Space Science

NASA's space science efforts address some of humankind's most fundamental questions: What's out there? Where did we come from? Are we alone? NASA's quest for answers comes through its Great Observatories Program—four orbiting observatories that detect different wavelengths of light.

The Hubble Space Telescope (launched in 1990) operates primarily at visible wavelengths and has recorded thousands of images. The Chandra X-ray Observatory (launched in 1999) observes X-rays that are emitted from high-energy regions of the universe. The Spitzer Space Telescope (launched in 2003) obtains images by detecting infrared energy—that is, heat—thereby peering deep into the hearts of galaxies and interstellar clouds of gas and dust hidden from optical telescopes. Newest is the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (launching in 2008), which will study some of the universe's most exotic objects—including black holes, neutron stars, and powerful jets from active galaxies—all of which generate highly energetic gamma rays. Future missions include the launch in 2013 of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will operate primarily at infrared wavelengths to study the origin, evolution, and structure of our universe.

Featured at the Festival:

Arthur Aikin, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
A scientist who retired from NASA in 2002, Arthur spent many years researching the solar-terrestrial area, particularly the lower ionosphere. He has been a guest investigator on the Solar Maximum mission and has led many sounding rocket expeditions, including two campaigns to launch rockets into solar eclipses.

Shadan Ardalan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Shadan is a senior member of the navigation team for the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. He began his career as a co-op student working for the Aerospace Corporation and since then has worked as an attitude control engineer and navigator on such historic programs as the Galileo mission orbiting Jupiter, Mars Odyssey (in support of the Mars rovers), and Deep Impact.

Shari Asplund, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Shari manages education and public outreach efforts for NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers programs of pioneering space science investigations. She shares the excitement and meaning of NASA's discoveries with students, educators, and the public by developing and writing Web site content, newsletters, and engaging educational materials.

Todd Barber, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Todd is a senior propulsion engineer, now working as lead propulsion engineer on the Cassini mission to Saturn following part-time work on the Mars Exploration Rover and Deep Impact missions. He also worked as the lead impactor propulsion engineer on Deep Impact, which successfully crashed into Comet Tempel-1 on Independence Day 2005 at 23,000 miles per hour.

Ron Bastien, Jacobs Engineering and Science Contract Group/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Ron is a team member of the Stardust, Cosmic Dust, and Space-Exposed Hardware collections for the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science department. He serves as a sample extractor and documentation specialist for these collections and has more than twenty-five years of experience working with extraterrestrial sample collections at NASA.

Dominic Benford, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Dominic is deputy principal investigator of the Destiny mission concept study to measure dark energy. His astronomical interests focus on the infrared properties of galaxies and their evolution. He has pursued research in continuum detectors for ground-based submillimeter observations, near-Terahertz heterodyne receiver technology, cryogenic systems for space observatories, and the development of instrumentation using ultrasensitive bolometers for far-infrared and submillimeter astronomy.

Max Bernstein, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
After studying chemistry at McGill and Cornell universities, Max entered space science and never looked back. He has been the principal investigator on numerous NASA grants and has published more than twenty-five first-author peer reviewed research papers on topics ranging from the chemistry of the interstellar medium, star-forming regions, and planetary nebulae to astrobiology, including the origins of and search for life.

Jacob Bleacher, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Jacob is a volcanologist who characterizes planetary volcanic provinces through a combination of terrestrial field studies and spacecraft data analysis. His current research combines geomorphology, basaltic volcanology, planetary geology, fieldwork, remote sensing, and GIS-based data analysis.

Lora Bleacher, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Lora works as an outreach specialist on the education and public outreach teams for several NASA missions, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the MESSENGER mission to Mercury, and the Mars Science Laboratory rover. Her primary interest is working with informal learning institutions, such as museums and science centers, to increase public understanding of science.

Beth Brown, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
As a NASA astrophysicist, Beth uses physics to study things like stars, supernovae, galaxies, and other objects in space. Most recently, she was engaged in the NASA Administrator's Fellowship Program, where she was able to teach astronomy to college students, conduct research on black holes, and become closely involved in NASA education projects.

