Celestial Citizen

On this week's episode, we're joined by Nicolas Nelson, MD candidate and Operations Director at Out Astronaut. We’ll discuss the emerging field of space medicine and its importance for the future of space activities, the current climate for the LGBTQ+ community in the space industry, and what Out Astronaut is doing to make space more diverse and inclusive.

Nicolas is a medical student with plans to become a radiation oncologist and flight surgeon, taking care of cancer patients on Earth while conducting astronaut health surveillance and radiation research. Two of his goals have been to encourage aspiring LGBTQ+ professionals in science and to advocate for planetary stewardship. He cofounded the AMSRO Diversity Committee, which is taking strides to support diversity and inclusion in astronautics and aerospace medicine.

He earned a bachelor’s at University of California, Los Angeles in biochemistry and English, after which he taught junior high science and worked as a hospital pharmacy technician, then a research assistant and teaching assistant at his post-baccalaureate program. At his medical school, Thomas Jefferson University, he externed in radiation oncology while keeping active in the aerospace medicine community.

While working toward his MD, he continues to be involved in the Out Astronaut Project, cancer research, and other space medicine activities. Nic remains a bicoastal lover of nature and exploration who hopes to wear many hats in his career: clinician, researcher, advocate, global health volunteer, medical educator, and one day, maybe even astronaut.

Links mentioned during this episode:

Out Astronaut Project: https://outastronaut.org/ (includes link to make tax-deductible donations)

Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA): https://www.asma.org/home

AsMA Scholarships: https://asma-scholarships.secure-platform.com/a/

Aerospace Medicine Student & Resident Organization (AMSRO): https://www.amsro.org/

NASA/UTMB Aerospace Medicine Clerkship: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/aerospace-medicine-clerkship

AMSRO Diversity Committee: [email protected]

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This week, we have a special episode with Chelsea “Foxanne” Gohd ahead of the September 10th release of her upcoming single, “I Could Go On,” which will be brought along to space on the upcoming Inspiration4 mission on September 15th!  And we are super excited to provide listeners of the podcast with a special sneak preview of the single today ahead of its release!

On this episode, we’ll discuss Foxanne’s path to becoming a space musician, how her work speaks to some of the big, unanswered questions of human existence, and the role music will play in building a future space culture.

Chelsea is a senior writer at Space.com, where she writes articles and creates, scripts, and hosts videos about science topics ranging from climate change to exoplanet exploration and human spaceflight.  She is also an analog astronaut, having completed an analog Mars mission, Sensoria M2, at HI-SEAS in 2020.

Chelsea is also a musician and writes, performs and records indie-pop music under the pseudonym Foxanne.  As Foxanne, she released her debut full-length record in 2020, titled "It's real (I knew it)," named after an iconic scene from the hit sci-fi film Galaxy Quest.  The album features a number of space-y Easter eggs, including audio from the OA-9 rocket launch, a 2018 cargo mission that launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, and a song written from the perspective of NASA's Opportunity rover.

Following this album, in 2021, she released "Hello, Mars," a song featuring the first audio recorded on the surface of Mars, recently captured by NASA's Perseverance rover.

And tomorrow, she will release her upcoming single "I Could Go On," an expressive, cosmic, indie pop-and-soul tune that uses an upbeat vibe to convey a message about struggling to try and find meaning in existence.

The song, which includes subtle nods to space and science, will be released alongside a music video filmed at the Liberty Science Center's planetarium.  The song will even go to SPACE! The single will ride along to space on the personal playlist of Foxanne's friend Dr. Sian Proctor, an astronaut who will bring the song on her upcoming mission to Earth's orbit, known as Inspiration4.

Follow Foxanne on Spotify!

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On this week's episode, we’re joined by Justin Cyrus and Dr. Forrest Meyen of Lunar Outpost - an emerging leader in the new Cislunar economy pushing the bounds of robotics in extreme environments, and enabling a sustainable presence on the Moon and Mars.  We'll discuss some exciting, recent announcements from Lunar Outpost, what a sustainable lunar presence looks like, and the challenges and rewards of being a space entrepreneur.

One of the guests on the show, Justin Cyrus, is the CEO of Lunar Outpost.  Justin attended UC Boulder where he received his undergraduate degree in electrical and electronics engineering, and has a master's degree in space resources and electrical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. 

I’m also joined by, Dr. Forrest Meyen, Chief Strategy Officer of Lunar Outpost.  Previously, Forrest was the founder of Destiny Space Systems which was acquired by Lunar Outpost earlier this year.  Forrest is also a member of NASA’s science team for the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, better known as MOXIE.  Forrest received his undergraduate degree in mechanical and biological engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aeronautics and Astronautics.

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In this week's episode, we’re chatting with Dr. Jessie Christiansen about the fascinating field of exoplanets and the search for habitable worlds.  We'll also discuss her thoughts on the upcoming Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, and what it really means to be a planet hunter.

My guest on the show, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, is an astrophysicist and Deputy Science Lead at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.  She searches for, studies, and catalogs extrasolar planets – which are those planets orbiting other stars.  She has worked on many NASA planet-hunting projects, including the EPOXI, Kepler, and TESS missions.  For her work on uncovering how common planets are throughout the Galaxy with the Kepler mission, Jessie was awarded the 2018 NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal.

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In this week's episode, we’ll cover what advocacy looks like in the fields of human rights, disability rights and space law - as well as, how these important topics intersect.  We'll also discuss how we can work to make life both on and off this planet more inclusive and accessible for everyone.

