Celestial Citizen

On this week's episode, we're joined by Dawn Marsden to discuss her book Starship Citizens: Indigenous Principles for 100 Year Interstellar Voyages, which explores how Indigenous principles can allow for more sustainable futures and equitable sharing of resources, as well as, support the philosophical, ethical and social backdrop for more meaningful space exploration.

Dawn’s work has a continuing theme, of applying Indigenous knowledge to environmental sustainability, public health & wellbeing, education, research and space sciences.  Dawn has degrees and certificates in environmental health, anthropology, environmental science, education, and nutritional therapy.  She is currently focused on applied astronautics and counseling psychology.  Dawn’s perspectives and worldview have been influenced by her Anishinaabe and French ancestry, her off-reserve locations, as well as her connections to the First Nation (Mississaugas of Scugog Island).  Dawn’s book, Starship Citizens: Indigenous Principles for 100 Year Interstellar Voyages, reflects on Indigenous principles for living good lives within communities and draws upon a lifetime of stories shared with her by Indigenous Elders and knowledge keepers across Canada.

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On this week's episode, we're joined by John Hines to discuss his experiences working at NASA Ames Research Center as the Chief Technologist, work with the Hines Family Foundation, and how we can engage more of the younger generation in space-related study and better prepare them for the changing workforce dynamic.

John is Managing Director/Chief Technical Officer at JH Technology Associates LLC (JHTA), a California technology consulting company.  John is also Executive Director/Chief Officer of the Hines Family Foundation for Education, Innovation, and Service, which is a non-profit, Atlanta, Georgia-based STEM, Innovation and Technology Workforce enabling organization.  John’s specific technology emphasis areas include small satellite projects focusing on research and technology activities involving nano- and micro-satellites; biological technologies including synthetic biology; green and sustainable technologies; low-cost commercial off-the-shelf technologies, and emerging aerospace technologies.  John retired as NASA-Ames Research Center Chief Technologist (CCT) in December, 2012, after nearly 37 years of service.  John has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tuskegee University, an M.S. in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and has nearly 50 years of combined NASA, research, Air Force R&D, STEM workforce development, and technology advocacy experience.

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Fred Scharmen to discuss his recently released book Space Forces: A Critical History of Life in Outer Space, what it means to apply a more critical and anti-colonial lens to both the history and future of space exploration, and how humanity’s relationship with outer space has always spoken volumes about how we think about life on Earth.

Fred teaches architecture and urban design at Morgan State University’s School of Architecture and Planning.  He is the co-founder of the Working Group on Adaptive Systems, an art and design consultancy based in Baltimore, Maryland.  His work as a designer and researcher is about how we imagine new spaces for future worlds, and about who is invited into them.  He received his master's degree in Architecture from Yale University and his writing has been published in the Journal of Architectural Education, Log, CLOG, Volume, and Domus.  Fred's architectural criticism has also appeared in the The Architect’s Newspaper, and in the local alt-weekly Baltimore City Paper.

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Sarah Cruddas to discuss her most recent book Look Up: Our Story with the Stars, her work as a space journalist and TV host, and how we improve Earth through future space science and exploration.

Sarah is a space journalist, international TV host and award-winning author.  She has an academic background in astrophysics and is a global thought leader in the growing commercial space sector.

On television, Sarah is one of the hosts of ‘Contact’ on Discovery Channel and Science Channel.  The show is broadcast in the US and internationally.  She is also a leading voice of space on various other television shows in the UK and US, regularly appearing on Sky, BBC, CNN, People Television, ITV News, Channel 4 News and Channel 5 News.  As well as, on various documentaries on Discovery Channel and Science Channel and UK shows including Coast, BBC Sunday Morning Live and Derren Brown.

As a writer, Sarah has authored four books about space exploration; Findout! Solar System, Do You Know about Space?, The Space Race: The Journey to the Moon and Beyond and most recently, Look Up: Our Story with the Stars.  Sarah also regularly writes about space exploration for several media outlets including The Telegraph, Politico, The Sunday Times, CNN, BBC and The Royal Aeronautical Society.

Sarah also sits on the board of directors of Space for Humanity, a global non-profit dedicated to democratizing access to space and is an honorary advocate of the Space Frontier Foundation.

Sarah’s mission is to inspire a diverse audience about why space exploration matters, how it has shaped all of our lives, and why we all need to look up a little more.

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Dr. Claire Nelson to discuss how humanity can pivot from pandemic and crisis into a bright and flourishing future both on Earth and in space by shifting to a mindset rooted in sustainability.

Dr. Nelson has been actively engaged in the business of international development for more than twenty-five years.  She works in the area of project development and management, with a particular focus on private sector development.  A renaissance woman, she is a development engineer, social entrepreneur, and futurist.

Dr. Nelson is the first Jamaican woman to earn a doctorate degree in an engineering discipline and was the only Black student in her graduating class.  Dr. Nelson holds industrial engineering degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Purdue University, as well as a doctorate in engineering management from George Washington University.