Ginger Butcher, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Ginger started working at the Goddard Space Flight Center in 1997 by developing Web sites and other educational products. Her Echo the Web site was launched in 1998 and helped students from fifth to eighth grade learn about the electromagnetic spectrum and false-color satellite imagery. She also created an interactive Web site for younger students based on a story about Amelia the Pigeon.

Allan Cheuvront, Lockheed Martin, Denver, Colorado
Allan Cheuvront has worked with Lockheed Martin since 1980 and has participated in three deep-space missions since 1988. He currently works as the flight system program manager for the Stardust-NExT mission.

Troy Cline, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Troy is the educational technologist for NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum team. Before joining NASA, he was a high school mathematics teacher and educational technology coordinator at an alternative high school in Virginia. He previously taught in a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school and in the Peace Corps in Chad as an algebra and geometry teacher.

John Cooper, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
John is an expert on space radiation environments in the Solar System. He has participated in the Pioneer 11, Voyager 2, Galileo, and Cassini missions to, respectively, Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, and again Saturn. He is working with other space scientists to plan future missions to these planetary systems.

David DelMonte, Washington D.C.
David is a retired World Bank staff member who is an avid fan and supporter of the space programs. He has had a long career in computer and communications technology, starting work with computers in the mid-1960s. He visits schools and civic centers to provide presentations and facilitate discussions on NASA's manned and unmanned space explorations.

Emilie Drobnes, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
As the education and public outreach lead for the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Emilie is responsible for the development and implementation of the NASA Family Science Night, the Sunday Experiment, and other programs. Her main goal is to excite students, teachers, and families about science—ultimately changing their perceptions of what science is and who scientists are.

Therese Errigo, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Therese was the lead contamination engineer for the SOHO, STEREO, and IMAGE (dedicated to imaging the Earth's magneto-sphere) missions and a consultant and instrument engineer for Hinode, a project to study the sun, led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. She is currently working on the Sample Analysis on Mars.

Don Fairfield, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
While working at NASA for the past forty-two years, Don has conducted research on many aspects of the solar wind interaction with Earth's magnetosphere. His particular interests are the Earth's magnetic tail and its relationship to aurora and magnetic storms. For the past fifteen years, he has been NASA's project scientist for the Geotail spacecraft.

Lisa Fletcher, Jacobs Engineering and Science Contract Group/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Lisa is the facility engineer within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate, where she is responsible for the facility projects associated with the various astromaterials sample collections and research facilities. She grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and received her BS in industrial engineering from Virginia Tech and her professional engineering license in the state of Texas.

Brenda Franklin, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena California
As a planetary geologist, Brenda has been mapping Mars from orbital images for more than twenty years. Now an invited collaborator with the Athena Science Team on Mars Exploration Rovers, she contributes to decisions about which surface features to visit and study, why they are important, and how this information can be used to build the geologic history of Mars.

Daniel Garrison, Jacobs Engineering and Science Contract Group/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Dan is chief scientist for Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science under the Engineering and Science Contract Group for basic and applied research in the field of planetary science, astromaterials curation, and exploration science. Dan spent twenty years conducting noble gas cosmochemistry research on meteorites, Martian meteorites, and lunar samples to determine chronology, cosmic-ray exposure history, and planetary atmospheres.

Eddie Gonzales, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
After working in the legal field for over fifteen years, Eddie joined NASA in 2001.  As an administrator in the Education Office, he manages databases and works directly with NASA Headquarters for the Science Mission Directorate. Eddie is part of the Business Administration Team and a team member of the Solar System Forum.

Kevin Grazier, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Kevin holds dual titles of investigation scientist and science planning engineer for the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. He has written mission planning and analysis software that has won numerous awards and continues research involving computer simulations of solar system dynamics, evolution, and chaos. He teaches classes in stellar astronomy, planetary science, cosmology, and the search for extraterrestrial life at several universities.

Roger Harrington, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Roger is a sample collections processor in the Lunar and the Meteorite laboratories. He processes samples in both laboratories for allocation to scientists, museums, and educational institutions around the world. Roger has also worked for a geotechnical engineering firm and has taught geology and oceanography at the college level.

