2013, and elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019.

James Franciere

Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies, Space Force. AFROTC Det. 610

Major Franciere has almost 25 years in the U.S. Air Force Space Operations career field at various military space operations locations, including Alaska, Australia, California, and most recently Colorado. He's been certified in multiple space systems, including Global Positioning System, Defense Support Program, Space-Based Infrared Systems, Space-Based Space Surveillance, Ground-Based Missile Warning and Surveillance Radars, and more recently at the National Reconnaissance Office and also the National Space Defense Center. He recently transferred into the U.S. Space Force in September of this past year.

John O'Connor

Chief of Academics, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School

Mr. O'Connor is the Chief of Academics at US Naval Test Pilot School. He is a retired Navy Commander and Engineering test pilot with over 3000 hours in 90 helicopter, tactical jet, and multi-engine aircraft. He has over thirty-one years of defense acquisition experience and has held executive-level positions in research, program management, and aircraft manufacturing, production, and repair. He has a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School. He has professional education experience as a college math teacher, graduate-level engineering lecturer, test pilot school academic instructor, and test pilot flight instructor.

The presentation will describe how Navy Test Pilot School has contributed to the exploration of space. It will describe how pilots and engineers are trained and educated to be test pilots and flight test engineers and how these skills of observation, analysis, and articulation prepare them potentially for space flight.

Presentation Slides

Joanne Gabrynowicz

Professor Emerita, Director Emerita, Journal of Space Law Editor-in-Chief Emerita

See full bio.

This presentation will address the bills introduced, and laws passed and failed, in the U.S. Congress from 2014 to 2019. It will also include a look at some of the political motivations behind the bills and laws.

Lawrence DeLucas

Principal Scientist, The Aerospace Corporation

Dr. DeLucas is a Principal Scientist at The Aerospace Corporation. He was previously a Professor in the School of Optometry, Senior Scientist and Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center X-ray Core Facility, and Director of the Center for Structural Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. DeLucas received five degrees from UAB culminating in a Doctor of Optometry degree and a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry. He also received honorary Doctor of Science degrees from The Ohio State University, Ferris State University, SUNY College of Optometry, and the Illinois College of Optometry. He has published 164 peer-reviewed research articles in various scientific journals, co-authored and edited several books on protein crystal growth and membrane proteins, and is a co-inventor on 43 patents involving protein crystal growth, novel biotechnologies, and structure-based drug design.

DeLucas was a member of the 7 person crew of Space Shuttle Columbia for Mission "STS-50", called the United States Microgravity Laboratory-1 (USML-1) Spacelab mission. Columbia launched on June 25, 1992, returning on July 9. He traveled more than 6 million miles, completing 221 orbits of earth and logging over 331 hours in space. In 1994 and 1995, Dr. DeLucas served as the Chief Scientist for the International Space Station at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In 2011, Dr. DeLucas received the UAB President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, was the recipient of the Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentorship in the UAB Graduate School (April 2015), an Inductee as a Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors (December 2013), and recipient of the Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award for his outstanding community and educational outreach activities (2012). In 1991, he received the First UAB Annual Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in 2010 received the honorary Alumnus Award, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UAB (to recognize outstanding alumni and scholarship recipients in the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics). In 2002 he was inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame, and in 2004 he was recognized as a Top Ten Finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Birmingham Business Journal. In 1999 Dr. DeLucas was recognized as one of the scientists who could shape the 21st century in an article published by The Sunday Times of London titled "The Brains Behind the 21st Century". Also in 1999, Dr. DeLucas was the recipient of the "Order of Rio Branco Award, Rank of Commander" from the Brazilian Government on behalf of the President of Brazil. The Order of Rio Branco is awarded to recognize and celebrate the merits of Brazilian and foreign individuals who have significantly contributed to the promotion of Brazil's relation with the world. Dr. DeLucas devoted a significant amount of time in impoverished regions of Brazil, giving inspirational talks to students in elementary schools and high schools and to the public.

Dr. DeLucas, an optometrist, biochemist, and former payload specialist astronaut, will discuss examples of human factors that affected performance on his 14-day mission on the Columbia Space Shuttle. He will review some of the physiological effects of long-duration space flight and will discuss various aspects of his astronaut training in preparation for his mission, STS-50.

Michael Lucas

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Michael Peter Lucas was born in Leesburg, Virginia and was raised in his hometown of Annandale, Virginia. Michael attended St. Michael's Catholic School in Annandale through the eighth grade. Despite very little coursework in science at catholic school, Michael realized when he was "knee-high" that he would become a scientist. Michael attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, VA, where he joined the astronomy club and competed in athletics on the track team.

Michael became a founding staff member of Florida Gulf Coast University, where he co-founded the Evelyn L. Egan Astronomical Observatory that was built on the campus of that institution in 2002. Shortly thereafter in 2003 he earned his B.A. in Geology at the University of South Florida (USF). Before returning to USF for graduate studies, Michael enjoyed a successful laboratory career, first as a chemist at the lab bench, then as a manager in various private and governmental laboratory settings. Michael earned his M.S. in Geology at USF in 2011 and afterward moved to Knoxville, TN to pursue a Ph.D. in Planetary Science in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of Tennessee (UTK), where he earned his doctorate in 2017.

Michael has held numerous fellowships throughout his academic career, including a Florida Space Grant Fellowship and the Richard H. Davis Endowed Fellowship in Geology during his master's program. During his doctoral program at UTK, he was awarded an Oscar R. Ashley Fellowship and was also a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellow. Michael currently is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, UTK, where he uses the mineralogic, geochemical, and spectral analyses of meteorites, integrated with astronomical observations of their asteroid parent bodies using ground-based telescopes, to explore the petrogenesis, composition, and evolution of the early Solar System. Michael owns too many backyard telescopes, enjoys music, backpacking, and model rocketry. Michael believes strongly in public service and stays active in cancer patient advocacy and outreach.

Most asteroids are very far away, making it difficult to ascertain their compositions. The direct method to determine the composition of an asteroid is to send a spacecraft to grab a sample from its surface and deliver it back to Earth. But, sample return missions are expensive, and presently only a few asteroids are targeted for sample return missions. Conveniently, meteorites are pieces of asteroids and therefore represent essentially "free" asteroid samples. These samples represent "time capsules" for the study of the early evolution of the Solar System. Furthermore, the study of asteroids is greatly aided by ground-based telescopes, which are highly useful in the field of asteroid science because the number of objects is so great (~1.5 x 106 asteroids >1 km in the Main Belt) that only a tiny fraction can ever be visited by spacecraft. In lieu of asteroid sample return missions, the mineralogical and spectral study of meteorites in the laboratory, combined with ground-based telescopic spectral observations of asteroids, affords the best possibility of linking meteorite groups with the surface composition of their parent asteroid(s).

In his presentation, Dr. Lucas will begin with background material on establishing asteroid-meteorite connections using both ground-based telescopes and the laboratory analysis of meteorites. The presentation will then focus on asteroid science using ground-based observatories. Dr. Lucas will describe the results of his comprehensive telescopic spectral survey entitled Hungaria Asteroid Region Telescopic Spectral Survey (HARTSS), where he investigated the surface compositions and meteorite analogs of 92 Hungaria asteroids. Next, the focus of the presentation will shift to the laboratory to describe Dr. Lucas' work on developing correlations between the mineralogy and spectral properties of primitive achondrite meteorites, specifically the acapulcoite-lodranite clan. Finally, Dr. Lucas will present his latest research regarding the thermal histories of ordinary chondrite (H, L, and LL) parent asteroids. This work uses a novel Rare-Earth-Element (REE) thermometric method to show that parent bodies of ordinary chondrite meteorites most likely experienced violent thermal histories, which involved fragmentation-reassembly, rather than quiescent thermal histories required by the classic onion shell model.

Jon Christopherson

Principal Systems Engineer, USGS Earth Resources Observations and Science Center

Jon Christopherson is a Principal Systems Engineer with KBR, the technical services contractor to the USGS EROS Center. At EROS he is a lead in the New Missions area where they work to stay abreast of the many new Earth observing satellites being launched, their data quality, and usefulness to Science.

Prior to EROS, Christopherson worked for an Aerospace and Defense company building the sensor for Landsat 7 in Santa Barbara. His career has taken him to 24 countries and all fifty states while he has lived in Southern California, Silicon Valley, Georgia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and now South Dakota.

Christopherson has a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and was in the first UND Space Studies class to get their Master's degrees via distance learning in 1998.

Shankar Ramaseri

Systems Engineer, USGS Earth Resources Observations and Science Center

Shankar Ramaseri holds a Master's Degree in Space Studies from UND. He currently works as a Systems Engineer for KBR, a technical contractor to USGS EROS Center. His work at EROS is focused on researching remote sensing systems and assisting with system characterization. He also works on orbit analyses of remote sensing satellites. Shankar holds a Bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering from JNTU, India. While in India, he worked as a project engineer for Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) researching orbits and sensors. Shankar's interests lie in studying orbital dynamics of satellites around asteroids, remote sensing, and space policy.

Observation of Earth's land areas from space began with the launch of the first Landsat in 1972. In recent years there has been almost explosive growth in Earth Observation (EO) from space as hundreds of satellites have been launched in the last several years. The presenters, both from the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls will introduce the colloquium to EROS and what it does, and also discuss the recent rapid growth in remote sensing from space and its implications and opportunities.

