Dr. Benton is a recently retired family physician with a keen interest in astronomy and human spaceflight since the Apollo missions to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Having grown up on a dairy farm in rural New Zealand, Chris graduated from the University of Auckland as a medical doctor in 1986 before commencing his own private practice in 1991. After 25 years of caring for a semi-rural community just north of Auckland, an opportunity to semi-retire arose in 2014, allowing him to continue his passion for medicine and return to school for a Master's Degree in Astronomy. These studies ignited his long-time interest in astronomy and spaceflight, including researching the hazards of space travel on the human body and mind. Chris completed this degree in 2020, fully retired from medicine in 2021, and now enjoys astronomy and medical communication work, writing articles and speaking on related topics. He has won three writing awards for the Auckland Astronomical Society, including one on the medical aspects of human spaceflight.

As the president of his local Hibiscus Coast Astronomical Society and a committee member of the Auckland Astronomical Society, the latter with over 600 active members, Chris regularly gives talks to both groups on the principles of general astronomy, planetary science, and cosmology. He also frequently talks to various community groups and colleges on astronomical and medical matters of interest to the public. These public speaking events allowed him to continue using his skill of explaining complex ideas in plain language, which he developed and enjoyed during his long and rewarding career in family medicine.

He learned the night sky constellations and many astronomical objects for years with his manually-operated 8-inch Dobsonian reflector telescope. Inspired by the knowledge and pleasure this provided, he bought an 11-inch GoTo Schmidt-Cassegrain for his fiftieth birthday to explore the beautiful New Zealand dark skies to a deeper level. His stargazing activities include transporting the new telescope to the nearby Great Barrier Island, one of the few International Dark Sky Sanctuaries.

Chris has ever-lasting fond memories of the 2017 and 2019 total solar eclipses in the USA and Chile, respectively, through Insight Cruises/Sky & Telescope tours, and is looking forward to their upcoming solar eclipse adventures in 2023, 2024, and 2027.
 

Dr. Breanna Binder is an associate professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (“Cal Poly Pomona”) who studies the multiwavelength emission from X-ray binaries and the galaxies in which these reside. X-ray binaries are evolved binary star systems composed of a compact object — either a black hole or a neutron star — that is accreting material from its companion star. Her research utilizes multiwavelength observations of X-ray binaries in nearby galaxies to investigate how different galactic environments leave signatures on the X-ray binary populations and what this means for massive star evolution — both in our local universe, and across cosmic time.

Dr. Binder is also deeply passionate about securing the next generation of space-based “great observatories” (to follow the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and others) and promoting a climate of accessibility and inclusivity in astronomy. She has a bachelor’s degree in Physics with a Specialization in Astrophysics from the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Washington.
 

Dr. Néstor Espinoza is an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) — the science and operations center for the Hubble (HST) and James Webb (JWST) Space Telescopes — where he acts as the Mission Scientist for Exoplanet Science. He works both on the detection of new exoplanets — planets outside our Solar System — as well as on the characterization of their atmospheres and interiors. His research interests focus on trying to understand what planets as small as ours and as big as our very own Solar System giants look like and are made of elsewhere, in order to ultimately put our own neighborhood into a cosmic context. In essence, his entire research revolves around a simple question: how special are we?

Dr. Espinoza was born and raised in Santiago, Chile, where he obtained both his B.S. in Astronomy and his Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

After finishing his Ph.D. in 2017, he held a position as a Bernoulli Fellow, jointly working at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany and the University of Bern in Bern, Switzerland. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious IAU-Gruber Fellowship for his contributions to the field of exoplanetary science.

In 2019, Dr. Espinoza moved to STScI. There, half of his time is spent on the science he and his team lead, which is mainly focused on characterizing exoplanet atmospheres using space-based telescopes — in particular the JWST. The rest of his time is spent leading teams and providing support to the HST and JWST missions, including technical deep dives to optimize instrumentation and operations onboard these telescopes.
 

“If you were to ask Wikipedia, they would say I’m an American, actor, director, producer, writer, etc, but I would like to add some titles even more important to me; sailor, educator, and father. You might know me for my roles in countless TV shows; as Q in Star Trek; Discord in My Little Pony; or Donald Margolis in Breaking Bad. But you might not know me as someone who has sailed the Pacific Ocean to Tahiti and back or who has written, produced, and directed numerous shows for symphony orchestras or directed operas. Or, better still, was the host of the children’s concerts at Disney Hall.

My love of science fiction
As a little boy I discovered my love for science fiction by reading Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, and watching (with one eye squeezed shut) The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. As an adult I created a company called Alien Voices with Leonard Nimoy. We re-created old radio broadcasts of classic science fiction stories such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Lost World and The Time Machine. We even went on to produce sci-fi spectacles for the Sci-Fi Channel.