Jeffrey Hayes, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Jeffrey is a heliophysics discipline scientist, who has also served as program executive for various astrophysics missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, GALEX, and FUSE. Prior to NASA, he was team lead on the NPOESS satellite software group with Raytheon, faculty member at New Mexico State University, and resident astronomer for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Paul Hertz, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Paul is a senior scientist in the Science Mission Directorate and serves as senior advisor to the associate administrator of science. He has been program scientist for several projects, including the Structure and Evolution of the Universe Program, the Explorer Program, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Discovery Program. He has authored or co-authored more than one hundred scientific papers.

Steele Hill, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Steele is the media specialist for the SOHO and STEREO solar study missions. For more than eleven years, he has produced CDs, posters, illustrations, video clips, litho sets, cards, and more to support educators and outreach events. He responds to media requests and consults with museums and media production companies to get them the images and information resources they need.

David Hurd, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Pennsylvania
David is professor of geosciences and director of the planetarium at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. His goal is to make the physical sciences visible to students who are visually impaired or blind. Trained as an astronomer and atmospheric scientist, David has developed techniques for representing the stars and universe in a very tactile way.

Terry Hurford, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Terry studies geophysics, planetary tectonics, and deformations and stress. Much of his research focuses on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. He received a BS in astronomy and physics and a PhD in planetary science, both from the University of Arizona.

Daniel Hurley, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Daniel Hurley is a team chief on the Mars Exploration Rover and has worked for twenty-five years with missions studying Mars, Venus, Earth, and the infrared sky. His jobs have included mission control, integration and testing, software tool development, and systems engineering.

Lindley Johnson, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Lindley is program scientist for NASA's Planetary Astronomy and Near Earth Object Observation programs. He was also the program executive for the Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel 1. Lindley joined NASA shortly after retirement from twenty-three years of Air Force active duty, during which he worked on a variety of national security space systems and obtained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Anne Kascak, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Anne has worked for eight years for the Astromaterials Curation Facility. As a business specialist, she performs property control administration for Lunar, Antarctic Meteorites, Cosmic Dust, Stardust, and Genesis samples. She is also a point of contact for researchers and public institutions worldwide. She is a resource on extraterrestrial materials and curation for the data and publications library.

Michael Kelley, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Mike is the new program scientist for the Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program and the Planetary Data System. He also serves as program scientist for the EPOXI and Stardust-NExT Discovery Spacecraft missions. He is a long-time visiting astronomer at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and served as chair of the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America and its award committees.

Terry Kucera, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
As a solar physicist working on the STEREO and SOHO missions, Terry studies different aspects of the sun's atmosphere using data from telescopes in space and on the ground. Originally from the Chicago area, Terry received a BA from Carleton College and a PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Elaine Lewis, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Elaine is a science educator and curriculum developer who has coordinated the GLOBE program, the JASON Project, and Sun-Earth Day. Together with spacecraft mission personnel, she made near real-time NASA space weather data accessible for inquiry-based learning. She also coordinates distance-learning training opportunities.

Colette Lohr, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Colette is a senior software systems engineer who has been working on the Mars Exploration Rover Project since 2001 and in mission systems support for the Constellation Program since 2006. She joined the Laboratory in 1999 after receiving her BS in computer science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
 
Lou Mayo, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Lou is a planetary astronomer and an education outreach specialist. He has developed a network of over one hundred after-school astronomy clubs and has worked extensively with other NASA centers and the Girl Scouts USA by training scout leaders on heliophysics materials.

Aimee Meyer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Aimee leads the Education and Public Outreach efforts of NASA's Genesis and Stardust Sample Return missions in addition to the New Exploration of Tempel-1 (NExT) mission currently en route to rendezvous with Comet Tempel-1 in February 2011.

Michael Meyer, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Michael is the lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program and program scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission, to be launched in 2009. He also served as program scientist for the 2001 Mars Odyssey. His interests are in microorganisms living in extreme environments, and he has conducted field research in the Gobi and Negev deserts, Siberia, Canadian Arctic, and Antarctica.

David Mohr, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
David has been part of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan for the past seven years. He led the integration and sequencing of the Cassini mission science operations plan and is currently working as a system engineer with the Flight Engineering Group. He performed classified work for the Navy in missile defense while earning a master's degree from Old Dominion University.