Cassandra Runyon

Associate Professor of Geology, College of Charleston, and Director, South Carolina NASA Space Grant Consortium

Dr. Cassandra Runyon graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1988 with her Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics. Following graduation, she was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Johnson Space Center. Her research focused on understanding the nature and origin of volcanic features on the terrestrial planets. Later, as an employee of POD Associates, she used laboratory and remote sensing data to interpret and model near-Earth space debris for the National Space Council and the Department of Defense. This research helped to better understand the effects of space debris on various spacecraft materials. As a Faculty Fellow working with her colleagues at NASA Johnson Space Center, Cass helped to explore and define the initial field requirements for future human-robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. Later, after joining the College of Charleston faculty, her research used hyperspectral and multispectral data and imagery to model stressed terrestrial environments including coastal wetlands, precision farming and disturbed ground to assess urban/suburban change to South Carolina’s coastal wetlands through field reconnaissance, remote sensing, and GIS. She continues to work with NASA as a science team member and education and public engagement (E/PE) lead for the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) spectrometer onboard Chandrayaan-1, which discovered water on the Moon!

She is currently an Associate Professor of Geology at the College of Charleston, Director of the NASA SC Space Grant Consortium and SC NASA EPSCoR program and the education/public engagement lead for two NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) teams. Her passion is helping to provide access to STEM for all audiences, including those with visible and invisible disabilities.

Have you or someone you know ever dreamed of doing something big - perhaps starting a business or working for the aerospace industry and/or NASA? You (they) can. Have you or someone you know been challenged by a visible or invisible disability thinking it may be a career-breaking barrier that may not be overcome? You (they) can! The old adage, "where there is a will, there is a way" is true! Recognizing, understanding, and being willing to work through - and with - life’s challenges along the way is paramount. As an educator, employer, or friend, we can help to facilitate and include those with exceptional needs so that reaching for their star career choice is an option.

Presentation Slides

Jennifer Fogarty

Chief Scientist, NASA Human Research Program, Johnson Space Center

The humans that will explore the far reaches of space will experience unprecedented biological, physiological, and psychological challenges brought on by extreme environmental exposures. The NASA Human Research Program pursues research that characterizes the effects of these hazardous exposures and is responsible for developing and validating mitigation strategies that reduce the risk to the humans and the mission. In my presentation I will describe the hazards of spaceflight, including the exposure to altered gravity fields, a closed environment, isolation and confinement, and galactic cosmic radiation. I will also discuss that while humans are extremely adaptable, these exposures could lead to significant health and performance decrements during the mission and later in life long after the mission is complete. The NASA Human Research Program refers to these decrements as human system risks and uses this construct to describe our portfolio of work. I will also describe how we continue to do surveillance of the experience during human spaceflight to enable the identification of new and emerging risks. The final piece of the presentation will provide an overview of how the NASA Human Research Program interacts with researchers from academia and industry.

Presentation Slides

Kavya Manyapu

Flight Crew Operations and Test Engineer, CST-100 Starliner Commercial Crew Program, Boeing Company

Dr. Kavya Manyapu currently works at the Boeing Company as a Flight Crew Operations and Test Engineer for the CST-100 Starliner Commercial Crew Program. She is the Spacesuit integration lead for the Starliner program. She holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Masters from MIT in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Sciences from the University of North Dakota where she has worked on patent-pending spacesuit technologies. Her research is focused on spacesuit and space habitat technologies for planetary exploration. She was the first Ph.D. student of the Space Studies Department and has been recently appointed to the Adjunct Faculty staff for the department.

Christopher Hearsey

Founder and CEO, OSA Consulting, Inc.

This presentation will explore the concept of non-interference zones for space activities and how this concept produces an inevitable constraint on policy- and decision-makers planning future space activities. Generally, non-interference zones are volumes of space around spacecraft and/or space activities determined by a set of criteria that creates a location or relative position of exclusivity for the operator. The murky question of whether this idea is in accordance with the outer space treaty system and/or US law and policy is gaining some clarity. And while the legal considerations are important, the realities of physics and mathematics place a limitation on the flexibility of the criteria for non-interference zones to handle the proliferation of new operators and activities, and this raises the important question about the degree of exclusivity that is permissible and expected. This issue will have major implications for future mission and architectural designs and set the development cadence of space settlement on a celestial body. Adjusting to the space environment will be key to ensure successful operations on the Moon or other celestial bodies, but the physical limitations of the space environment highlight the need to keep discussions surrounding the cadence of this new space race ongoing because, eventually, we will run out of space.

Presentation Slides

Jack Stuster

President and Principal Scientist, Anacapa Sciences, Inc.

Dr. Stuster is a cultural anthropologist and Certified Professional Ergonomist specializing in the measurement and enhancement of human performance in extreme environments. He has analyzed the work performed by telecommunications technicians, military specialists, and astronauts. His research for NASA began in 1982 with a systems analysis of space shuttle refurbishing procedures and has been followed by studies of conditions that are analogous to space missions, which led to recommendations to facilitate human performance on the International Space Station, space craft, and at planetary facilities.

Andrea Harrington

Associate Director, LL.M. Program in Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi

The Outer Space Treaty celebrated its 50th birthday last year. This foundational document for international space law was created during a time when government actors conducted most space activities, and when projections of space technology to come greatly differed from the reality of space technology today. Thus, this presentation analyzes the international legal regime with specific focus on private cis-Lunar activities, including treaties and "soft law" pledges, identifying gaps and issues that could hinder the development of such activities. This presentation also provides options moving forward for international and domestic legal and policy developments to support a viable and sustainable private cis-Lunar space industry.

Alexander MacDonald

Senior Economic Advisor, Office of the Administrator, NASA

Presentation Slides

George Sowers

Professor of Practice Strategic Initiatives, Space Resources Graduate Program, Colorado School of Mines

Dr. George Sowers has 30 years of experience in the space transportation field working for Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin, and the United Launch Alliance (ULA). In 2017, he retired from his position as Vice President and Chief Scientist at ULA, where his team developed an architecture for fully-reusable in-space stages fueled by propellant mined, refined, and distributed in space. Dr. Sowers has now joined the faculty of the Colorado School of Mines as part of a newly-created graduate program in space resources. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Georgia Tech and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Colorado. Dr. Sowers is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

The development and utilization of space resources will enable an economic transformation for humankind on par with the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution. The development and utilization of space resources will liberate humankind from the resource constraints of a finite earth and usher an era of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity. The first steps along this road are the development of the resources of the Moon and near-Earth asteroids to create a self-sustaining economy in cislunar space. The first economically-viable resource in cislunar space will be rocket propellant from water mined on the Moon or asteroids. Recent research at the Colorado School of Mines shows that mining water for propellant in the permanently-shadowed regions of the Moon is feasible at costs that can meet the requirements of a purely commercial business case. Once space-sourced propellants are available, the cost of transportation in cislunar space plummets, enabling other space businesses to become viable. Space-based solar power, beaming unlimited clean energy to Earth, is just one example.

Presentation Slides

Jim Keravala

Co-Founder and CEO, OffWorld

The Spring 2018 Space Studies Colloquium Series focuses on CisLunar infrastructure, and will feature several leading experts in this field. The first presentation in this series will feature Jim Keravala, Co-founder and CEO of OffWorld of Pasadena, California, who are "developing a new generation of universal industrial robots to do the heavy lifting on Earth, Moon, asteroids, and Mars."

Stephen Johnstone

ChemCam Mission Operations Lead, Intelligence and Space Research Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA-JPL

Stephen Johnstone is the lead mission operations engineer at Los Alamos National Lab for the ChemCam instrument suite currently exploring the Martian surface onboard NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover. A graduate of the UND Space Studies Department (M.S. 1997), Stephen also has degrees in Planetary Geology (B.A. 1994) and Space Systems Engineering (M.S. 2012), and has been involved with 18 space vehicle launches and their on-orbit and planetary surface operations. In addition, Stephen is a participating member of the Mars Human Landing Site Selection Working Group that is researching the best location for the first human outpost. In support of this work, Stephen is involved with a small group of researchers developing neutron spectrometer hardware for Mars applications that can provide high-resolution data with the aim of locating and quantifying the abundance of near-subsurface water ice on Mars. In addition, Stephen is an active instructor pilot at Kirtland Air Force Base, supporting training of military and civilian pilots. He is researching the effectiveness of flight simulation in aviation and spaceflight scenarios related to stress, complacency, and fatigue on piloting procedures for both terrestrial and planetary missions.

Since landing on Mars on August 6, 2012, the NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover has been exploring the Martian surface with the most sophisticated suite of instruments ever deployed to another planet. In addition, this nuclear-powered car-sized rover has supporting orbital assets that allow for high data rate transmission and high-resolution orbital imagery. Landing at Gale crater (5°24'S 137°48'E / 5.4°S 137.8°E) using an innovative and complex entry, decent, and landing (EDL) system, MSL has demonstrated several key technologies and mission operation systems that will be critical when planning and executing a human mission to Mars. In this presentation, I'll discuss the MSL mission from the perspective of tactical and strategic planetary mission operations, science and engineering goals of MSL, and what we've learned from the mission that will aid in the planning and preparation for the most extraordinary undertaking in human history - a crewed mission to Mars!