My guest on the show, AJ Link, received his JD from The George Washington University Law School.  His studies focused extensively on disability law, international human rights, and space law.  AJ has been actively involved with disability advocacy in the Washington, D.C. area and nationally within the United States.

While at GW, he chaired the Diversity and Inclusion Assembly for the Student Association and the Student Life Committee.  He also founded the Atypical Student Society, a student organization for neurodiverse and disabled law students, and served as its inaugural president.  AJ was the president of the GW Space Law Society and co-chaired the Student Affinity Group Enterprise.

AJ was awarded the Michael Dillon Cooley Memorial Award by his graduating class for his compassion and humanity in serving his fellow students.  He serves on several advisory boards that focus on disability advocacy and social justice.  AJ is openly autistic.  He was a 2020 Disability:IN NextGen Leader and was inducted into the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame.

AJ is currently pursuing an LL.M in Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, while also chairing The Center for Air and Space Law Task Force on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Aerospace and a Senior Editor of the Journal of Space Law.  He works as a research director for the Jus Ad Astra project and serves as co-president of the National Disabled Law Students Association, which he co-founded.

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Celestial Citizen Podcast is back for another season and ready to cover all the social and cultural issues of space that are too often ignored.  Season 2 will continue with all the content you love but also add in a much wider variety of topics, so that we can truly start planning humanity’s collective future in space.

I’m your host, Britt Duffy Adkins, founder of Celestial Citizen, a space media company that emerged from a desire to see more urban planning strategy and action applied to the future of space exploration - in the hopes that we could approach the hard topics of society-building off-Earth in a more equitable and inclusive way.  Join us as we dive into all that it will take to help humanity scale to a spacefaring species while still remaining grounded in our commitment to saving this planet.

On this season of Celestial Citizen Podcast, we will talk about the search for other habitable worlds, disability rights in space, space law, the importance of space art for capturing people’s imaginations as we test humanity’s technological capabilities to venture out into the unknown, how to support and become a better ally for the LGBTQ+ community in the space industry, space archaeology, as well as sustainable futures on the Moon.  There will also be discussion of space entrepreneurship, updates on the Perseverance Rover, and so much more that we can’t wait to surprise you with in the coming weeks!

This season will also see the release of our first-ever narrative project – where we will share the stories of women who know all too well the challenges of trying to pursue a career in STEM and space fields.  Keep an ear out for other special episodes throughout the season!

In the words of Mae Jemison…

"Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination."

Let’s imagine a better space future together.  We, who are bursting with stardust, can become Celestial Citizens.

www.celestialcitizen.com

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On this week's episode, we'll celebrate the wrap of season 1 of Celestial Citizen Podcast and revisit some highlights and fun moments with guests of the show! 

Thank you to all of the amazing individuals that joined this season of Celestial Citizen Podcast and shared their stories, insights, and unique perspectives.  You all have made this a truly memorable first season.

I also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful and growing community of celestial citizens that tune in every week to this podcast and have been an all-around awesome and engaging group of listeners.  Your loyalty, trust, and attention is a motivating force behind all the work at Celestial Citizen Podcast. 

Last but not least, thank you to Victor Figueroa, this show’s editor, for always working tirelessly to make sure that Celestial Citizen Podcast is on the top of its game week after week.  Also thank you to Graham Clark who created the amazing music for this podcast.

See you next season!

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On this week's episode, we’ll discuss the increasing risk of potential collisions in our near Earth space environment as the problem of orbital debris continues to worsen, and what we can all do to become space environmentalists and better stewards of the shared commons of our sky.

My guest on the show, Dr. Moriba Jah, joined the Oden Institute core faculty in 2018 at the University of Texas at Austin, and is currently serving as an associate professor of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.  His research interests are in non-gravitational astrodynamics and advanced/non-linear multi-sensor/object tracking, prediction, and information fusion.  His expertise is in space object detection, tracking, identification, and characterization, as well as spacecraft navigation.

He earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder specializing in astrodynamics and statistical orbit determination.

Prior to joining UT Austin, Dr. Jah was the Director of the University of Arizona’s Space Object Behavioral Sciences with applications to Space Domain Awareness, Space Protection, Space Traffic Monitoring, and Space Debris research to name a few.  Preceding that, Dr. Jah was the lead for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Advanced Sciences and Technology Research Institute for Astronautics and also previously served as a spacecraft navigator for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA.

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On this week's episode, we'll discuss the important role that data science and technological infrastructure play both here on Earth and also in space, specifically for African countries.

My guest on today’s show, Sylvia Makario, is an expert in Geospatial engineering and Space technology.  She is a Co-founder of Hepta Analytics, a data analytics company that is headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda.  Sylvia is also an Industry Innovation Lab Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Engineering and Space Technology from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Science in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. 

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On this week's episode, I sit down with an international lawyer to discuss his recent efforts to debunk SpaceX’s attempts to claim “Mars as a free planet," why the field of space law can no longer be overlooked by the broader legal community, and how science fiction plays into the way we think about future legal and governance frameworks.

My guest on today’s episode, is Cristian van Eijk, author of the viral article, "Sorry, Elon: Mars is not a legal vacuum - and it's not yours, either."  Cris is currently finishing an accelerated law degree at the University of Cambridge.  He holds a bachelor of arts cum laude in International Justice and an LLM in Public International Law from Leiden University, and has previously worked at the T.M.C. Asser Institute and the International Commission on Missing Persons.

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