Dr. Andrew Aldrin is responsible for developing and integrating strategic plans for Boeing civil space programs. Dr. Aldrin gained aerospace industry experience through international business development work at the company known as TRW. Prior to that, he focused on a variety of international defense and industrial policy topics at the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Defense Analyses. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from UCLA, and MA in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the George Washington University.

Dr. Daniel J. Clancy is the Director of the Exploration Technologies Directorate at NASA Ames Research Center. The Directorate supports over 700 people performing both basic and applied research in a diverse range of technology areas intended to enable both robotic and human exploration missions. Technology areas include Intelligent Systems, High-end Computing, Human-Centered Systems, Bio/Nanotechnology, Entry Systems and others.

Prior to the formation of this new Directorate, Dr. Clancy managed the Information Sciences Directorate. Recent focus areas include: autonomy technology to enable smarter, more adaptive systems for planetary exploration, advanced human factors technologies for safe and secure airspace operations, high-end computing modeling and simulation for weather forecasting and climate prediction, highly dependable software to ensure robust operations, health management technologies for cost effective and robust access to space, and other key technology areas. As the director, Dr. Clancy has focused on the process of infusing technologies into missions and understanding how to focus the technology investment areas to ensure eventual relevance to NASA missions.

Prior to becoming the director, Dr. Clancy was the division chief of the Computational Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center. As the division chief, Dr. Clancy oversaw the Center's successful engagement with JPL to infuse advanced collaboration and autonomy technologies into the Mars Exploration Rover mission which will reach Mars in January of next year. As a researcher, Dr. Clancy led in the areas of advanced autonomy and integrated vehicle health management (IVHM) technologies to enable the development of smart systems that can respond in real-time to unknown environmental phenomenon and opportunities.

Dr. Clancy received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in artificial intelligence. While in school, Dr. Clancy also worked at Trilogy Corporation, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Xerox Webster Research center. Dr. Clancy received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University in 1985 in computer science and theatre.

Craig Cornelius manages the daily operations of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Development Programs Division and serves as lead staff to the Deputy Associate Administrator for Development. In this capacity, Cornelius assures program execution based on guidance from the DAA and manages interfaces between Division programs, leads the establishment of program requirements, acquisition strategy, conceptual and preliminary design scope, and budgets for program implementation. As the lead staff for program controls, Cornelius defines and maintains program management and control processes pursuant to NASA and Directorate regulations, monitors compliance with program baselines and commitment agreements, and initiates and conducts program reviews.

Prior to joining the Directorate staff in January 2004, Cornelius served as a systems analyst in the Strategic Investments Division of NASA Headquarters. At the Strategic Investments Division, Cornelius supported formulation of the Vision for Space Exploration and the Exploration Systems Directorate program portfolio, and served as lead analyst on ISS traffic model assessments and cross-agency technology portfolio management issues. Before beginning his term at NASA, Cornelius served as a technical and managerial advisor to the Geoinformatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand, supporting operations at ground receiving stations and user organizations.

Previous positions include terms at the National Research Council Space Studies Board and Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates. At Princeton University, where he conducted undergraduate studies in history of science and aerospace engineering, Cornelius served as Deputy Project Manager of a team that carried a stereoscopic remote sensing satellite through Preliminary Design Review. His independent research at Princeton focused on the development of subsumption-based artificial intelligence control architectures and their infusion into planetary exploration robotics.

Mark Craig began his career as a co-op student on the Apollo program at NASA in Houston. He is an expert in spacecraft design and has held technical management positions on the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs and the Mars Rover Sample Return project. He was Director of the Moon/Mars Space Exploration Initiative, architect of the NASA Strategic Plan and was Deputy Director and Acting Director of NASA's Stennis Space Center. In these positions Mr. Craig has worked with industry, the scientific community, universities, the White House, Congress, U.S. government agencies and the international space community. He is currently an Associate Director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Mr. Craig has been an advisor on space exploration to museums and attractions in the U.S. and Europe, including Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, the J. Paul Getty Trust and Space Park Bremen (Germany). He was a session keynote speaker at the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and has been a visiting lecturer at the International Space University.