Steven Freeland

Professor of International Law, School of Law, Western Sydney University

This presentation will be a brief run-down of historical developments in international space law, the reasons why international law-making is now difficult and the challenges this poses in the face of rapidly-expanding technology, an analysis of how the existing framework anticipates the management of natural resource exploitation in outer space, a reconciliation of (seemingly inconsistent) relevant principles regarding celestial body exploitation, the implications of recent national law developments, and a suggestion for the most appropriate path forward.

Kamlesh Lulla

Director, University Research, Collaboration, and Partnership Office, NASA Johnson Space Center

The Space Shuttle was a crown jewel in NASA's human spaceflight program for over three decades. This spectacular flying machine served as a symbol of our nation's prowess in science and technology, along with a demonstration of our "can do" attitude. The Space Shuttle Program was a major leap forward in our quest for space exploration. It prepared us for our next steps with a fully-operational International Space Station. It set the stage for journeys to destinations like Mars. This presentation will focus on the select science accomplishments from this cathedral to space technology.

Kris Zacny

Vice President and Director, Exploration Technology Group, Honeybee Robotics

Dr. Kris Zacny is Vice President and Director of the Exploration Technology Group at Honeybee Robotics. His expertise includes robotic terrestrial and extraterrestrial drilling, excavation, sample handling and processing, geotechnical systems, and sensors. In his previous capacity as an engineer in South African mines, Dr. Zacny managed numerous mining projects and production divisions. Dr. Zacny received his Ph.D. (UC Berkeley, 2005) in Geotechnical Engineering with emphasis on Mars drilling, M.E. (UC Berkeley, 2001) in Petroleum Engineering with emphasis on Drilling and Materials Science, and B.Sc. cum laude (U. Cape Town, 1997) in Mechanical Engineering. He participated in several Arctic, Antarctic, Atacama, and Greenland expeditions. Dr Zacny has over 150 publications related to extreme drilling and excavation, including an edited book titled Drilling in Extreme Environments: Penetration and Sampling on Earth and Other Planets. Dr. Zacny has been a Principal Investigator and a Co-Investigator of over 100 NASA- and DoD-funded projects. He has over 40 NASA New Technology Records and three NASA Group Achievement Awards.

In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and space mining are concepts developed by science fiction writers a while ago. However, only now technologies have reached a maturation level where ISRU and space mining could actually be feasible. ISRU, in general terms, refers to using local resources to enable or enhance robotic and human exploration. For example, water can be mined on the Moon and processed to sustain human presence for longer durations. Space mining, in most terms, refers to mining space resources for commercial gains. For example, water can be mined on asteroids, electrolyzed into H₂ and O₂, and shipped back to Earth to refuel GEO and LEO satellites. In recent years, several companies were funded to do just that. This presentation will give a background to ISRU and space mining and then several examples of current and future missions.

Mike Gaffey

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Dr. Michael Gaffey is a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in the Space Studies Department at UND. He joined space studies in 2001 from a faculty position in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Previously, he had been a research faculty member at the University of Hawaii (Institute for Astronomy & Hawaii Institute of Geophysics). He obtained his B.A. (1968) and M.S. (1970) Degrees from the University of Iowa (Geology, Astronomy) and his Ph.D. (1974) from MIT (Earth and Planetary Sciences). Starting with his Ph.D. thesis in the early 1970's, Dr. Gaffey has focused on the development and application of remote sensing capabilities (visible and near-infrared spectroscopy) to the investigation of asteroids in order to better understand the early history of our solar system, the resource potential of these bodies, and the impact hazard that they present.

Asteroids are samples of the population of planetesimals which filled the early inner solar system and from which the terrestrial planets accreted. The asteroid fragments that fall to Earth as meteorites represent samples of at least 135 chemically-distinct parent bodies. Following their formation, these parent bodies experienced a wide range of thermal histories from essentially-unheated through complete melting. The meteorites are a very biased sample of main belt population, being dominated by parent bodies located near "escape hatches" (orbital resonances) in the main belt. The near-Earth asteroid/object (NEA, NEO) population suffers a similar, but somewhat less-severe, bias. Care must be exercised in extrapolating the relative frequency of compositional and physical types among the meteorites to the NEO population. Understanding the suite of physical and chemical properties among the NEO population is critical to accessing the impact hazard and resource potential of these objects.

Michael Dodge

Assistant Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Michael S. Dodge currently serves as an Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota. Prof. Dodge obtained his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law (2008), and his LL.M. in Air & Space Law at McGill Faculty of Law in Montreal, Canada (2011), where he wrote a thesis on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and the GPS-Galileo Agreement. Prof. Dodge is formerly Research Counsel and Instructor in the LL.M. in Air & Space Law Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he taught courses in aviation law, remote sensing law and regulation, as well as domestic and international space law. At the University of North Dakota, he teaches courses that include space law, history of the space age, space politics & policy, space & the environment, and remote sensing law & regulation. He has been a contributor to several aviation and space law focused journals, and is also an Editor of the Journal of Space Law. Prof. Dodge has also coached teams participating in the prestigious Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court competition, where his team won the international championship in 2015. Since then, he has helped to judge for the North American round of the Lachs Moot Court. His research interests include the environmental management of outer space, global navigation satellite systems, the concept of sovereignty and ownership rights in space (including the law and policy of mining celestial bodies), and the law and regulation of remote sensing technologies.

A common trope in science fiction is the concept of humankind "slipping the surly bonds of Earth," and coming to live and work in outer space. Indeed, as the world's nations become increasingly dependent on space, policymakers and legislators have begun to see space, and its celestial bodies, as a means to satisfy curiosity, expand knowledge, and obtain precious resources. In the mid-twentieth century, the United Nations proposed a series of treaties to govern humanity's burgeoning pursuit of space, and these documents, beginning with the esteemed Outer Space Treaty, continue to influence the activities of nations the world over. The treaty regime established several critical principles for the uses of space, and noted, amongst its primary articles, that neither outer space, nor its celestial bodies, could become "appropriated" territory for any country. Left unstated by those treaties, however, was the extent to which nations, or the people for whom they were responsible, were permitted to use the resources found on celestial bodies. For the past several years, multiple efforts have been made at the level of the United States Congress to initiate the exploration and exploitation of space resources. Some rules were proposed but rejected, whereas others were passed into law. The common theme of these rules was that celestial bodies in general, and asteroids in particular, are ripe for resource extraction programs. While much of the brouhaha surrounding these congressional activities concerns the use of asteroids by private, commercial companies, the story is much more complex than one first surmises. Indeed, if humanity is to continue the pursuit of lengthy stays in space, or if it wishes to extend its reach to other planets with human explorers, using asteroids as waystations or resource providers may be inevitable. This talk will analyze the extent to which nations and private companies may use asteroids, including the legal and policy ramifications of extracting their resources, attempting to move such bodies, and creating potential markets.

Ed Dwight

Former Air Force Test Pilot, America's First African American Astronaut Candidate, Sculptor, Historian

Vernon McDonald

President, Wyle's Science, Technology, and Engineering Group

A discussion of the evolving business model(s) for space exploration/utilization, addressing the interesting dynamics at play that are changing the business of space and the relationship of the federal government, traditional federal contractors, and the private companies of the "newspace" community. These factors will be evaluated in the context of the public/private partnerships, space policy, technology, investment, and future career opportunities.

Sheryl L. Bishop

Professor, Nursing Doctoral Program and Director, Biobehavioral Research Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch

Sheryl L. Bishop, Ph.D. is a Professor of the University of Texas Medical Branch's Schools of Nursing and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences since 1992. Since 1996, Dr. Bishop has served as lecturer, faculty, and co-chair for the master's program and summer space studies program for the Departments of Space Life Science and Space and Society at the International Space University, Strasbourg, France. As an internationally-recognized behavioral researcher in extreme environments, for the last 25 years Dr. Bishop has investigated human performance and group dynamics in teams in extreme, unusual environments, involving deep cavers, mountain climbers, desert survival groups, polar expeditioners, Antarctic winter-over groups, and various simulations of isolated, confined environments for space, including a number of missions at remote habitats (e.g. Mars Desert Research Station, Utah, and FMARS and the Mars Project on Devon Island, Canada). She has been a grant reviewer for the European Space Agency's Concordia Station, the Canadian Space Agency's Life Science Directorate, the Australian Antarctic Science Division, and the Czech Science Foundation. She routinely presents her research at numerous scientific conferences, has over 60 publications (including contribution to NASA's latest Historical Series on Psychology in Space), and over 50 scholarly presentations in both the medical and psychological fields. She is frequently sought out as a content expert by various media and has participated in several television documentaries on space and extreme environments by Discovery Channel, BBC, and 60 Minutes. Dr. Bishop is a founding member, Board of Trustee member, and Senior Editor for the Journal of the Society of Human Performance in Extreme Environments, Contributing Editor for Life Sciences for Habitation (formerly the Journal of Life Support and Biospheric Sciences), and Review Editor for the Journal of Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance (formerly Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine) among numerous others.

To boldly go...! But with lots of preparation, planning, testing, and educated guesswork. Yet, just how DO you prepare crews for an experience that has never been encountered in the history of humankind... leaving our entire world and every other member of our species unequivocally behind as we reach for the next stepping stone in our expansion to the stars?

