Space Conference Speaker

Lynn Dobieski Harper is co-founder and Strategy Lead of NASA’s InSpace Production Applications (inSPA) Portfolio since 2019. InSPA invests in U.S. innovators to use microgravity and the International Space Station (ISS) to benefit people on Earth, support national needs, and develop promising new commercial enterprises in space. They are succeeding. Through their success, InSPA has opened new innovation frontiers for manufacturing high value materials and medical applications, often delivering superior yields of superior products faster, better, and often cheaper than can be accomplished on Earth.

Over her 40-year career, Harper has been instrumental in developing more than 100 spaceflight projects implemented on the Space Shuttle, Mir, Stardust, Kepler, Mars, and International Space Station missions. In 1995, she was the initiating co-founder of the field of Astrobiology, fostering cross-disciplinary projects to explore the nature and potential of life in the universe. In 2005, she co-founded the NASA Ames Space Portal to advance commercial space capabilities for public benefit, including the initiation and development of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program, NASA’s Emerging Space Office, unique SBIR/STTR subtopics focused on applications from space for Earth, the ISS National Lab, and InSPA.

A pioneer and catalyst for cross-disciplinary innovation, Harper received NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal for establishing Astrobiology and Exceptional Service Medal for her career contributions.

Despite significant vision, hearing, and mobility challenges, Harper has monitored and supported more than 70 live International Space Station InSPA flight operations from her home since 2022—demonstrating how accessible space operations have become in the 21st Century and opening new opportunities for science, applications, and manufacturing.

Harper’s previous leadership roles include serving as Program Manager for Advanced Missions and Special Projects at NASA Headquarters Life Sciences Division; Program Manager for NASA’s Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI); Deputy Chief and Acting Chief of NASA Ames Advanced Life Support Division; first Technical Lead and manager for Astrobiology; Study Team Leader for Life Sciences, Life Support, and EVA for NASA’s 90-Day Study on human exploration of the Moon and Mars; Ames Study Team Lead for NASA’s Decadal Planning Team; and Ames Lead on the NASA Space Architect Team. She originated concepts being developed by others for a Lunar University (first institution of higher education on another world) and Lunar Station, and co-developed concepts for an International Lunar Research Park.