Mr. Craig earned a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1971, pursued engineering post-graduate study at Rice University, and completed the MIT Sloan Program for Senior Executives in 1992. He has authored numerous articles on technical and strategic aspects of space exploration. Mr. Craig has received NASA Outstanding Leadership and Exceptional Service medals, the National Society of Professional Engineers' "Federal Engineer of the Year" Award, and is a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus of Purdue. He is Executive Vice President of the American Astronautical Society and is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

Leonard David is senior space writer for SPACE.com, part of the multi-media Imaginova^TM company that is dedicated to space, science and technological innovation across consumer, education and professional markets. Mr. David has been writing on the exploration of space since the late 1950s. His articles have been seen in a wide variety of publications, including The Financial Times, Foreign Policy Magazine, Astronomy, and Sky and Telescope, Aerospace America, Aviation Week & Space Technology, and Space News newspaper. Mr. David has been a consultant to NASA, aerospace industry, and numbers of video and television programs dealing with the future of space exploration. He is "Mars Underground" member #1, coining that term as a co-organizer of the early Case for Mars conferences held in Boulder, Colorado.

Sharon Eggleston is a Project Manager & Operations Representative SR at Lockheed Martin Information & Technology Services (LM I&TS) in Bath, Maine working design and liaison of the AEGIS Weapon System on the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers, an Adjunct Professor at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and the Northeast Regional Coordinator for Space Day Activities.

Ms. Eggleston has also provided technical liaison to several NASA Educational Outreach and Enrichment Projects (Moonlink, Mars Millennium, and EarthKAM) that have involved hundreds of Maine students to help inspire them to become future scientists and space explorers. She has developed an ongoing partnership between Lockheed Martin, NASA, the U.S. Navy, Bath Iron Works, Local and State Government Officials, Public and Private Industry, and Academia to provide thousands of Maine students with wonderful interactive hands-on experiences that have helped inspire them to continue their education in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Ms. Eggleston is currently a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Challenger Learning Center of Maine’s Education Committee, the National Business Education Association, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Since 2001, Ms. Eggleston has been a member of the Southern New Hampshire University Scholarship Selection Committee and a Judge for the Maine Space Grant Consortium’s Statewide 4th & 6th Grade Science Essay Contests. On September 21, 2004, Ms. Eggleston was awarded the Women in Aerospace Awareness Award for Excellence in Public and Educational Outreach.

Brian is Team Leader of the Toronto-based Golden Palace.com Space Program Powered by the da Vinci Project, Canada's first entry in the international X Prize Competition, and is also the founding shareholder of its parent company, ORVA Space Corp. Brian founded the da Vinci Project in 1996. He has a strong background in large project management and 3D CAD industrial design. Specific design and analytical skills are in liquid rocket propulsion engines and systems, aero structure layouts and design, RCS, flight profile and trajectory analysis.

His own business background is in closed loop life support systems specializing in the development of advanced life support solutions for aerospace, military and commercial applications. Detailed specific knowledge has been developed on the current space suit, its operation (including closed-loop methodologies, liquid cooling garments, regenerative CO₂ technology), and the study of various soft and hard suit concepts.

Henri D. Fuhrmann is a Senior Principal Engineer in the Advanced Programs Group at Orbital Sciences Corporation and is currently the Space Exploration Lead for the NASA Concept Exploration and Refinement study, with a focus on defining preliminary concepts for human lunar exploration. He has over 13 years of engineering and management experience at Orbital Sciences Corporation and the NASA Langley Research Center.

Henri served as Orbital's Flight Performance Manager on the NASA Space Launch Initiative and Orbital Space Plane Programs, and as Chief Aerodynamicist on the NASA X-34 program. He is a candidate for an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from The George Washington University and holds a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He recently received the AIAA Young Engineer of the Year Award for the National Capital Section.