One approach is to try living and working in space from a nearby off-earth location. Our progress along this line has resulted in a couple of small orbiting space stations hosting 2-3 persons (hardly a "group") with more ease of rescue and assistance than our Antarctic bases down below. Given the limited access to the space frontier and the investment in collective effort and resources, our ability to study individual and group functioning in the actual space environment has been, and will continue to be, severely limited. Until we can establish more permanent and larger facilities on the moon or in orbit, our knowledge of how to train groups for long-duration missions will also be limited. The second approach is through analogs, i.e. locations here on Earth that are characterized by some of the critical features we expect to be a part of any long duration mission: isolation, confinement, and extreme environments with both known and unknown dangers. Studies on real-world groups situated in extreme environments here on Earth have provided us insight into many factors that impact group performance, health, and well-being. Not only have we expanded our knowledge about the things we knew were problems, but we've also discovered a number of issues that were not obvious. Thus, studying groups in terrestrial extreme environments as analogues has been a productive way to provide predictive insight into the things that we need to prepare for in long-duration space missions.

Analogs come in two broad categories: artificial situations called simulations that we construct, and those that real-world environments provide for us. Simulations provide a great deal of control over the kinds of things that crews are experiencing, which allows us to study specific conditions with a great deal of precision. Unlike simulation studies, real-world environments are very chaotic but provide very real environmental threats, physical hardship, as well as true isolation and confinement - all of which have proven to be key factors in individual and group coping. To demonstrate the usefulness of the various types of analogs in use today, results from several analog studies undertaken by the author (e.g., deep caving, desert survival teams, mountain climbers, Mars Desert Research Station, Antarctic and Arctic stations) will be presented, focusing on interpersonal, environmental, and individual factors that affected functioning and well-being at both the physiological and psychological levels.

Jack Stuster

President and Principal Scientist, Anacapa Sciences, Inc.

Jack Stuster, Ph.D., CPE is a cultural anthropologist and Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE #0093), specializing in the measurement and enhancement of human performance in extreme environments. He has analyzed the work performed by telecommunications technicians, military specialists, and astronauts. His research for NASA began in 1982 with a systems analysis of space shuttle refurbishing procedures and has been followed by studies of conditions that are analogous to space missions, which led to recommendations to facilitate human performance on the International Space Station, space craft, and at planetary facilities. Dr. Stuster's research concerning Antarctic winter-over experiences, expeditions, and voyages of discovery, is documented in Bold Endeavors: Lessons From Polar and Space Exploration. Dr. Stuster also contributed to the development of a training program for the Expedition Corps, astronauts selected for long-duration space missions, and since 2003, has conducted content analyses of confidential journals maintained for this purpose by astronauts during their six-month tours-of-duty onboard the ISS. Dr. Stuster recently began studies to evaluate methods for unobtrusively monitoring crew behavioral health and to identify the skills and abilities necessary for an expedition to Mars.

Michael D. Watson

System Engineer, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Michael D. Watson is in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) System Engineering Management Office. He is leading the NASA Systems Engineering Research Consortium, responsible for definition of elegant product-focused systems engineering. He has served as the Space Launch System (SLS) Lead Discipline Engineer for Operations Engineering. He started his career with NASA developing International Space Station (ISS) operations capabilities. He also worked to develop remote operations support capabilities for the Spacelab Program in the United States, Europe, and Japan. He subsequently served as Chief of the Optics Branch, responsible for the fabrication of large x-ray telescope mirrors, diffractive optics, and telescope systems. He served as Chief of the Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) and Sensors Branch and led a NASA team defining Vehicle Management System capabilities for human missions to Mars. His branch work included the definition of ISHM capabilities for the Ares family of launch vehicles. He graduated with a B.S.E.E. from the University of Kentucky in 1987 and obtained his M.S.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1996) and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2005) from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The NASA Systems Engineering Research Consortium was formed at the end of 2010 to study the approaches to producing elegant systems on a consistent basis. This has been a transformative study looking at the engineering and organizational basis of systems engineering. The consortium has engaged in a variety of research topics to determine the path to elegant systems. In the second year of the consortium, a systems engineering framework emerged which structured the approach to systems engineering and guided our research. This led, in the third year, to a set of systems engineering postulates that the consortium is continuing to refine. The consortium has conducted several research projects that have contributed significantly to the understanding of systems engineering. The consortium has surveyed the application of the NASA 17 systems engineering processes, explored the physics and statistics of systems integration, and considered organizational aspects of systems engineering discipline integration. The systems integration methods have included system exergy analysis, Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), State Variable Analysis, Multidisciplinary Coupling Analysis (MCA), Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO), System Cost Modeling, System Robustness, and Value Modeling. Organizational studies have included application of sociology principles to systems engineering, the variability of processes in change evaluations, margin management within the organization, information theory of board structures, social categorization of unintended consequences, and initial looks at applying cognitive science to systems engineering. Consortium members have also studied the bidirectional influence of policy and law with systems engineering.

Ronita L. Cromwell

Associate Chief Scientist for International Collaborations, NASA Human Research Program

Dr. Cromwell is the Associate Chief Scientist for International Collaborations in the NASA Human Research Program. She has served in a number of capacities since beginning her work with NASA in 2008; most notably is her involvement in ground-based spaceflight analogs. She served as the lead scientist for the NASA bed rest facility with oversight for planning, study implementation, and facility operations. She was involved in development of the new Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and served as lead scientist for the first 2 years of scientific missions conducted in that isolation analog. Currently, Dr. Cromwell is working with the international partners to collaborate for use of spaceflight analogs abroad. These facilities include the :envihab research facility in Cologne, Germany and the Russian isolation chambers in Moscow, Russia.

This presentation will focus on ground-based analogs used by NASA and their international partners for simulating the effects of spaceflight on humans. Discussion of analogs that affect human physiology, such as bed rest and dry immersion will be included. Analogs used for isolation and confinement, such as the new NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and polar stations will be presented. Collaborations with international partners in ground-based analogs will also be highlighted.

Pablo de León

Associate Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Pablo de León has been with UND for the last twelve years, first as a Research Associate, and starting in 2013, as an Associate Professor. Dr. de León holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering and a Ph.D. in History of Science and Technology. He was the project manager of the NDX-1 Space Suit Program, the NDX-2 Lunar Suit Prototype, and the UND Inflatable Lunar/Mars Habitat. Pablo is the Director of the Human Spaceflight Laboratory at UND and the Science P.I. for the current NASA EPSCoR grant titled, "Multi-Purpose Research Station in North Dakota in Support of NASA's Future Human Missions to Mars."

The use of analogs to investigate and mitigate risks during long-duration spaceflight has been an accepted practice since the beginning of human spaceflight.

With NASA actively engaged in the planning of long-duration manned missions, there is a need to increase the fidelity of existing analogs. It is particularly important to focus on analogs capable of supporting planetary operations, especially with the development of new systems designed to support the simulation and training required for these missions.

This presentation will cover the existing analog systems capable of supporting simulated long-duration missions, and will also detail the new developments taking place with the UND Lunar/Mars Habitat and its conversion, from a one-module unit, to a multi-module research facility.

Matthew Golombek

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Planetary science missions are among the most complex systems that humanity builds, are developed over three to ten years, cost hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, and have fixed launch periods. Projects are formulated to address specific scientific objectives that drive planetary science forward, but also are influenced by technical, political, and cultural factors. The development of projects are complex affairs that are typically dominated by large engineering teams that are needed to design and build the spacecraft.

Scientists advise the project during this phase by drafting science requirements that define what the spacecraft must do, defining the environments the spacecraft must operate in, and building scientific instruments to make the observations needed to address the scientific objectives. The science team is led by a Project Scientist or Principal Investigator and includes instrument Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators, Participating Scientists, and collaborators.

The operations phase of projects typically includes most of the science team participating in an orchestrated process designed to make timely strategic and tactical decisions to acquire the data needed to answer the science objectives of the mission.

Prasad S. Thenkabail

Research Geographer, US Geological Survey, USGS Western Geographic Science Center

Monitoring of global croplands (GCs) is imperative for ensuring sustainable water and food security for the people of the world in the twenty-first century. However, the currently-available cropland products suffer from major limitations, such as (1) absence of precise spatial location of the cropped areas, (2) coarse resolution nature of the map products and their significant uncertainties in areas, locations, and detail, (3) uncertainties in differentiating irrigated areas from rainfed areas, (4) absence of crop types and cropping intensities, and (5) absence of a dedicated web-based data portal for dissemination of the cropland map products.

This research aims to overcome the above-mentioned limitations through development of a set of Global Food Security-support analysis data at 30m (GFSAD30) resolution consisting of four distinct products:

1. Cropland extent/area
2. Crop types with focus on the 8 types that occupy 70% of the global cropland areas
3. Irrigated versus rainfed croplands
4. Cropping intensities: single, double, triple, and continuous cropping

These products are produced using multi-resolution time-series remotely-sensed data and a suite of automated and/or semi-automated cropland mapping algorithms (ACMAs). Data include Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series and Landsat Time-series from various epochs. Methods include Spectral Matching Techniques (SMTs), Automated Cropland Classification Algorithms (ACCAs), Decision Tree Algorithms (DTAs), and Linear Discriminant Analysis Algorithms (LDAA). Massively Large Big Data (MLBD) are computed on several platforms that include parallel computing over NASA NEX supercomputers and Google Earth Engine (GEE). Large volumes of ground data are sourced through various crowdsourcing mechanisms and integrated on a web platform (croplands.org).