Where I go from here
My love for science fiction and my roles in some of the most iconic sci-fi shows has led me to a love of all things science. Science, and science curiosity, have been a passion of mine for many years. It’s remarkable the impact Star Trek has had, inspiring generations of people to become the scientists and researchers of today. And just as I have been inspired, I hope to inspire you. Whatever I can do to share the wonders of the natural world — I will.”
 

Astronomer and science communicator Dr. Richard Tresch Fienberg was the American Astronomical Society’s Press Officer from September 1, 2009 until his retirement on September 1, 2021.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Rick was locked into astronomy and space exploration as a career in 1968. In that pivotal year, he received a small telescope as a 12th birthday gift, read The Universe: From Flat Earth to Quasar by Isaac Asimov, got caught up in the excitement of the Apollo 8 mission to the Moon, and was riveted by the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Rick majored in physics at Rice University. During the summer of 1976, between his sophomore and junior years, he spent a month at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an undergraduate intern with NASA’s Viking mission, working on both the orbiter and lander teams.

While pursuing his doctorate, he worked with Giovanni Fazio and a team of NASA and University of Arizona scientists in developing one of the first digital infrared cameras suitable for use on telescopes. Fazio’s later selection as team leader for the Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera rose from that team success.

“Even before I finished my Ph.D.,” says Fienberg, “I realized that I enjoyed teaching and writing about astronomy more than I liked doing research.” Accordingly, in September 1986 he joined the staff of Sky & Telescope magazine as an assistant editor. Over the next 22 years Rick served in a variety of editorial and management positions at S&T, including eight years as Editor in Chief and nine as President of parent company Sky Publishing. In 2009 he became the AAS Press Officer.

Rick is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) — which he served as President of Commission C2, Communicating Astronomy with the Public, from August 2018 to August 2021 — named asteroid 9983 Rickfienberg in his honor. In 2018 NASA awarded him its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal “for exceptional service to the nation in [his] tireless efforts for the public’s safe solar viewing of the 2017 total solar eclipse.”

In 2019, the North East Region of the Astronomical League (NERAL) gave him the Walter Scott Houston Award for his “many years enlightening [amateur astronomers] and educating the public.”

Rick is currently Senior Contributing Editor of S&T. He continues to serve the AAS as Senior Advisor to the Executive Officer and Program Manager of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force, helping prepare North America for the October 14, 2023 annular eclipse and the April 8, 2024 total eclipse. He is coauthor with Stephen P. Maran of Astronomy For Dummies, 5th edition, published by John Wiley & Sons in June 2023.

Trained as a professional astronomer, Rick nevertheless remains an amateur at heart, observing the sky and taking astrophotos from his private observatory in central New Hampshire. An inveterate traveler and eclipse-chaser, Rick has visited all seven continents and the North and South Poles. He and his wife Susan — who retired in 2019 from a career in senior health and housing — are the parents of three grown sons and have three young grandchildren.
 

Professor Jeffrey A. Hoffman is a member of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Dr. Hoffman earned a B.A. (summa cum laude) from Amherst College in 1966 and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Harvard University in 1971. He subsequently received a M.Sc. in Materials Science from Rice University in 1988. Dr. Hoffman’s original research interests were in high-energy astrophysics — cosmic gamma ray and X-ray astronomy. His doctoral work at Harvard was a balloon-borne, low-energy, gamma ray telescope. He spent one year as a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, after which he joined the research staff of the Physics Department at Leicester University in the UK (1972–1975), where he worked on several X-ray astronomy rocket payloads and was project scientist for the medium-energy X-ray experiment on the European Space Agency’s EXOSAT satellite. From 1975–1978, he worked at MIT’s Center for Space Research, where he was project scientist in charge of the orbiting HEAO-1 A4 hard X-ray and gamma ray experiment, launched in August 1977. He also contributed extensively to analysis of X-ray data from the SAS-3 satellite, being operated by MIT. His principal research was the study of X-ray bursts, about which he authored or co-authored more than 20 papers.

Dr. Hoffman served in the Astronaut Corps from 1978–1997, making five space flights and becoming the first astronaut to log 1,000 hours of flight time aboard the Space Shuttle. Dr. Hoffman’s assignments included testing guidance, navigation, and flight control systems. He worked with the orbital maneuvering and reaction control systems, with crew training, and with the development of satellite deployment procedures. Dr. Hoffman served as a support crewmember for STS-5 and as a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for the STS-8 and STS-82 missions. For several years, Dr. Hoffman was the Astronaut Office representative on the Payload Safety Panel. Dr. Hoffman was a co-founder of the Astronaut Office Science Support Group. During 1996 he led the Payload and Habitability Branch of the Astronaut Office.

Dr. Hoffman’s spaceflight experience included serving as Payload Commander of STS-46, the first flight of the US-Italian Tethered Satellite System. He played a key role in coordinating the scientific and operational teams working on this project. Dr. Hoffman has performed four spacewalks, including the first unplanned, contingency spacewalk in NASA’s history (STS-51-D; April, 1985) and three spacewalks during the initial rescue/repair mission for the Hubble Space Telescope (STS-61; December, 1993). He worked for several years as the Astronaut Office representative for EVA and helped develop and carry out tests of advanced high-pressure space suit designs and of new tools and procedures needed for the assembly of the International Space Station.