Lori Garver leads the strategic planning and business development activities of DFI International's corporate space practice. Until January 2001 Ms. Garver was the Associate Administrator for Policy and Plans at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where she oversaw the analysis, development, and integration of NASA policies and long-range plans, the NASA Strategic Management System, the NASA Advisory Council, and History Division. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Garver served as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Office of Policy and Plans and as Special Assistant to Dan Goldin, the NASA Administrator.

Before joining NASA, Ms. Garver was Executive Director of the National Space Society, a space advocacy organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. In her position, she served as the organization's primary spokesperson, appearing on national television and regularly testifying on Capitol Hill. Ms. Garver is currently serving as the President of the American Astronautical Society, a not-for-profit professional society dedicated to the advancement of space development. She is a recipient of both the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal as well as the National Space Society's Space Pioneer Award.

Ms. Garver received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Colorado College in 2000. She holds a masters degree in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the George Washington University and her bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics from Colorado College.

Dr. Tim Glover graduated from Rice University with a Ph.D. in Applied Physics, after earning a master's degree in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master's in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has been part of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) experiment team at the Johnson Space Center's Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory since 1996, shortly after the Laboratory was established by its Director, Astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz.

Dr. Glover's past research experience has included orbit dynamics, astrophysical spectroscopy, a microgravity experiment, and the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster. His current work focuses on plasma diagnostics to characterize the VASIMR prototype's performance.

Loretta Hidalgo has a Masters degree in Biology from Caltech and a Bachelors degree in Biology from Stanford. Between degrees she interned at NASA in the Astronaut office, worked on the International Space Station, and investigated plant growth on Mars in the Canadian Arctic. She is the co-creator of Yuri's Night, the World Party for Space and is the North American Representative to the Space Generation Advisory Council.

Her travels have taken her around the world; in Africa she spoke to children about science; in the Arctic she worked with NASA to look at life in extreme environments; in Chile she studied Space Tourism with the International Space University and last summer she dove to the bottom of the ocean 5 times with a team of scientists and IMAX film makers to talk about the search for life in the universe. She is passionate about bringing together people who want to use space to make a difference for the planet.

Ed Hodgson is a Hamilton Sundstrand Technical Fellow and a Fellow of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. He's a space enthusiast who has been able to spend much of his technical career pursuing his dreams. After completing a B.S. in Engineering Physics and an M.A. in Physics, he went to work applying the skills he learned in research projects in both space systems and environmental pollution control at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratories. When he moved from there to Hamilton Standard 25 years ago, he continued this dual focus, working first in environmental pollution control, and then for most of the past 20 years in the design and development of space flight systems.

Although he has worked on challenges ranging from radar signature analysis to satellite attitude control, his special passion and current focus has been the one man spacecraft that lets astronauts get up close and personal with the universe. He is currently leading Hamilton Sundstrand's system concept and technology development efforts to get ready for the generations of space suit systems beyond the current EMU including those that will let Earth's first visitors to Mars explore safely.

Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman's original research interests were in high-energy astrophysics, specifically cosmic gamma ray and x-ray astronomy. His doctoral work at Harvard was the design, construction, testing, and flight of a balloon-borne, low-energy, gamma ray telescope.

Selected by NASA in January 1978, Dr. Hoffman became an astronaut in August 1979. During preparations for the Shuttle Orbital Flight Tests, Dr. Hoffman worked in the Flight Simulation Laboratory at Downey, California, testing guidance, navigation and flight control systems. He worked with the orbital maneuvering and reaction control systems, with Shuttle navigation, with crew training, and with the development of satellite deployment procedures. Dr. Hoffman served as a support crewmember for STS-5 and as a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for the STS-8 and STS-82 missions. Dr. Hoffman has been the Astronaut Office Payload Safety Representative. He also worked on EVA, including the development of a high-pressure spacesuit, and preparations for the assembly of the Space Station. Dr. Hoffman was a co-founder of the Astronaut Office Science Support Group. During 1996 he led the Payload and Habitability Branch of the Astronaut Office.