Presentation Slides

Prasad S. Thenkabail

Research Geographer, US Geological Survey, USGS Western Geographic Science Center

Talk given for SPST 522: Remote Sensing Principles

Presentation Slides

Craig R. Tooley

Project Manager, Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

MMS investigates how the Sun's and Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, explosively transferring energy from one to the other in a process that is important to the Sun, other planets, and everywhere in the universe, known as magnetic reconnection.

Reconnection limits the performance of fusion reactors and is the final governor of geospace weather that affects modern technological systems, such as telecommunications networks, GPS navigation, and electrical power grids. Four identically-instrumented spacecraft measure plasmas, fields, and particles in a near-equatorial orbit that will frequently encounter reconnection in action.

Presentation Slides

John Sloan

Senior Space Policy Analyst and Program Lead for International Outreach, Office of Commercial Space Transportation, FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has licensed over 230 launches since 1989. The FAA licenses, regulates, and promotes U.S. commercial space transportation, including expendable launch vehicles, new reusable launch vehicles that can carry people such as Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and XCOR's Lynx, and the operation of non-federal launch sites, or what are more commonly known as commercial spaceports. There are 9 licensed spaceports in the U.S.

Although the FAA licenses launch and reentry for public safety, it does not have authority for in-orbit space transportation. In addition, unlike for passenger aircraft, FAA/AST does not have authority to protect people onboard commercial space vehicles nor does it certify vehicles. In 2014, the FAA issued "Recommended Practices for Human Space Flight Occupant Safety," a document which could serve as a foundation for future regulations, if needed.

There are about 30 "pre-application consultations" that are on-going with AST, including proposals for new vehicles, new spaceports, safety approvals, and requests for payload reviews. AST staff has grown to 81 people with a budget request to add more in FY 2016. With NASA increasingly shifting to commercial launch services for supply of the International Space Station (and return) and soon for astronaut crew transfer, the visibility of the commercial space transportation industry has increased.

Both NASA and FAA have worked closely together to define their respective oversight responsibilities in the successful Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program and are currently working together in the Commercial Crew Program. Separately, the FAA is promoting its regulations for international adoption as suborbital companies market their services outside the United States. All of these indicators are a sign of U.S. industry growth and generate new issues for the FAA.

This presentation will cover an introduction to FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation and policy issues faced by the office and commercial industry, including gaps in regulatory authority. The presentation will also include the competitive position of the U.S. in the global commercial launch services market and FAA's international goals.

Presentation Slides

W. Bruce Banerdt

Principal Investigator, InSight Mission to Mars 321-B60

The InSight mission to Mars, the twelfth mission in NASA's Discovery Program, will launch from Vandenberg AFB in California in March of 2016. It will land six months later in Elysium Planitia to begin a two-year primary mission. It reuses much of the design from the previous Phoenix mission to control cost and risk, two things that are critical for the selection and success of a cost-capped Discovery mission.

Unlike previous missions to Mars, which have focused on surface features and chemistry, InSight aims to explore the interior of the planet down to its very core. The planet Mars is a keystone in our quest for understanding the early processes of terrestrial planet formation and evolution. Unlike the Earth, its overall structure appears to be relatively unchanged since a few hundred million years after formation. Unlike the Moon, it is large enough that the pressure-temperature conditions within the planet span an appreciable fraction of the terrestrial planet range. Thus, the large-scale chemical and structural evidence within Mars should tell us a great deal about the processes of planetary differentiation and thermal evolution.

InSight will pursue its fundamental science goals by performing the first comprehensive surface-based geophysical measurements on Mars, using seismology, precision tracking, and heat flow measurements. The limitation to a single location provides challenges to traditional seismology, which can be overcome with the application of single-station techniques that have been developed for terrestrial observations.

Kevin McGouldrick

Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder

The two defining characteristics of the planet Venus are its atmospheric super-rotation and the planet-enshrouding cloud layers. The clouds reflect more than 70% of the incident solar flux back into space, but about half of the solar flux that is received by the planet is absorbed at the altitudes occupied by the clouds. But for its massive greenhouse effect, the planet Venus would be even cooler than Earth, despite being located closer to the Sun.

The clouds play a pivotal role here too, as they are the fourth-largest contributor to this greenhouse effect, following CO₂, H₂O, and SO₂. Thus, a large fraction of the incident solar flux and a significant fraction of the upwelling infrared flux are absorbed by the Venusian cloud layers. This energy deposition possibly plays a significant role in sustaining the global super-rotation of Venus, in which the entire atmosphere circles the planet with periods of as little as four days at the cloud tops. However, these clouds are also highly variable, especially when viewed at ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths.

In this talk, I discuss the value of multispectral analysis of Venus in characterizing the properties of the planet's clouds and their role in the global energy and momentum budgets, especially when coupled with in situ measurements of the clouds themselves.

Presentation Slides

Nicolle Zellner

Associate Professor, Albion College

The Moon continues to provide scientific answers - and pose new questions - over 40 years after the last Apollo mission. While the Moon provides the most clear and complete history of impact events in the inner Solar System since its formation ~4.5 billion years (Ga) ago, the timing is not well-understood and has been a topic of continued interest and persistent uncertainties. As our closest planetary neighbor, the Moon's impact record, if properly interpreted, can be used to gain insights into how the Earth has been influenced by impacting events over billions of years.

Lunar impact glasses, pieces of melted lunar regolith created by energetic impacting events, can offer information about the Moon's impact history. These samples possess the composition of the target material and can be dated by the 40Ar/39Ar (argon) method in order to determine their formation age. Understanding the ages of impact glasses, along with their compositions, allows us to begin to piece together information about the rate of impact events in the inner Solar System and their effects on Earth.

Important questions that can be answered include determining the form of the large-impact distribution with respect to time (e.g. smooth decline versus cataclysmic spike), whether there is periodicity in Earth-Moon cratering history, and the applicability of the lunar record to other planets. Of great interest to astrobiology and the study of the origin of life is the impact flux prior to ~3.7 Ga ago, and specifically, whether or not early life, if it existed on Earth before 4.0 Ga ago, may have been destroyed during these early impact events.

Presentation Slides

David Willson

Research Engineer, NASA Ames Research Center

A Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission is the highest-priority Mars science mission for the next decade (Decadal Survey of Planetary Science). During this colloquium talk, the feasibility of reducing mission cost by adopting the emerging commercial capabilities, in particular the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launcher that can deliver an unmanned Dragon crew capsule to Mars, will be presented. The Dragon capsule can be modified to land on Mars with all the hardware needed to return samples to Earth, including a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV), and sample collection and storage hardware.

Alexandre Latchininsky

Extension Entomologist, State of Wyoming

Tracy R. Gill

Technology Strategy Manager, Research and Technology Management Office, NASA Kennedy Space Center

Gloria R. Leon

Professor Emerita, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota

The psychological criteria used to select international crews for lunar and Mars exploration missions has been a subject of considerable discussion. Strategies for maintaining optimal functioning during the mission also present considerable challenges. A change in emphasis in the initial astronaut applicant screening process is needed, from ruling out psychopathology to identifying adaptive personality traits to enhance individual and group performance over an extended period of time.

During the mission, psychological dysfunction and crew conflicts among highly-diverse, mixed-gender, and cultural crews need to be anticipated and dealt with. Computer-interactive intervention programs show considerable potential to reduce intra- and inter-personal problems during the mission, and may be more "consumer friendly" in a space agency culture in which disclosure of personal issues can have negative consequences. Studies of polar expedition teams as an analog of planetary exploration can inform about adaptive personality traits and decision-making processes in extreme environments.

Findings from a longitudinal study of the Danish Sirius Patrol teams operating in Greenland indicated the importance of systematic interpersonal communication training prior to the start of a long-duration mission. In addition, considering the 2.5 year length of a Mars mission, it is possible that significant negative events in the home environment may occur that have a deleterious effect on work performance and interpersonal interactions with other crew members.

Raymond M. Wheeler

Senior Scientist, Surface Systems Office, NASA Kennedy Space Center

Space travel to Mars, even for early fly-by missions, will require meeting all the life support needs of the human crew. This includes oxygen, food, and clean water. Bioregenerative life support approaches for space, such as using plants to generate oxygen and food have been discussed for many years, and become increasingly cost-effective for longer-duration missions. But even "shorter" missions, such as a Mars fly-by could benefit from the inclusion of plants for supplemental, fresh foods.

The plants could provide a constant source of high-value, perishable fruits and vegetables to improve the nutrition and acceptability of the diet. These plants might be grown in growth chambers that could range from 0.5-5 m² of growing area, depending on the vehicle size and available power to operate electric lighting.

Alternatively, direct solar light might be concentrated and delivered to the inside of the vehicle to sustain plant growth. Validating plant growth and assessing system reliabilities for a Mars transit mission will be an important step toward the ultimate use of larger, more autonomous bioregenerative life support approaches for long-duration surface missions on Mars. Various challenges and concepts for growing plants on Mars fly-by missions will be presented.

