While we all love space, not everyone who surrounds us in daily life understands its importance to our collective future. The NSS Space Ambassadors have been changing minds and expanding mental horizons for decades, and you too can become one. With minimal training and moderate commitment, NSS Space Ambassadors travel the country, and sometimes the world, educating and enlightening people about the critical importance of space and the human settlement of the solar system. Join the movement and become a critical part of the greatest adventure in human history. The NSS needs you!
| Morning Session · 10:00 am – 12:00 noon | |
| 10:00 am | Satellites, Spectrum, Sustainability: The Outer Space Treaty in Today's Strategic Orbital EnvironmentClaire Nalda — Johns Hopkins University |
| 10:30 am | Robert Goddard's Rocket InnovationsLoretta Hall — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 11:00 am | The Top Ten Challenges to the Economic Development of the MoonJim Plaxco — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 11:30 am | The Glen Hills Space JourneyLalitha Murali — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 12:00 noon — Break | |
| Afternoon Session · 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm | |
| 2:00 pm | Space Renaissance for AllDr. Bernard Foing — Space Renaissance International |
| 2:30 pm | Island ZeroJerry Stone — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 3:00 pm | The Future of NASA and Commercial SpaceflightKen Ruffin — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 3:30 pm | Powering the Space ElevatorLarry Bartoszek — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 4:00 pm | Enhancing the STEM Pipeline: The Wolfpack CubeSat Development TeamKevin Simmons — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 4:30 pm | Five Key Artificial Intelligence Systems for the Space FarmBryce Meyer — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 5:30 pm | Presentations to Local High SchoolsStevan Akerley — NSS Space Ambassadors |
| 6:00 pm — End | |
Space Ambassadors
Session Chair Info
Stevan Akerley
Space Ambassadors Program Director National Space Society
Stevan Akerley is a retired aerospace engineer from Pratt & Whitney, UTC, with 40 years of manufacturing and engineering experience with automated N/C equipment and measurement sensor systems in manufacturing applications. He also has experience in precision manufacturing, machine measurement, CAD CAM software development, quality assurance, and tool and equipment design. Stevan was involved in project and program management on multiple engine programs. He holds an AA degree in liberal Read More
Space Ambassadors
Session Speakers Info
Larry Bartoszek
Owner, Bartoszek Engineering
Larry Bartoszek has a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from the University of Illinois and is an Illinois Licensed Professional Engineer. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Welding Society, ASM International, and the National Space Society. He is also a Space Ambassador for the NSS. Larry serves as Vice President of the International Space Elevator Consortium. Larry worked at the Fermi Read More
Dr. Bernard Foing
President SRI, CEO LUNEX EuroMoonMars
Prof. Bernard H. Foing is President of Space Renaissance International, Executive Director of ILEWG, CEO of LUNEX EuroSpaceHub and EuroMoonMars Earth Space Innovation, and Chief Scientist at Qomosys. He holds an ERA Chair in Riga, Latvia, and is a guest professor at Leiden Observatory, ISU, and IPSA, and was formerly at EPFL and VU Amsterdam. He is a member of several IAF committees, including IPC, space exploration, astronomy, space habitats, Read More
Loretta Hall
Author, Freelance
Loretta Hall is the author of six nonfiction books about the history and near future of space travel. She is particularly interested in the human aspects of space exploration. Loretta has been a Space Ambassador for NSS since 2011, and is currently a member of the Space Ambassadors leadership team. She has been recognized as a Communicator of Achievement by the National Federation of Press Women. Read More
Bryce Meyer
NSS Space Ambassador, Space Farms, St Louis Space Frontier
Bryce holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, as well as a graduate degree in biology. He has also logged thousands of hours above and below the surface of lakes, rivers, and oceans, and has spent time working on farms. He writes on space agriculture, focusing on mass flow and balanced menus. Read More
Lalitha Murali
Gifted and Talented Teacher, Glendale River-Hills School District
Lalitha Murali has degrees in Physics, Public Health, Education and other fields, and is a NASA ISS Ambassador. She has a variety of honors and awards including: Top 20 Women of Influence Awardees in Wisconsin 2017, Top 21 International Rotary Peace Fellows in 2019, and 2023 Kohl’s Fellows. She has also performed experiments in microgravity aboard Zero G aircraft. Read More
Claire Nalda
BA/MAIR Candidate, Johns Hopkins University
Claire Nalda is a third-year undergraduate enrolled in the BA/MAIR program with Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is majoring in International Studies and is interested in the application of foreign policy and international relations theory to outer space security issues. After graduation she intends to pursue a JD and work as a public servant. Read More
Jim Plaxco
President, Chicago Society for Space Studies
Jim Plaxco is President of Chicago Society for Space Studies, serves as the Economics SME for the NSS Space Ambassadors Program, and is a NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador. Currently serving on the NSS Board of Directors, Jim previously held the positions of NSS Vice President for Chapters and NSS Director of Information Systems. Jim’s professional career was spent in corporate IS/IT with ATT, Baxter Labs, IBM, and Sears Technology Read More
Ken Ruffin
Founder, Didymos Consulting LLC (dba Ruff-in-Space)
Ken Ruffin, member of both the NSS Board of Directors and the NSS Board of Strategic Advisors, an NSS Space Ambassador, as well as president of the National Space Society of North Texas (NSS-NT) has transitioned from an engineering career to a space industry career by leveraging his aerospace engineering education and substantial public speaking experience. Ken has spoken to nearly 250 audiences in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex, Texas, Read More
Kevin Simmons
CEO, Wolfpack CubeSat Dev Team / BLUECUBE Aerospace / Aerospace and Innovation Academy
Kevin L. Simmons is an aerospace educator and principal investigator, specializing in the intersection of authentic aerospace and equity in education. He founded and leads BLUECUBE Aerospace, Inc., the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team(WCDT), and is co-founder of the Aerospace and Innovation Academy, Inc. and the successful SmallSat Education Conference. Simmons and his pre-college Wolfpack students have launched three spacecraft since 2018 and will launch a 4th CubeSat later this year. Read More
Jerry Stone
Freelance Space Presenter & Developer of Island Zero, Spaceflight UK
Jerry Stone is a Freelance Space Presenter and runs Spaceflight UK. He gives presentations on a wide range of topics on astronomy and space exploration all over the UK and abroad. He is a Fellow and Council member of the British Interplanetary Society, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, Board member of the Space Renaissance International and chair of their Space Habitats Committee, Council member of the Federation of Astronomical Read More
Erick Villa
Science Communicator, Kenya Space Agency
Erick is a Science Communicator at the Kenya Space Agency (KSA), where he has served since 2020 as the creative force behind the agency’s public-facing science communication across social media platforms including X, Facebook, and Instagram. With a background in journalism, he brings a storyteller’s instinct to the complex world of space science, transforming technical information into engaging, accessible content for youth, students, and general audiences across Kenya and beyond. Read More