Dr. Hoffman left the astronaut program in July 1997 to become NASA's European Representative in Paris, where he served until August 2001. His principle duties were to keep NASA and NASA’s European partners informed about each other’s activities, try to resolve problems in US-European cooperative space projects, search for new areas of US-European space cooperation, and represent NASA in European media. In August 2001, Dr. Hoffman was seconded by NASA to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is a Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is engaged in several research projects using the International Space Station and teaches courses on space operations and design.

Dr. Andrew Kadak is a Professor of the Practice in the MIT Department of Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Kadak was the faculty advisor to the MIT Mars Nuclear Power Team convened jointly between the MIT Nuclear Engineering and Aeronautics & Astronautics Departments in the Spring of 2003. The team performed an extensive design study of requirements for nuclear power systems to support round-trip human missions to Mars, and provided recommendations for future development in this area.

Dr. Kadak has spent his entire career in the nuclear energy field. He graduated from Union College in 1967 and received his masters and doctorate degrees in Nuclear Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also received a masters degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University in 1983. He was formerly the President and CEO of Yankee Atomic Electric Company.

Dr. Kadak's current interests, in addition to space nuclear power, are the development of innovative new nuclear power plants such as the pebble bed reactor and improved management systems for existing and future nuclear power stations.

Michael Laine brings more than 15 years of business management and development experience for the technology, financial services and military markets, with the past three years devoted to space technology and development.

Laine was co-founder and president of HighLift Systems, a Seattle-based company that received funds from NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) to research building an elevator to space. Prior to creating HighLift Systems, Laine was chief executive officer and founder of TEKnology-Laine LLC, a Bremerton, Wash.- based Internet conglomerate, which he owned and operated from 1996 to 2001. Prior to TEKnology-Laine, Laine worked in a variety of positions in the financial services industry, providing advice for investments, insurance and real estate, as well as business operations consulting. Prior to that, Laine served in the United States Marine Corps, where he coordinated, tested and trained other instructors to implement a pilot program of hand-to-hand combat for Marines in a variety of schools and class situations. These training techniques were implemented throughout the Marine Corps two years later, and now is a formal part of all United States Marine Corps development.

As president and founder of LiftPort Inc., the commercial, for-profit company devoted to the commercial development of an elevator to space, Michael Laine is turning a lifetime interest in space into a professional venture.

Dr. Johannes Loschnigg is a professional staff member for the House of Representatives Committee on Science (subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics). Dr. Loschnigg first came to Capitol Hill as an American Association for the Advancement of Science congressional science and technology policy fellow in 2002.

From 1998-2002, Dr. Loschnigg was affiliated with the University of Hawaii, where he initially worked as post-doctoral fellow and later became a member of its research faculty. In addition, he held positions as graduate research and scientific assistant at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the NASA Ames Research Center, the Department of Physics at the University of Freiburg in Germany, and the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Loschnigg holds a B.A. in Physics and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and both a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Gary Martin was named NASA's Space Architect on October 11, 2002. In this position, Mr. Martin leads the development of strategic architectures and identifies high-level requirements for systems that will accomplish the Nation's space exploration vision.

Mr. Martin began his career at NASA in 1990 representing the needs of the microgravity science community to the designers of the Space Station. During this time he managed technology development and space flight hardware such as the Space Acceleration Measurements System and the Microgravity Glovebox, families of hardware whose units flew on both Shuttle and Mir and are now on the International Space Station. Mr. Martin spent four years (1997-2000) at Goddard Space Flight Center, first as a Program Integration Manager for two space science organizations (Structure and Evolution of the Universe and the Astronomical Search for Origins) and then as the Chief of a new office created to manage technology programs for Headquarters, such as, the Cross-Enterprise Technology Program, Earth Science Technology Office and the Agency's Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

Mr. Martin moved back to Headquarters in 2000 and served as Assistant Associate Administrator for Advanced Systems in NASA's Office of Space Flight from July 2000 until the appointment to be Space Architect in 2002. During this time, he led multi-Enterprise, multi-Center strategic planning teams, the Decadal Planning Team and the NASA Exploration Team.