Presentation Slides

Vadim Rygalov

Associate Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Prolonged stays in space environments expose human subjects to multiple stressors with different effects and consequences for human physiology and psychological conditions. Some of those effects are well-known and countermeasures have been developed; other ones are still uncertain and study can't be considered as sufficient. The Inspiration Mars private initiative currently is proposing to send a two-person crew on a round-trip fly-by mission to Mars in 2018.

Adding a human component to a Mars fly-by exploratory-by-nature mission offers unique opportunities for exposing astronauts to the deep space environments. At the same time, physiological limitations for human subjects and life support technologies, as well as human factors' science aspects of such a mission are not clear yet. This presentation will focus on the preliminary evaluation of the deep space manned missions Human Factors (HF) science aspects, and assessment of potential scientific outcome from this "bold endeavor" - class exploratory missions.

Jon Rask

Life Scientist, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center

Future long-duration human exploration of the Moon and Mars will expose astronauts to the deleterious effects of spaceflight. Although artificial gravity has been proposed as a human health countermeasure for reduced-gravity environments, it is unclear what g level, duration, and frequency of exposures is optimal for successful application of artificial gravity in space. This presentation highlighted results from recent human experiments aboard centrifuges at NASA Ames that investigated subject familiarization to centrifugation, as well as the effect that artificial gravity has on the cardiovascular system. Experiences of being an artificial gravity test subject were also shared.  

Mike Gaffey

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Spacecraft fly-bys of planets have initiated virtually every planetary exploration project, from the first lunar fly-by by the USSR's Luna 1 in January 1959 and Luna 3 in October 1959, which imaged the moon's far side for the first time, through the upcoming July 14, 2015 fly-by of the Pluto system by the New Horizons spacecraft.

Inspiration Mars has proposed sending a two-person crew on a round-trip fly-by mission to Mars. Adding a human component to a Mars fly-by mission offers unique opportunities and limitations on the science aspects of such a mission. This talk will focus on an assessment of the Mars-related science that could be incorporated into the proposed mission.

Jon Rask

Senior Scientist, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center

Mark V. Sykes

CEO and Director, Planetary Science Institute

Near-Earth objects are viewed primarily as hazards. One is noted for killing the dinosaurs. This February, another much smaller object exploded over the Siberian city of Chelyabinsk in Russia, injuring more than 1,500 people. The perceived threat drove Congress in 1998 to direct NASA to find 90% of asteroids having diameters exceeding 1 km. Recognizing the potential damage from another Siberian airburst over Tunguska in 1908, Congress modified their mandate in 2005 to include objects down to 140 meters in diameter.

However, asteroids represent more than just threats. They represent the potential to expand human presence and economy beyond Earth. The Obama administration has committed to sending a crewed mission to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025 and is planning to propose that Congress allocate $100M in 2014 to begin planning for a mission to return a 5 meter object to Earth orbit. A non-profit company says it will raise hundreds of millions in donations to survey NEOs to reduce the hazard threat. Private companies have started up with the goal of mining asteroids and turning a profit. Is this the dawn of a new space age? Or business as usual?

Edythe E. Weeks

Adjunct Faculty, Webster University

Dr. Weeks will discuss recent U.S. space policy and U.S. space law provisions and how they complement and/or potentially conflict with international space treaty provisions, and how this is likely to be relevant regarding space mining plans being articulated by various key actors within the space community.

Angel Abbud-Madrid

Director, Center for Space Resources, Colorado School of Mines

Just as our ancestors for centuries relied on the use of local resources to explore every corner of our planet, so the utilization of space resources will enable the affordable establishment of extraterrestrial exploration and operations by minimizing the materials carried from Earth. The search and use of resources to produce materials, propellants, energy, and basic consumables for life support on the Moon, asteroids, and other planets may very well become one of the main drivers for continuing our exploration of space.

Mike Gaffey

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

The DAWN mission to asteroids (4) Vesta and (1) Ceres was the ninth mission in NASA's low-cost Discovery Program. The spacecraft was launched in September 2007 and went into orbit around the large main belt asteroid (4) Vesta in July 2011, staying in orbit until September 2012, before departing for a rendezvous with asteroid (1) Ceres in mid-2015.

During the more than a year in orbit, the DAWN spacecraft imaged the surface at high resolution and in many colors to map surface units. Additionally, visible and near-infra spectra were obtained of nearly the entire surface to assess surface mineralogy, and gamma ray spectra were obtained to map elemental composition of the surface. Although Vesta had been the most intensely-investigated asteroid prior to the DAWN mission, many surprises awaited the science team once data began to be returned.

One major goal of the mission was to test this asteroid as the parent body of the most common type of igneous meteorites, the HEDs. Confirming such a link would allow the detailed chemical and chronological data from the HED to be used to outline the geologic history of this largest igneous body in the asteroid belt.

Mario Runco, Jr.

NASA Astronaut and Lead Earth and Planetary Scientist, Spacecraft Window Optics and Utilization, International Space Station Destiny Laboratory Module's Optical Quality Science Window and the Window Observational Research Facility, NASA-JSC

Larisa Mikhaylova

Professor of World Literature of the 20th Century, History, and Translation of Science Fiction, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Larisa Mikhaylova (b. 1954) - Editor, literary critic, and translator, Ph.D. (Moscow State University, 1982). Teaches World Literature of the 20th Century, History, and Translation of Science Fiction and SF TV Series at MSU. Russian Society of American Culture Studies Academic Secretary. SF magazine Supernova. F&SF Chief Editor. SFRA and SFWA member. Interests: drama, science fiction, and gender aspects of culture. Translated into Russian fiction many SF authors, among them Ursula Le Guin and Pat Cadigan.

Is international cooperation essential for the humankind movement into the Universe? What may be the goals of space exploration as seen by contemporary science-fiction writers today, in the beginning of the 21st century? These questions will be approached from the perspective of comparative culture research on the basis of Russian and American new trends in literature and film.

William J. Liquori, Jr.

Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force

Space capabilities provide the United States and our allies unprecedented advantages in national decision-making, military operations, homeland security, economic strength, and scientific discovery.

Space systems provide unfettered global access, enable rapid response to global challenges, and are vital to monitoring strategic and military developments. Space systems allow people and governments around the world to see with clarity, communicate with certainty, navigate with accuracy, and operate with assurance. An evolving strategic environment increasingly challenges U.S. space advantages.

Space, a domain that no nation owns, but on which all rely, is becoming increasingly congested, contested, and competitive. This presentation will discuss the 2011 National Security Space Strategy and the path it charts for success in this changing environment. The speaker will address how the strategy maintains and enhances the advantages derived from space through the following approaches:

• Promoting responsible, peaceful, and safe use of space
• Preventing and deterring aggression against space infrastructure
• Partnering with responsible nations, international organizations, and commercial firms
• Providing improved U.S. space capabilities
• Preparing to defeat attacks and to operate in a degraded environment

Jon Christopherson

Principal Systems Engineer and Contract Work Manager, Remote Sensing Technologies Project, USGS EROS Data Center

Joseph Post

Manager, NAS Modeling and Simulation, FAA

Joseph Post is Acting Director of Systems Analysis & Modeling, and Manager of NAS Modeling in the FAA's NextGen organization. He is responsible for cost, benefit, and performance analysis for all things NextGen. Mr. Post has 30 years of experience in aerospace, defense, and civil aviation. He holds degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, Electrical Engineering from Yale University, and Economics from George Mason University. Mr. Post is an instrument-rated pilot.

The Federal Aviation Administration and its partners in the aviation industry are engaged in an unprecedented effort to modernize air transportation. The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, will replace outmoded terrestrial navigation and surveillance systems and analog voice communications, with modern, space-based digital technologies, thereby increasing operating efficiencies, enhancing safety, and improving environmental performance.

The speaker will describe the NextGen concept and technologies, with particular emphasis on NextGen's Global Positioning System (GPS) applications. He will describe how Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS), and Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) will be used to improve the performance of air transportation.

Presentation Slides

Thaddeus Johnson

Attitude Control Engineer, NOAA, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites

This presentation centers around the requirements and modus operandi that drive NOAA's satellite operations at the short- and long-term levels for the GOES and POES programs. As an example, at the daily level, team members deliberate such things as missed satellite contacts for POES and product impacts due to maneuvers for GOES, while at the long-term level, the changes in requirements that compel technological advances for the GOES and POES programs are considered. This will also demonstrate how NOAA's space assets have improved and how that improvement has advanced our knowledge of weather and climate.

Marc Cohen

Architect, Principal Investigator, and Project Manager, Astrotecture

This presentation offers a common frame of reference for understanding full-scale mockups and simulators for human spacecraft. Mockups and simulators have a range of objectives and purposes, including:

• Concept evaluation
• Design research
• Engineering integration
• Operations simulation and development
• Crew training

These purposes are not mutually-exclusive, but can co-exist or overlap in the same mockup or simulator.

Douglas D. McLennan

ICESat-2 Project Manager NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center

Changes in ice sheet thicknesses, sea level, and sea ice extent have been explicitly identified as a current priority in the President's Climate Change Science Program, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the 4th Assessment Report of the IPCC, and other national and international policy documents. In response, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formulated the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission to continue the exploration and understanding of our planet. The ICESat-2 is a remote sensing satellite mission providing coverage of the Earth's surfaces.