Andrea B. Mosie, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Andrea is lab manager for the Lunar Curation Laboratories, which is part of Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science. She began her career in 1975 by working in the Lunar Sample Laboratory, where the majority of samples returned from the moon are stored and prepared for allocation to lunar scientists. She enjoys giving talks and demonstrations at schools, educational conferences, and seminars.

Peggy Motes, Muncie Community Schools Planetarium, Muncie, Indiana
Peggy taught in elementary and secondary schools before becoming a planetarium director. As part of her work, she involves students and teachers in NASA-sponsored projects, workshops, and activities. She has completed the Support Program for Instructional Competency in Astronomy at Harvard University and the NASA Educational Workshop for Elementary School Teachers.

Keiko Nakamura-Messenger, Jacobs Engineering and Science Contract Group/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Keiko specializes in studies of meteorites, comets, and cosmic dust. Her major research accomplishments include discovering interstellar organic matter in meteorites and a proposed new mineral in interplanetary dust. She has played a key role in the extraction and preparation of cometary dust samples from the NASA Stardust mission.

Carolyn Ng, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Carolyn has a background in earth science and works with the space science education communities to distribute education and outreach materials. Her most recent project (in partnership with the Exploratorium in San Francisco) has taken her to the westernmost part of China to prepare for a live webcast of a total solar eclipse on August 1, 2008.

Tam Nguyen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Tam is a member of the technical staff of the Robotic Software Systems Group, Mobility and Robotic Systems Section. He has worked on various spaceflight missions, such as the flight experiments onboard the Space Shuttle, the 1996 Mars Pathfinder, and the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover. He has also participated in numerous robotic wheeled–vehicle research projects.

Sten Odenwald, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Sten is an astronomer, writer, and education and public outreach member of several heliophysics spacecraft missions. He has spoken on a number of radio talk shows, including National Public Radio programs and Let's Talk Stars, as well as on NASA TV programs, such as CONNECT, Destination: Tomorrow, and The SciFiles.

Alexei Pevtsov, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Alexei serves as solar physics discipline scientist for the Heliophysics Division and is also program scientist for several heliophysics missions. In addition to his NASA responsibilities, he is an associate astronomer at the National Solar Observatory, where he studies topology and evolution of solar magnetic fields and their role in solar activity. He is the author and co-author of more than ninety scientific papers.

Cecilia Satterwhite, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Cecilia is lab manager for the Antarctic Meteorite Laboratory, where her primary task is to process and curate samples for classification and to supply samples to scientists worldwide for their research. Cecilia started her career working in the Lunar Sample Laboratory. Her academic background includes geology and a Texas Lifetime Certification in elementary education, specializing in physical and earth sciences.

Carol Schwarz, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Carol has worked for more than thirty years in the Astromaterials Curation Facility, including the Pristine and Returned Lunar Sample labs, the Antarctic Meteorite Lab, and the Genesis Lab. Currently, she is contractor project manager for Astromaterials Curation, which includes the Lunar, Meteorite, Cosmic Dust, Genesis, and Stardust collections. She also works in the various labs processing and curating samples.

Thomas See, Jacobs Engineering and Science Contract Group/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Tom specializes in impact cratering and related processes as they apply to planetary and geologic materials. He has been a member of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences group for nearly thirty years, where he has worked on the Long Duration Exposure Facility, the Orbital Debris Collector, and the Stardust mission.

Jim Thieman, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Jim is a planetary radio astronomer and manager of information systems for the National Space Science Data Center. He also handles education and outreach for NASA, especially in the area of heliophysics. Jim is coleader of the Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, an award-winning education group that promotes the use of heliophysics science results in education nationwide.
 
Jack Warren, Jacobs Engineering and Science Contract Group/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Jack started working for NASA in June 1967 and had the honor of opening the first "Rock Box" from the moon and the Apollo 11 mission. As part of his work with extraterrestrial samples, Jack is an expert in designing cleanrooms. He received the NASA Public Service Medal at the Johnson Space Center in September 2002.