Prior to joining Space Adventures, Mr. Moltzan worked as U.S. project manager for the economic development agency of the German state government of Baden-Wuerttemberg. He also co-founded a Washington-based consulting firm, European - U.S. Marketing, Inc., and he holds a business & communications degree from the University of Maryland. A life-long space enthusiast, John is originally from Germany. He has been living in the United States for 12 years and has been with Space Adventures for the last five years. As Director of Business Development he has been closely involved in Dennis Tito's and Mark Shuttleworth's flights to the ISS, as well as a host of corporate promotions which have helped bring space flight and space experiences closer to the public.

Ben Muniz, founding Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Constellation Services International, is a space systems engineer with twenty two years of experience in the industry. Prior to CSI, he was a Senior Staff Engineer in the Space Systems Architecture group at Hughes Space & Communications (HSC), the world's largest commercial communications satellite company at that time. He served as HSC's leader of Competitive Technical Intelligence and was responsible for recognizing, projecting and analyzing the performance of emerging technologies within the satellite industry. Prior to that, he was employed at Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International, where he was the Lead Engineer for On-Orbit Structural Loads and Dynamics in the System Engineering, Integration and Operations (SEI&O) Product Area on NASA's Space Station program. He started his career at Grumman Aerospace, where he worked on a variety of projects that ranged from initial concept designs to development and production flight test.

Mr. Muniz is an accomplished project manager and team leader, and his honors and awards include a NASA Group Achievement Award for his part in helping to resolve Plume Impingement Issues related to Space Shuttle rendezvous and docking with the Space Station, election as a Senior Member in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a listing in Marquis Who's Who in Science and Engineering. He has also served in elected leadership roles in the Space Frontier Foundation, National Space Society, and the California Space Development Council. Mr. Muniz holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson College of Technology, a Certificate in Astronautical Engineering from UCLA (Extension), and Certificate with Honors from the International Space University Summer Session in Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Dava Newman is a Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT, a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, a Harvard-MIT Health, Sciences and Technology Affiliate Faculty Member and is the Director of the Technology and Policy Program. She conducts multidisciplinary efforts combining aerospace bioengineering, human-in-the-loop dynamics and control modeling, biomechanics, human interface technology, life sciences, and systems analysis and design.

Dr. Newman served as a member of the NRC Committee on Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space and the Committee on Engineering Challenges to the Long-Term Operation of the International Space Station, as well as participated in the Space Studies Board Space Policy Workshop, and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board’s Steering Committee for the Human and Robotic Workshops. Her current research areas include advanced space suit design and navigation aids for astronaut extravehicular activity, and dynamics and control of astronaut motion.

Draper Laboratory

Robert (Bob) Richards is the Director of the Space and Atmospheric Division of Optech Incorporated. After completing his undergraduate degree in engineering at Ryerson University he went on to graduate work in Engineering Physics and Space Science at Cornell University where he became special assistant to professor Carl Sagan.

Bob is a veteran of international space development. In 1987 he Founded the International Space University with Peter Diamandis and Todd Hawley. Prior to creating ISU the student trio founded the Students for the Exploration and Developmen of Space (SEDS) and the Space Generation Foundation.

He is a contributing author of Blueprint for Space, a book chronicling the development of the space age, published by the Smithsonian Institution. His professional career has focused on commercial space activities and private business interests while remaining actively engaged in international space development with the ISU and other space organizations.