The ICESat-2 mission will provide multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance. It will also provide topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

The ICESat-2 observatory is comprised of one instrument, a laser altimeter called ATLAS (Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System). ATLAS is a laser altimeter, utilizing a measurement technique known as photon counting, which is designed to measure ice-sheet topography and associated temporal changes.

This presentation will focus on the role of ICESat-2 mission as we monitor the changes in the global cryosphere and the generation and subsequent distribution of data products to the user community. An overview of the mission will also be presented.

Presentation Slides

Guennadi Kroupnik

Acting Director, Satellite Communications and Space Environment Projects, and Project Manager, Polar Communications and Weather Mission, Canadian Space Agency

Heather E. Hudson

Director, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage

This presentation will examine the role of satellites in linking isolated communities in the Arctic, particularly in Alaska, with examples also from Northern Canada and Greenland. It will include a review of telemedicine, distance education, e-commerce, e-government, and indigenous cultural applications.

Also covered will be current projects in Alaska funded by Stimulus grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Rural Utilities Service. Current policy issues, including technology trends, expansion of broadband, and universal service fund support for rural areas will also be addressed.

Lawson W. Brigham

Distinguished Professor of Geography & Arctic Policy, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Senior Fellow, Institute of the North, Anchorage

Presentation Slides

David Livingston

Consultant and Professional Speaker-Host, The Space Show, and Adjunct Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Guest: Derek Webber; topics: Space tourism, aviation, and rocket history per his book, The Wright Stuff: The Century of Effort Behind Your Ticket to Space

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Peter Hays

Senior Scientist, SAIC, National Security Space Office

Recent military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo indicate space capabilities have become a foundational enabler of most U.S. military actions and an increasingly important component of U.S. national security. Worldwide, there is growing recognition and focus on the broad and ubiquitous contributions space capabilities make to global prosperity and security. The 2001 Space Commission Report found that because U.S. military and economic security has become so dependent on space capabilities, the nation could face a "space Pearl Harbor."

The U.S. National Space Policy released in October 2006 stated: "In this new century, those who effectively utilize space will enjoy added prosperity and security and will hold a substantial advantage over those who do not. Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power." And the National Space Policy of the United States of America released in June 2010 indicates: "Space systems allow people and governments around the world to see with clarity, communicate with certainty, navigate with accuracy, and operate with assurance."

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Wendell Mendell

Chief, Office for Lunar and Planetary Exploration, NASA

On February 1, 2010, the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2011 was released. NASA received an increase, unlike almost any other federal agency. At the same time, the budget revealed that the Constellation Program would be canceled and that NASA would look to private sector providers for transportation of cargo, and eventually crew members, to the International Space Station. The Constellation Program had included a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, and the program plans called for a permanent surface facility capable of supporting human explorers. In the FY2011 announcement, the prescription of a lunar objective was replaced by a concept called "flexible path" that was advertised to open possibilities of other types of human missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

The policy direction has polarized the U.S. space community, where the reactions have been swift and polemical. The new policy has been described both as the death knell of human space exploration and as the only hope to save human space exploration. Some members of Congress have threatened legal action based on the current law regarding appropriation of funds to NASA, which states that Constellation cannot be canceled without prior consultation with Congress. As might be expected, some of the reaction is directly related to losses or gains of jobs in districts associated with NASA facilities.

However, various statements show high emotional content, suggesting that personal belief systems have been challenged. Meanwhile, many details of the new policy are not yet clear, and some aspects seem to be shifting in response to political reaction. The final direction for NASA will not be known until the FY2011 budget has been passed by Congress and signed by the President. I will draw upon my 28 years of studying, writing, and speaking on the topic of future human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to discuss the various issues at stake and the historical context for the debate.

My own work has had a central theme of lunar exploration and development, but I have also come to believe that human exploration will never be more than a political sideshow until a significant economic sector can be created in space off of the Earth. Disclaimer: The views presented will be my own and in no way reflect official policies of NASA.

Robert Zubrin

President, Pioneer Astronautics

In July 1989, on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing, the first President Bush called for America to renew its pioneering push into space with the establishment of a permanent Lunar base and a series of human missions to Mars. While many have said that such an endeavor would be excessively costly and take many decades, a small team at Martin Marietta drew up a daring plan that could sharply cut costs and send a group of American astronauts to the Red Planet within ten years.

The plan, known as "Mars Direct," has attracted international attention and broad controversy, including coverage in such publications as Newsweek, Fortune, The Economist, Air and Space Smithsonian, the New York Times, the London Times, the Boston Globe, and Izvestia. It has also been covered by the Discovery Channel, PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS, National Public Radio, and the BBC. Its principal author, Robert Zubrin, has presented it to such fora as the International Astronautical Federation congress in Germany, and the blue ribbon "Synthesis Group" headed by former Apollo astronaut General Thomas Stafford, the Augustine Committee, as well as to various government officials, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former NASA Administrators Dan Goldin and Mike Griffin.

Now, with nations debating how to proceed with human space exploration, the "Mars Direct" plan is more relevant than ever: Can Americans reach the Red Planet in our time?

Christopher Moore

Deputy Director, Advanced Capabilities Department, NASA HQ

Current plans call for the first human missions to Mars to be launched around 2030. The recently-completed "Mars Design Reference Mission 5.0" study defines a conceptual mission architecture and identifies enabling technologies. NASA is beginning long-range development on key technologies needed for these missions because it will take many years for them to reach maturity. The ISS and the lunar outpost will be used as test beds for these technologies to reduce risk and prepare for human exploration of Mars.

Presentation Slides

Pascal Lee

Chairman, Mars Institute, NASA Ames

The first human mission to Mars will likely be humanity's greatest undertaking in space exploration in the 21st century. As with all expeditions, its success will depend on planning. The first steps towards a human journey to the Red Planet are already underway, as we explore extreme environments on Earth and prepare for new journeys to the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos.

Dr. Pascal Lee will discuss progress being made around the world, from the Arctic to Antarctica, to achieve these milestones. He will examine in turn the what, why, when, who, and how of a human mission to Mars. Specific lessons learned from the NASA Haughton-Mars Project will be discussed.

Pablo de León

Research Associate, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Extravehicular activity is one of the most critical areas for planetary exploration. On Mars, due to gravity conditions, dust contamination, and a specific thermal scenario, a special kind of suit is required to protect the astronauts. Since 2005, the Department of Space Studies at UND has been researching in the area of planetary space suit systems and developed the NDX-1, a Mars suit demonstrator which was tested on Earth under analog conditions.

As a result of these studies, new developments are taking place and a series of design improvements have been done to prepare a suit that can cope with the Mars conditions. Since a space suit is just part of the extravehicular system, an integrated design of the mission contemplating all different aspects of the tasks to accomplish is required. A new NASA grant is allowing the Department of Space Studies to develop a complete, minimal-mission, scenario, including inflatable habitat, airlocks, rovers, and space suit, to attempt to address all the different problems related to a human mission to Mars.

Vadim Rygalov

Assistant Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

A mission to Mars and return to Earth will take more than two years, possibly a lot more. The travelers will be exposed to microgravity, radiation, sensory deprivation, and other space phenomena in amounts which have never been experienced or tested before. For example, the longest stay in space microgravity, onboard the Russian space station Mir performed by Russian cosmonaut-physician Valery Polyakov, was 438 Earth days.

Rygalov will address questions such as how can astronauts survive this long-duration trip in hostile environments of space? How can they maintain their health for an acceptable level of performance? What are those natural mechanisms which help people to survive in extreme environments? Rygalov also will discuss available techniques and current research trends in human factors in space.

James Casler

Associate Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

David Whalen

Associate Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Michael Gaffey

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

Mike Gaffey

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

The planet Mars has been long-identified as a target for human space missions and possible human settlements. Since the 1986 discovery of possible, but very controversial, microbial fossils in the Martian meteorite ALH 84001, a fleet of unmanned spacecraft from several nations have visited the Red Planet. Although many questions remain to be resolved, we now know a great deal more about Mars than we did in 1989, when NASA, at the request of the President, outlined a scenario for a manned Mars mission.

In this presentation, we will outline the present state of knowledge concerning the nature and history of the planet Mars, with a special focus on aspects which would impact planning for a manned Mars mission and future human settlements.

Presentation Slides

David Livingston

Founder and Host, The Space Show

Developing space resources or a space business venture requires capital. Lots of it. Especially early on in the life cycle of a new business. While there are some differences in a space business as compared to a terrestrial business, there are many more similarities than one might believe. In fact, business rules are pretty much business rules, be it a space business of some type or a terrestrial business in an established industry.

While business planning and due diligence are common, even routine in evaluating and managing terrestrial businesses, this is not so in some areas of space, particularly with the NewSpace industry. What makes NewSpace different? Why is it so hard to do real due diligence regarding all aspects of the business, not just for management or potential markets, but also technical and engineering due diligence regarding the end product of the company in question?

Why does the wish list mentality prevail and why are those applying real standards to claims, rhetoric, and PowerPoints often attacked and accused of not being with the program?

These and other issues, such as assumptions-making and commonly-used foolish terminology and rhetoric will be discussed in this presentation.

Presentation Slides

Jeff Richichi

Director of Structural Design, SpaceX

SpaceX is revolutionizing access to space by developing a family of launch vehicles and spacecraft intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation. This presentation will highlight the details of the Falcon 1 (F1), Falcon 9 (F9), and Dragon programs that SpaceX is currently undertaking.

