The Mars Society is pleased to welcome Dr. Alan Stern, NASA’s Principal Investigator for its New Horizons mission that successfully explored Pluto and its moons and is currently navigating the Kuiper Belt, as a virtual plenary speaker during its 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 15-18.
A respected planetary scientist and author, Dr. Stern serves as Associate Vice President at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. His academic research has focused on the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, comets, the satellites of the outer planets, the Pluto system and the search for evidence of solar systems around other stars.
In 2007-08, Dr. Stern served as Associate Administrator at NASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. During his tenure, a record 10 major new flight projects were initiated and deep reforms of the agency’s scientific research and educational outreach programs were put into place.
Dr. Stern consults for a variety of aerospace companies and institutions, including Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, the Moon Express Google Lunar X-PRIZE team, Ball Aerospace, Paragon Space Development Corporation and Johns Hopkins University. He is also chief science officer of World View, a near-space ballooning company, as well as CEO of Uwingu and The Golden Spike Company.
This year’s global Mars Society teleconvention will be free of charge (although donations are welcome). For full registration details, please click here. Regular updates, including a list of confirmed speakers, will be posted in the coming weeks on the Mars Society web site and its social media platforms.