Bob has received several international space awards, including the K.E. Tsiolkovski Medal, the Space Frontier Award, and the Aviation Week & Space Technology Laurel.

Paul Spudis is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland and Visiting Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. He was formerly with the Branch of Astrogeology, U. S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona and the Lunar and Planetary Institute. He is a geologist who received his education at Arizona State University (B.S., 1976; Ph.D., 1982) and at Brown University (Sc.M., 1977).

Since 1982, he has been a Principal Investigator in the Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program of the NASA Office of Space Science, Solar System Exploration Division, specializing in research on the processes of impact and volcanism on the planets. He has served on NASA’s Lunar and Planetary Sample Team (LAPST), which advises allocations of lunar samples for scientific research, the Lunar Exploration Science Working Group (LEXSWG), that devised scientific strategies of lunar exploration, and the Planetary Geology Working Group, which monitors overall directions in the planetary research community. He has also been a member of the Committee for Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX), an advisory committee of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Synthesis Group, a White House panel that in 1990-1991, analyzed a return to the Moon to establish a base and the first human mission to Mars. He was Deputy Leader of the Science Team for the Department of Defense Clementine mission to the Moon in 1994.

He was a member of the President’s Commission on the Implementation of U. S. Space Exploration Policy, whose report was issued June, 2004 and was presented with the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for his work on that body. He is the author or co-author of over 150 scientific papers and three books, including The Once and Future Moon, a book for the general public in the Smithsonian Library of the Solar System series, and (with Ben Bussey) The Clementine Atlas of the Moon, published in 2004 by Cambridge University Press.

Dr. John Stevens is Director of Space Exploration Architecture Studies for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this position he is responsible for leading and coordinating all LMC trade studies to address how to return humans to the Moon and then on to Mars.

Dr. Stevens has a broad and diverse background of experience at Lockheed Martin that includes launch vehicles, commercial telecommunication and defense satellite programs, and aircraft intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance programs. He has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology.

Named one the top one hundred most influential people in the space field by Space News, Rick Tumlinson is the Co-Founder of the Space Frontier Foundation, which has been called "pound for pound the most effective space organization on Earth." Mr. Tumlinson worked for noted scientist Gerard K. O'Neill at the Space Studies Institute, founded the New York L-5 Society, and was a key player in starting the Lunar Prospector project which discovered hints of water on the moon. He also helped pass the Space Settlement Act of 1988, testified before President Reagan's National Commission on Space, and was a founding trustee of the X PRIZE.

Rick is Executive Director and co-Founder of the Foundation for the International Non-Governmental Development of Space (FINDS), a foundation which funds breakthrough projects and activities such as Helium 3 research, laser launch studies, and asteroid processing projects. The organization provided $100k in seed money for the Mars Society, operated the Cheap Access to Space Prize and supported such projects as The WATCH asteroid search program. FINDS also underwrote and co-sponsored a very successful series of Senate Roundtables on space issues in conjunction with the Foundation and the lobby Pro-Space over the last few years.

To support his activism, Tumlinson produced the animated videos used to gain funding for the Air Force's DC-X rocket project, the International Space University, the X-33 rocket program, the Air Force's Space Command and created the first ever paid political announcement for space. He co-founded the firm LunaCorp which produced the first ever TV commercial shot on the International Space Station for Radio Shack. He led the team which turned the Mir Space Station into the world's first commercial space facility, and was a co-founder of the space firm MirCorp. Along the way he personally signed up Dennis Tito, the world's first "citizen explorer," and has assisted in numerous other such projects.

Rick has appeared on the front page of the New York Times, has been featured in two issues of Popular Science, and appeared as an expert guest on the "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNBC's "Open Exchange" and was quoted in papers such as the Washington Post, LA Times, and the Orlando Sentinel, regarding the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. He also appears often as a space commentator on CNN. He has been a consultant to the Heinlein Prize Organization and is leading an effort to get the United States to Return to the Moon and explore Mars. Rick is working on a book, "The Case for the Moon," and is starting his own space firm, "XTreme Space."