She is the founder and president of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, Chief Ideation Leader at the Futures Forum, and Lead Futurist at the Center for Sustainable Futures at Morgan State University.

Dr. Nelson is recognized as a White House Champion of Change, and sought after as a speaker on issues pertaining to economic development, globalization, and issues concerning the Caribbean and its people.

Dr. Nelson recently authored the book, SMART Futures for a Flourishing World: A Paradigm Shift for Achieving Global Sustainability, which is discussed at length in this episode and available now for purchase.

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Diana Trujillo to discuss the latest updates from the Mars Perseverance mission, how the space industry can work toward becoming more inclusive of the Latinx community, as well as Diana’s personal journey into the space industry.

Diana Trujillo is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she has served as a Flight Director and as the Robotic Arm System domain lead for the Mars Perseverance mission.

Born and raised in Colombia, Diana immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 to pursue her dream of working for NASA.  She enrolled in English as a Second Language courses, working full-time to support her studies in community college and later at the University of Florida and University of Maryland.  After graduating, she worked on the Cygnus International Space Station resupply vehicle before joining JPL.

Prior to her work with the Perseverance mission, Diana worked in several roles on the Mars Curiosity and Constellation programs since joining JPL in 2008.  Most recently, she served as the Mission Lead, Deputy Project System Engineer, and Deputy Team Chief of the Engineering division for Curiosity (also known as the Mars Science Laboratory).

In addition to her technical roles at JPL, Diana also created and hosted #JuntosPerseveramos, NASA’s first ever Spanish-language live broadcast of a major mission milestone, attracting a global audience of millions.  She continues to provide English- and Spanish-language updates on the Perseverance mission via NASA’s Martes de Marte weekly video series and via her Twitter account. 

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Neel V. Patel to discuss the recent polarization within and around the space industry, why many recent space missions and launch events have not reached the broader public as expected, and what it’s like to be a space journalist.

Neel V. Patel is a senior editor for science and innovation coverage at The Daily Beast.  Prior to that, he was the space reporter for the MIT Technology Review, and an associate editor at Inverse.  He’s been on and off (mostly on) the space beat since 2015 and his favorite planet is Neptune (it rains diamonds!).

Join us as we discuss the current landscape of space news and where the future of space exploration is headed. 

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Frank White to discuss the Overview Effect, what the future of space exploration looks like as spaceflight becomes more commonplace, and how a "universal insight" might benefit our home planet.

Frank White is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Rhodes Scholar.  He earned a Master of Philosophy in Politics from Oxford, where he was a member of New College.  The fourth edition of Frank’s best-known book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, was published by Multiverse Publishing, a division of Multiverse Media LLC, earlier this year.  Additionally, a film called “Overview,” based largely on Frank’s work, has had more than 8 million plays on Vimeo.

Frank is President of The Human Space Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization based on an idea for a global space project initially proposed in his book, The Overview Effect.  Frank also teaches at Harvard Extension School, Harvard Summer School, Boston University’s Metropolitan College, and the Kepler Space Institute.

For additional information about Frank and his work you can check out: frankwhiteauthor.com

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Dr. Alice Gorman to discuss what it means to be a space archaeologist, her thoughts on the cultural heritage and future of space exploration, orbital debris, and also her work on a very intriguing document called the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon.

Dr. Gorman is an internationally-recognized scholar in the field of space archaeology and author of the award-winning book Dr Space Junk vs the Universe: Archaeology and the Future (MIT Press, 2019).  Her research focuses on the archaeology and heritage of space exploration, including space junk, planetary landing sites, off-earth mining, and space habitats.  She is an Associate Professor at Flinders University in Adelaide and a Vice-Chair of the Global Expert Panel on Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA).

Link to the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon.

Link to purchase Dr Space Junk vs the Universe: Archaeology and the Future.

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On this week's episode, we’re joined by Richelle Gribble, space artist and analog astronaut, to discuss the interconnectivity of society, her recent large-scale space art installation 'Living Light,' and the importance of combining art + science as we look to explore humanity’s possible futures.

Richelle is an expeditionary artist exploring planetary connectivity, both on and off Earth.  Her work explores connectivity in a world where human impact, technology, and the environment collide.  She has had solo shows in Los Angeles, New York, Japan, and international orbit around Earth etched on satellites and aboard rockets.  She even has recent artworks scheduled to launch to the Moon in 2022.  Her work has been presented in the TEDx talk ‘What is our role within a Networked Society?’ and also in the ongoing art residency project ‘The Nomadic Artist,’ where she travels the world to reflect social and environmental changes across the globe.  She is an analog astronaut and Head of Creative Research for analog space missions on the Moon and Mars via Hawai'i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (better known as HI-SEAS), Sensoria Program, and Lunares Research Station.  Gribble is the Co-Founder and Director of Space Programs for Beyond Earth, an all-female artist collective exploring intersections between art, biology, and space.  Her works have been exhibited worldwide at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Museum of Design Atlanta, the United Nations, and the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

Check out a highlight video of some of Richelle's work on the Celestial Citizen YouTube Channel!

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