Falcon 1: On September 28, 2008, the Falcon 1, designed and manufactured from the ground up by SpaceX, became the first privately-developed liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth. Details of the F1 vehicle will be presented along with video from the first flight.

Falcon 9: As a winner of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition (COTS), SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap in American spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010. The Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle is the platform that will be used to provide access to the ISS. Details of the design, manufacture, and testing of the F9 vehicle will be presented along with a video of the nine-engine, full-duration test performed in our McGregor, TX test site.

Dragon: The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a capsule and trunk used for Earth-to-LEO transport of cargo and/or crew members. Details of the design, manufacture, and testing of the Dragon capsule will be presented, along with samples of PICAX (a SpaceX-developed heat shield material).

Aishwarya Narain

Consultant, Spacetech

In his two talks, Dr. Narain will first trace the history of India's remote sensing program and then follow it up with a presentation on India's recent unmanned moon mission. India's space program has made significant progress over the years in launch vehicle development, pay loads for communication, and remote sensing, and recently joined an exclusive club of few countries that have capabilities to orbit and study the moon.

Much of this has been achieved by the various centers of the Indian Space Research Organization and technology transfer to the private industries. The talks will cover how India's space program has resulted in societal benefits through management of natural resources, tele-education, and tele-medicine.

Presentation Slides

Roger D. Launius

Senior Curator, Division of Space History, Smithsonian Institution

What is it about the Moon that captures the fancy of humankind? A silvery disk hanging in the night sky, it conjures up images of romance and magic. It has been counted upon to foreshadow important events, both of good and ill, and its phases for eons served humanity as its most accurate measure of time.

This presentation discusses the Moon as a target for human exploration and eventual settlement. This presentation will explore the more than 50-year efforts to reach the Moon, succeeding with space probes and humans in Project Apollo in the 1960s and early 1970s. It will then discuss the rationales for spaceflight, suggesting that human space exploration is one of the least-compelling of all that might be offered. The presentation will then discuss efforts to make the Moon a second home, including post-Apollo planning, the Space Exploration Initiative, and problems and opportunities in the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration.

Presentation Slides

Christopher M. Johns-Krull

Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University

T Tauri stars are low-mass, pre-main sequence stars, many of which are still surrounded by active accretion disks where it is believed planet formation is currently under way. Stellar magnetic fields, including a strong dipole component on these newly-formed stars, are believed to play a critical role in the early evolution of the young star plus disk system. It is currently believed that the stellar magnetic field truncates the accretion disk several stellar radii above the star.

This action forces accreting material to flow along the field lines and accrete onto the star at high stellar latitudes. It is also thought that the stellar rotation rate becomes locked to the Keplerian velocity at the radius where the disk is truncated. I will review recent efforts to measure the magnetic field properties of T Tauri stars, focusing on how the observations compare with the theoretical expectations.

A picture is emerging indicating that quite strong fields do indeed cover the majority of the surface on young stars; however, the dipole component of the field appears to be alarmingly small. I will also briefly discuss recent work on the origins of magnetic fields in fully-convective stars such as T Tauri stars.

Presentation Slides

Charles Wood

Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute

Saturn's moon Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and has a dense atmosphere like a planet. Until Cassini and its atmosphere-piercing radar got to Saturn, little was known of Titan. Now with ~30% of the surface revealed, Titan is seen to have a very young surface, with deserts of dunes, rivers, and hundreds of lakes and a few large seas of liquid methane/ethane.

We can infer that Titan is dynamically active, possibly with erupting volcanoes, blowing sediments, rainfall, and rising and falling lake levels. In the debate about what is a planet, Titan would be considered a planet in all ways - except that it orbits another one.

Wayne Barkhouse

Assistant Professor, Physics Department, University of North Dakota

One decade ago, the astrophysics community was shaken to its core with the announcement that the expansion rate of the Universe was speeding up rather than slowing down due to gravity. This discovery, corroborated at the time by two independent teams searching for supernovae, indicates that the Universe is filled with a mysterious negative pressure or "Dark Energy." For the past 10 years, theorists have invoked numerous mechanisms to help explain this force, including Einstein's cosmological constant, extra dimensions, quintessence, and even hypothesizing the breakdown of General Relativity on cosmological scales.

To acquire a deeper understanding of dark energy, the Dark Energy Task Force (jointly commissioned by NASA, DOE, and NSF) has recommended that an aggressive program be established to fully characterize dark energy. A part of this process includes support for a new large-area, ground-based optical survey to chart the position and brightness of several hundred million galaxies out to a redshift of order unity. The leading contender that will satisfy these requirements is the Dark Energy Survey (DES).

The DES is a 5000 square degree photometric survey that will image the South Galactic Cap in multiple filters (griz), using a new 3 sq. deg. CCD camera mounted to the Blanco 4-meter telescope in Chile. The nature of dark energy will be probed utilizing four independent, but complementary techniques: the redshift distribution of galaxy clusters, weak gravitational lensing by large-scale structure, the angular correlation of galaxies as imprinted in the baryon acoustic oscillations, and supernova distances. As a member of the DES, I will explain how these techniques will allow us to unravel the mystery of dark energy.

Presentation Slides

Melchor Antuñano

Director, Civil Aerospace Medical Institute Office of Aerospace Medicine, FAA

This presentation will discuss a number of physiological, operational, and environmental risk factors (actual and potential) for the occupants of commercial space vehicles. Actual risks include exposure to 1) high acceleration of flight profiles, 2) decreased barometric pressure, 3) microgravity, 4) solar and galactic cosmic radiation, and 4) noise and vibration. Of particular concern are the effects of exposure (short-term and long-term) to microgravity on the cardiovascular, neurological, endocrinological, muscleskeletal, and gastro-intestinal systems, among healthy and diseased passengers.

Furthermore, U.S. and Russian experience regarding space physiology and medicine involve short-term and long-term space flights, but does not address the effects of 1) frequent repetitive exposure (several times a week) to flight profiles involving normal gravity (pre-flight), acceleration (launch/take off), microgravity (space), deceleration (return), and normal gravity (post-flight), 2) frequent repetitive exposure to solar and cosmic radiation, and 3) exposure to microgravity among individuals who have medical pathology. Other potential risk factors include unexpected exposure to temperature extremes, in-flight cabin fire, cabin air contaminates, electricity, non-ionizing radiation, mechanical hazards, impact forces during crash landings, post-crash fire, emergency evacuation, and post-evacuation survival.

Paul Hardersen

Assistant Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

P. Diane Rausch

Director, Advisory Committee Management Division, Office of External Relations, NASA HQ

Since its inception, NASA has pursued a broad range of international cooperative endeavors with foreign countries. The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 established international cooperation as a fundamental objective of the Agency. To achieve this objective, NASA operates within broad U.S. Government policies, including economic, scientific, and foreign policies, and has established agency guidelines for international cooperation.

Potential benefits of international space cooperation include access to unique capabilities or expertise, increased mission flight opportunities, access to program-critical locations outside of the United States, cost-sharing, and building or reinforcing positive international relations among nations. To date, NASA has concluded thousands of agreements with over 100 nations and international organizations.

In January 2004, President Bush announced the new Vision for Space Exploration, and NASA was directed to pursue opportunities for international participation in support of the U.S. Government's new goals for human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As NASA implements the vision, the agency is promoting new international space cooperation with its foreign space partners in areas of mutual interest, through a variety of bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. At the same time, NASA will continue to develop and implement international cooperative missions, projects, and activities in its longstanding agency program areas of space science, earth science, aeronautics, and space operations.

Presentation Slides

Ashbindu Singh

Regional Coordinator, UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment

The topic of Singh's presentation is Remote Sensing in Decision Making - an International Perspective, in which he will speak about his involvement with analyzing environmental sustainability around the world. His talk will focus on how to bridge the gap between science and policy and applications and communication of Earth observations technologies for environmental assessment and warning.

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Vadim Rygalov

Assistant Professor, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

This presentation illustrates the outstanding achievements of the USSR, and later Russia, in the study and exploration of space during the past century, including the flight of the first artificial Earth satellite and orbital station MIR. It outlines man's eternal dreams of fathoming the mysteries of the Universe and the process whereby leading Soviet scientists developed, and brought to fulfillment, the theoretical and practical principles of cosmonautics.

Most of the presentation describes and illustrates the various stages of preparation and training for cosmonauts and the carrying-out of manned space flights of different durations, starting from the first in history, accomplished by Yuri Gagarin and finishing by International Programs at ISS.

Presentation Slides

Pablo de León

Research Associate, Space Studies Department, University of North Dakota

At the same time that the U.S. and the Soviet Union started their space programs, several countries in South America were also willing to enter the space race to a lesser degree. In the 1960s, Argentina started launching its own sounding rockets. In the 1970s, Brazil did the same. Today, despite the economic setbacks common to the region, several countries in South America have their space projects with advanced high-altitude rockets, several satellites in orbit, and strong research and development programs.

Cooperation between the countries of the region and international partners is also very important and reaffirms the peaceful purposes of the space research in South America.

A sample case of the non-governmental educational satellite Pehuensat-1 will be presented.

U.R. Rao

Chairman, PRL Council

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U.R. Rao

Chairman, PRL Council

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U.R. Rao

Chairman, PRL Council

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