Mars

Keith Cowing is the editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com. He is a former NASA space biologist and space station payload manager; a space commentator on national and global television; is a Fellow of the Explorers Club; has trained at NASTAR and ZeroG; was co-lead of the ISEE-3 Reboot and Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery projects; organized and edited the proceedings of the NASA Risk and Exploration Symposium; is a three-time veteran Read More

Leonardo Gámez is a undergraduate student at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and current intern of the Mars Institute, working on a navigation device for the surface of Mars. He graduated PrepaTec, where he worked on various research projects focused on artificial intelligence for real-world applications. As the only highs school student in the team, Leo helped implement computer vision algorithms into a drone, for search and rescue. He also worked in Read More

Doug Gage is an independent technology consultant. At DARPA from 2000-2004, he sponsored/managed programs in robotic software, including Robonaut work at NASA JSC and rover autonomy work at NASA JPL. He served as external co-chair of NASA’s Capabilities Roadmapping Team for Autonomous Systems and Robotics. He has presented papers at multiple ISDCs, Mars Society conventions, and other venues on the general subject of how to keep humans safe, secure, productive, Read More

Art Harman is the President of the Coalition to Save Manned Space Exploration, and was Legislative Director for Congressman Steve Stockman, who represented the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Mr. Harman was his space advisor, as well as the co-founder of the Space Advocates Congressional Staff Association. He is a frequent guest expert on radio shows discussing the space program, and regularly speaks at space conferences including ISDC and Mars Read More

Chris is an 11th-grade student at the Charter School of Wilmington, Delaware, and a student intern researcher at Talos Tech LLC and the University of Delaware. With experience in battery technology, additive manufacturing, rocketry, and entrepreneurship, he intends to pursue a career in aerospace engineering. Over two years, Chris has developed an ISRU iron perchlorate-based redox flow battery system for extreme-cold Mars energy storage, with peer-reviewed work published in Frontiers Read More

Gerald earned a PhD in Astrophysics from Karl-Franzens University of Graz in 1986. His thesis focused on critical planetary orbits in binary star systems. From 1984 to 1994, he conducted research at the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. During this time, he collaborated with NASA and ESA on the Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Cassini, and Ulysses missions. In 1995, he worked for the Institute for Meteorology Read More

Dante Sanaei is a member of the Senior Professional Staff at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he works on spacecraft autonomy and mission planning software. His professional experience focuses on the development and operational deployment of complex spaceflight systems. In addition to his engineering work, he writes on space history and policy. Read More

Aryan Senthilkumar is a high school student and an aspiring aerospace researcher, engineer, and student leader based in Georgia whose work centers on computational fluid dynamics, experimental aircraft design, and advanced propulsion-integrated aerospace systems. His projects include research on jet plume mixing behavior, distributed electric propulsion aircraft for extreme short-takeoff performance, and other novel flight concepts relevant to future aerospace and space applications. He has led international student research initiatives Read More

Sindhoo Vemula and Ananya Ram are high school researchers from Coppell, TX. Their work is driven by the curiosity in futuristic efforts in enforcing a colonized Martian planet. Specifically, their interest in the astrobiology field has allowed them to pursue their project, “Red Planet Green Future” at the Dallas and Texas Science & Engineering Fair for the past few years, in which they were honored to have received the 1st Read More

Bryan Versteeg is an internationally recognized conceptual designer specializing in space exploration and future habitat design. With a career spanning collaborations across the aerospace, architectural, and scientific communities, his work visualizes the next generation of human environments beyond Earth. He is known for creating highly detailed, scientifically grounded concepts of Mars habitats, spacecraft interiors, and off-world infrastructure, helping bridge the gap between engineering and public imagination. His designs have been Read More