Draper, who provided the guidance system that last landed a human on the moon, will provide an overview of the engineering challenges offered by NASA's Vision for Exploration. These challenges provide exciting opportunities for future engineers who have an interest in space exploration. The talk will start with a brief review of the NASA Vision for Exploration and potential mission architectures needed to accomplish the Vision's goals. From this, the technical challenges necessary for the architecture to be realized shall be described - mission application, requirements, state-of-the-art, and development need. The goal of the presentation is to instill a new sense of engineering adventure to the upcoming generation of engineers.

Dr. Seamus Tuohy is responsible for identifying and pursuing new space business opportunities for Draper. He currently leads Draper's program development for NASA's Vision for Exploration including Project Constellation. He has had a role in developing programs at Draper critical to the nation's space effort including: DARPA's Orbital Express, USAF's XSS-11, and, most recently, the Hubble Robotic Vehicle. He is a recognized expert in rendezvous, avionics integration for launch systems, and autonomous space operations.

In 1996, Robert Walker was the first sitting House Member to be awarded NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, and in 2004, was presented NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal. He continues his involvement in space policy as a board member of the Aerospace Corporation, SpaceDev, and as Vice Chairman of the Space Foundation. In naming Walker as one of the 100 most prominent space leaders of the last 15 years, Space News called him, “one of Washington’s most influential lobbyists” whose “stature and influence have only grown since leaving Congress.”

Considered one of Washington’s most influential lobbyists, he chaired the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry in 2002 and served on the Presidential Commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy in 2004. He continues to serve on the Aviation and Space Engineering Board of the National Research Council.

Dr. Brad R. Weiner joined the NASA Education team in January 2004. He brings a wealth of experience in the administration of research and science education programs to lead the Division of Higher Education. Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Weiner served as the Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, and as the Director of Puerto Rico Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (PR-EPSCoR) and the Director of the Puerto Rico Space Grant (NASA) Consortium. Through his role in PR-EPSCoR and as Dean, Dr. Weiner was active in many university and government level committees for the development of Science and Technology in Puerto Rico.

In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Weiner maintained an active research program utilizing laser-based techniques to study the dynamics of chemical reactions relevant to the atmosphere and materials science. He has co-authored over sixty publications in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Weiner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Grinnell College in 1981, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California - Davis in 1986, and served as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory prior to joining the faculty at the University of Puerto Rico in 1988.

George T. Whitesides is the Executive Director of the National Space Society. He received his Masters degree in Remote Sensing from Cambridge University, and his BA from Princeton in Public and International Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar, and served on Princeton ’s Board of Trustees. He is the co-founder of Yuri’s Night and the Project Director of Permission to Dream, an international educational charity based around astronomy.

Whitesides began his career at Orbital Sciences Corporation, as Special Assistant to the President. He also served as VP of Marketing at Zero Gravity Corporation, a private space tourism company. Whitesides has been featured on MTV and NPR as a young leader in space. As part of the Under Africa Skies Project, he traveled through Africa as a space educator in 2001.

Deputy Director for Operations, U.S. Strategic Command

Dr. Robert Zubrin holds a master's degree in Aeronautics & Astronautics and a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. He is the inventor of several unique concepts for space propulsion and exploration, the author of over 100 published technical and non-technical papers in the field, as well the books The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must (Simon and Schuster, 1996), Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization (Tarcher-Putnam, 1999) and First Landing (Ace Putnam, 2001).

As an engineer at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), he co-developed the "Mars Direct" plan for affordable manned Mars missions. He is now president of his own space R&D company, Pioneer Astronautics, and he is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Most recently, he founded the Mars Society, an international organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars by both public and private means. Prior to his work in astronautics, Dr. Zubrin was employed in areas of thermonuclear fusion research, nuclear engineering, radiation protection, and as a high school science teacher.