CANCELLED (in-person)
Context from MIT's President
Stay tuned for virtual content on March 12!
Agenda
8:00am | Breakfast and registration
8:45am | Welcome and kickoff: Houston we are GO for launch
- Ariel Ekblaw, Founder and Lead, Space Exploration Initiative
9:00am | Plenary keynote
- Dr. Maria T. Zuber, MIT VP for Research
9:45am | Plenary panel: Our sci-fi space future
- [Moderator] Lizbeth B. De La Torre, Space Enabled, MIT Media Lab
- Jeremy Lasky, Co-founder, Perception Studios
- Dr. Tanya Harrison, Manager of Science Programs, Planet Labs
- Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, writer, Marvel; Creative Director, Somos Arte
10:30am | Break
10:45am | Session 1 | Please choose one track
(A) Space Research Talk
- Sheperd Doeleman, Founding Director of the Event Horizon Telescope, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
(B) Democratizing "Open Space" Panel
- [Moderator] Therese Jones, Senior Director of Policy, Satellite Industry Association
- Emily Calandrelli, Host and Executive Producer, Xploration Outer Space
- Prathima Muniyappa, Space Enabled, MIT Media Lab
- Jessy Kate Schingler, Director of Policy and Governance Research, Open Lunar Foundation
- Matt Weinzierl, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
11:30am | Session 2 | Please choose one track
(A) Space & Storytelling Talk
- Nia Imara, John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellow, Harvard University and artist
(B) Frontiers for Space Exploration Panel
- [Moderator] Farah Alibay, Flight System Systems Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Hajime Yano, Space Exploration Scientist, Associate Professor, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Kimberly Slater, Space Innovations Lead, Program Manager, Space Systems Program Office, DRAPER Laboratory
- Erika Wagner, Payload Sales Director, Blue Origin
- Pete Klupar, Director of Engineering, Breakthrough Starshot
12:15pm | Lunch
1:15pm | Session 3 | Please choose one track
(A) Space Industry Talk
- Dr. Zachary Pirtle, Lead Exploration and Operations Research Analyst at NASA Headquarters
(B) Space and the Arts Panel
- [Moderator] Benjamin Bratton, artist
- Lita Albuquerque, artist
- Lisa Messeri, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Yale
- Tavares Strachan, artist
- Anton Vidokle, artist
2:00pm | Session 4 | Please choose one track
(A) Space Industry Talk
- Veronica Foreman, Payload Engineer, Virgin Orbit
(B) Fireside Chat: Life in Space from Astrobiology to Planetary Science
- [Moderator] Sunanda Sharma, PhD Candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Tanja Bosak, Associate Professor and Chair of the Program in Geology, Geochemistry & Geobiology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Professor, Arizona State University
2:45pm | Workshops
Explore full workshop descriptions here!
- Design Your Sci Fi Space Future
- Native Space Farer, Part III
- Space Architecture
- Space Governance
- Space Health
3:45pm | Break
4:00pm | Plenary keynote
- Nicholas de Monchaux, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, MIT
4:30pm | Event finale: Astronaut augury
- [Moderator] Cady Coleman, ret. NASA astronaut
- Samantha Cristoferretti, ESA astronaut
- Oleg Kotov, Cosmonaut
- Paolo Nespoli, ret. ESA Astronaut and Engineer
5:10pm | Event finale: Executive augury
- [Moderator] Sarah Cruddas, Space Journalist, TV Host, Author and Director at Space for Humanity
- Larry James, Deputy Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Brent Sherwood, Vice President of Engineering, Blue Origin
5:45pm | Closing remarks
Ariel Ekblaw, Founder and Lead, Space Exploration Initiative
6:00pm | Cocktail reception
Accessibility Note: This event will have open captioning (English) at the event and on the webcast. Archival video will also include English-language closed captions.
Contact beyondthecradle@media.mit.edu with general questions.
Contact events@media.mit.edu with accessibility questions.
View the archive of the 2019 event. Learn more about the Space Exploration Initiative.