Island Zero — A Practical Path to Rotating Space Habitats
Upcoming
JP Aerospace Associate
Former Attorney-at-Law
1st Edition
2nd Edition — With Improved Investor’s Guide
Space Talks Vault
Preparing for a Robotic Mission to a Martian Lava Tube
The NASA BRAILLE Project
Preparing for a Robotic Mission to a Martian Lava Tube
Dr. Jen Blank
NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley
Blue Marble Space
Could evidence of alien life, extant or extinct, be hiding in lava tubes on Mars? The NASA BRAILLE Project brought scientists, engineers, and roboticists into volcanic caves in California to investigate, using them as analogs for exploring the Martian subsurface with robots. This talk shares what the team learned testing robotic exploration, remote science operations, and instruments for detecting and characterizing cave life, all while grappling with the challenge of navigating an unknown underground world. The result is a glimpse of what it may take to explore one of Mars’s most promising (and least accessible) habitats.
L² (Lunar Legacy) explores our evolving relationship with Earth’s nearest celestial companion—from Indigenous traditions and ancient astronomy through the Space Race, Apollo, and today’s Artemis Program. The presentation demonstrates that lunar exploration is not merely about reaching another world, but about understanding ourselves, preserving our shared heritage, and inspiring the next generation of explorers.
Gerald A. Blackburn (Jerry)
Our next speaker is a distinguished aerospace engineer, educator, and historian with more than 45 years of industry experience.
Gerald A. Blackburn has contributed to nearly every major phase of America’s human spaceflight program—from the X-15 and Apollo programs to the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.
A former Project Manager at Boeing, Gerald has also taught at Cal State LA, USC, and Cerritos College. He has served on numerous advisory boards supporting education and career technology.
He is the author of Downey’s Aerospace History and a recognized speaker on the legacy of Southern California’s aerospace industry.
Gerald is the CEO and Founder of the Katherine and Gerald Blackburn Foundation. He continues his work in STEM outreach and historical preservation as a director of the National Columbia Memorial Space Center Foundation and Executive Advisor to the Aerospace Legacy Foundation.
NASA Missions, Student Experiments, and the Project Hail Mary Challenge
Join us for an inspiring free session featuring Lalitha Murali, an award-winning educator from Wisconsin, as she shares her experiences as a NASA Ambassador and how she motivates students to participate in a variety of NASA missions throughout the year.
Space Education at Glen Hills Middle School by Lalitha Murali ([email protected]).
Two years ago, her students designed two microgravity experiments, and she had the incredible opportunity to conduct those experiments aboard a ZeroG flight. This year, her students are taking on the exciting Project Hail Mary Challenge by designing a space station capable of generating 0.5g artificial gravity.
Students have also participated in several innovative STEM and space science projects this year:
- MushVroom Project – ExoLab13 by Magnitude.io
- ROADS from Earth to Venus, exploring eight Mission Objectives focused on planetary atmospheres, the greenhouse effect, and remote sensing
- Tomatosphere
- Algae Academy
- World’s Biggest Analog Mission
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about an extraordinary educator who is transforming students’ lives through authentic space science and STEM experiences.
