Convention Indoor Floor Plan

Participants of the panel include Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Michael Gillon, astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium, Sean Carey, manager of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC, Nikole Lewis, astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and Sara Seager, professor of planetary science and physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the conference, NASA will be taking questions from the public and the media on twitter through the hashtag #askNASA. At 3 p.m. EST, following the briefing, NASA will host a Reddit AMA(Ask Me Anything) session with the scientists available to answer questions in English and Spanish.

The international community is currently making significant progress toward human exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). NASA is developing the Orion space capsule and the Space Launch System (SLS) to send astronauts beyond LEO. Russia, Japan, and China are also pursuing major human exploration initiatives. The International Space Station continues to expand the significance of its contributions. The International Space Exploration Coordination Group is developing an internationally endorsed plan for human exploration beyond LEO. This panel will provide a status as to progress being made toward sending humans beyond LEO. Moderator: Donald Sauvageau, ATK, Brigham City, UT Panelists: Mark Geyer, Manager, Multipurpose Crew Vehicle Program, NASA Johnson Space Center Kathleen C. Laurini, Senior Advisor, Exploration and Space Operations, NASA Johnson Space Center Todd May, SLS Program Manager, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Sam Scimemi, NASA Michael T. Suffredini, ISS Program Manager, NASA Johnson Space Center (invited)