Heather Weir, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
A former classroom teacher, Heather is a science education specialist who uses her experience in formal education to help implement the education and public outreach programs of several NASA missions, including the New Horizons mission to Pluto, the MESSENGER mission to Mercury, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

Randii R. Wessen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Randii is a program system engineer who has worked on Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, Mars Global Survey, 2001 Mars Odyssey, and Mars Exploration Rovers and has helped look for Earth-like planets around other stars. He has lectured internationally, co-authored two books, written numerous space exploration papers, and has an asteroid named after him.

Michael Zolensky, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Mike is an internationally recognized scientist known for his expertise in the mineralogy of comets and asteroids and is on the science teams for NASA's Stardust sample return mission to Comet Wild 2 and the joint Japan-USA-Australia Hayabusa mission. Mike is an authority on the analysis of small extraterrestrial samples and has led or participated in meteorite collection expeditions to six continents, including Antarctica.

Great Observatories

Coming to the Festival:
Kim Kowal Arcand, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Kim is the multimedia coordinator for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Her responsibilities include overseeing the design and production of all visual and multimedia public outreach as well education products. She and her team cover a wide range of projects that span from the processing of Chandra data for the public to developing posters to be distributed to schools.

David Balke, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
David is a mission planner, scheduler, and operations controller for the Chandra X-ray Observatory. His primary duties include planning the weekly observation schedule and negotiating with the Deep Space Network for time in their schedule to contact the Chandra satellite. He also monitors the data that on-board sensors return about the health and safety of the satellite.

Bradley Bissell, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Bradley is the mechanisms and science instruments subsystem engineer for the Chandra X-ray Observatory. He is responsible for monitoring trends (such as temperature, power usage), checking to see that the spacecraft systems stay within safe limits, and identifying/responding to anomalous conditions to ensure the health and safety of the observatory. 

Eli Bressert, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
As the science image processor for the Chandra X-ray Center's public programs, Eli collaborates with scientists to help them present their research as images that communicate the science results to the public. Eli also collaborates with the Microsoft Worldwide Telescope and Google Sky teams to include Chandra images in their virtual observatories. An important part of his job is to research and develop new algorithms and software to make better public images.

Jon Chappell, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
After spending twenty-five years in the development of space-based X-ray and ultraviolet detector systems, Jon is working on low-weight and low-cost X-ray and optical systems at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Previously, he served as an instrument scientist and is currently project scientist for the High Resolution Camera on NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Mindy Deyarmin, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
In seventeen years with the Hubble Space Telescope Program, Mindy has supported all four servicing missions and now provides employees and the public with up-to-date information on the Hubble mission. She has received the Customer Service Excellence Award and the coveted Silver Snoopy Award.

Charles Diaz, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
As the James Webb Space Telescope integration and test manager, Charles is responsible for the integration of the telescope's three primary elements—the optical telescope, the integrated science instrument module, and the spacecraft element. Charles formerly worked on the Hubble Space Telescope and has been at NASA for sixteen years.

Chris Eagan, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
As manager for the Operations Control Center, Chris and his team are responsible for a wide range of activities that support the physical facility, computer systems and communication systems from which the Chandra satellite is controlled. Besides day-to-day operations, he has managed such on-ground emergencies as power outages, fires, failed generators, flooding, and other physical problems that could interfere with the operation of the satellite.

Michael Garcia, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
As an astrophysicist, Michael uses observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other high-energy satellites to study black holes. His work in analyzing the black hole at the center of our Milky Way discovered the fact that it has a lower temperature than expected for a black hole of its large size. He is also project scientist for the Constellation-X mission. 

Hashima Hasan, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Hashima is currently the lead for the Explorer Program and astrophysics education and public outreach. She has worked in the fields of nuclear physics, atmospheric environment, optics, and astronomy and was the telescope scientist responsible for keeping the Hubble Space Telescope in focus during its first year of operation. Hashima holds a doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University.

Keith Hefner, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Keith is the manager of the Space Systems Programs and Projects Office. He oversees a wide array of space missions and serves as manager of the Chandra Program. He has been involved in all aspects of the design, manufacture, deployment, and operations of the Chandra X-ray Observatory since the definition phase of the mission.

Maurice Henderson, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Since he retired from the telecommunications industry five years ago, Maurice has worked in a variety of education and public outreach capacities. He was instrumental in getting the New Views of the Universe: Hubble Space Telescope exhibition added to the Goddard Visitor Center and into the traveling exhibit program. He also introduced the Science on a Sphere system at Goddard.

David Hood, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
David serves as a program engineer with a focus on ensuring technical and programmatic assessments, recommendations, decisions, and implementation measures for the Chandra X-ray Observatory's continued success. He served as ground system manager during development of Chandra's ground operating systems and is currently involved with education and public outreach efforts.

Mark Hubbard, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
After ten years with Westinghouse, Mark joined NASA's Hubble team as an aerospace engineer in 1991. The son of a career Navy urologist, Mark graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1976 and served five years as a surface warfare officer. He enjoys playing the guitar and singing.

Ken Kohls, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Ken is a member of the Ground Operations Team at the Chandra Operations Control Center. His primary duties include the configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting of the telemetry, command, and voice systems used during real-time satellite operations.

Anita Krishnamurthi, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Anita is the lead for education and public outreach in the Astrophysics Division. An astrophysicist by training, she is deeply interested in public understanding of science. For the past ten years, she has worked on designing and implementing education and outreach programs for diverse audiences.

Renee Leck, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Renee is a program analyst who has spent most of the past seven years supporting the Astrophysics Division, including the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, and Astrophysics Navigator Program. She is lead program analyst for the team that integrates budgets for the entire suite of astrophysics missions.

Paul Levitt, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Paul has held several engineering and mission planning positions with the Chandra X-ray Observatory since joining the project a year before its launch. In his current capacity as program risk manager, he performs many on-demand engineering tasks such as preparation of an emergency response and information technology security plans.

Misty Pendexter, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
As a mission planner for the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Misty's primary duty consists of planning the weekly observation schedule. She also supports the modification and test of the software tools used in the mission planning process and builds command loads needed to perform routine spacecraft maintenance activities. 

Jim Perry, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Jim is a professional planner/scheduler for the design and production of spacecraft and currently serves as manager of planning and scheduling for the James Webb Space Telescope. He has lived around the world, twice in Antarctica—the first as a "winter-over" and the second to provide camp support for the successful recovery of a C-130 aircraft from an Antarctic plateau.

Benjamin Reed, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
As lead materials engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope, Ben has become, over the last ten years, a leading expert on the environmental effects on materials in space. He has also supported numerous other satellites and International Space Station missions. He is the recipient of several NASA awards.

Marion Riley, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
As a young Star Trek fan, Marion was inspired by the diversity of the crew and knew that one day she wanted to work in the same type of inclusive environment. Today, she manages engineers who build and test much of the equipment installed during a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. She also trains astronauts to perform on-orbit equipment replacement.

Steve Terry, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
As a Chandra flight director, Steve is responsible for ensuring that the operational processes and management of the satellite's on-board systems continue to support the health, safety, and high efficiency of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. He previously served as a director of orbital verification for the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Nzinga Tull, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Nzinga joined the Hubble mission operations team in 1998 as an electrical power subsystem engineer and served as planning-shift lead during the last servicing mission, which was critical for power systems because the solar arrays and power control unit were replaced. She currently supports Hubble systems management for operations and is an anomaly response manager for Servicing Mission 4.

Martin Weisskopf, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Martin was awarded the Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society's High Energy Astrophysics Division for his contributions to the development and scientific success of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. He has served as the Chandra project scientist since the program's beginning and is chief scientist for the X-ray astronomy group at the Marshall Space Science Office.

Russell Werneth, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Russ has worked on all four of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. His areas of expertise include the development of unique astronaut tools and training of astronauts—including underwater neutral buoyancy training—for successful Hubble Space Telescope space-walk missions.

Mihoko Yukita, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Mihoko began her career in astrophysics at the Chandra X-ray Center, helping scientists with questions about how to access and analyze Chandra data from their observations. She is currently a graduate student using Chandra data in the area of galaxy studies. She works with the X-ray astronomy group at the Marshall Space Science Office.