Following his astronaut career, Dr. Hoffman spent four years as NASA’s European Representative, based at the US Embassy in Paris.

In August 2001, Dr. Hoffman joined the MIT faculty, where he teaches courses on space operations and design. Dr. Hoffman is director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, responsible for statewide NASA-related educational activities designed to increase public understanding of space and to attract students into aerospace careers. His principal areas of research are advanced EVA systems, space radiation protection, management of space science projects, human-robotic exploration strategies, ISRU (in situ resource utilization, i.e., “living off the land”), and space systems architecture. Dr. Hoffman was a member of the MIT/Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Concept Evaluation and Refinement BAA team, optimizing architectures for lunar and Martian exploration. He has been the faculty mentor for numerous teams of MIT students competing in NASA challenges. He led a project to develop an Earth-based flying testbed for a planetary surface hopper exploration system. He is currently Deputy Principal Investigator of the MOXIE experiment on the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which is, for the first time, producing oxygen from local Martian resources.

Dr. Hoffman is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics; the International Astronomical Union; the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; the American Astronomical Society; the Spanish Academy of Engineering; Phi Beta Kappa; and Sigma Xi. From 2008–2018 he held the post of Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, in the UK and is a Professor at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. He has received honorary doctorates from Leicester University (1997) and Amherst College (1999).

Among his honors and awards are a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 1966–67; a National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 1966–71; a National Academy of Sciences Post-Doctoral Visiting Fellowship, 1971–72; a Harvard University Sheldon International Fellowship, 1972–73; and a NATO Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 1973–74. Dr. Hoffman was awarded NASA Space Flight Medals in 1985, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 1996; NASA Exceptional Service Medals in 1988, 1992, and 2002; and NASA Distinguished Service Medals in 1994 and 1997. He was awarded the V. M. Komarov and the Sergei P. Korolyov Diplomas by the International Aeronautical Federation in 1991 and 1994. As part of the Hubble Space Telescope Rescue Team, he was awarded the National Aeronautic Association Collier Trophy in 1993, the Aviation Week and Space Technology Laurels for Achievements in Space in 1993, the American Astronautical Society Victor A. Prather Award in 1994, the Freedom Forum Free Spirit Award in 1994, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Support Systems Award in 1995. In 2007, Dr. Hoffman was elected to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was awarded the Centennial Medal from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
 

Professor Garrett Reisman is a member of the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC. Dr. Reisman earned two B.S. degrees (magna cum laude) from University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and an M.S. (1992) as well as a Ph.D. (1996) in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA as a mission specialist in June 1998, Dr. Reisman reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific, and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) systems, physiological training, and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. After completing this training, Dr. Reisman was assigned to the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch where he worked primarily on the ISS robotic arm. In October 2001, Dr. Reisman was assigned to the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch, where he worked on the displays and checklists to be used in the next-generation space shuttle cockpit.

SPACE MISSION EXPERIENCE: His first mission was aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-123), launched March 11, 2008, which dropped him off for a 95-day mission aboard the International Space Station — working with both the Expedition 16 and Expedition 17 crews as a flight engineer. Astronaut Reisman returned to Earth with the crew of STS-124 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on June 14, 2008. During his three-month tour of duty aboard the ISS, Dr. Reisman performed one spacewalk totaling seven hours of EVA and executed numerous tasks with the ISS robotic arm and the new robotic manipulator, Dextre.

Astronaut Reisman’s second mission was as “Mission Specialist 1” aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-132, which launched on May 14, 2010. During this mission he logged an additional 11 days, 18 hours and 28 minutes in space, including two more spacewalks. During seven days of docked operations, Dr. Reisman logged 14 hours of EVA which included operating the ISS robotic arm and installed the Russian-built Mini Research Module to the ISS. He also installed a spare antenna and a stowage platform for Dextre, replaced the last of the P6 truss batteries, and retrieved a power data grapple fixture. The STS-132 mission was completed on May 26, 2010 after 186 orbits, traveling 4,879,978 miles.

Born February 10, 1968, in Morristown, New Jersey, Astronaut Reisman considers Parsippany, New Jersey, to be his hometown. Recreational interests include flying, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountaineering, canyoneering and scuba diving. Dr. Reisman is an FAA certified flight instructor. Currently Dr. Reisman is a Professor of Astronautical Engineering at USC and a Senior Advisor at SpaceX.
 

Dr. Edward (Eddie) Schwieterman is an Assistant Professor of Astrobiology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Astrophysics from the Florida Institute of Technology, a Master’s degree in Astronomy from the University of Washington, and a dual Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington. His research interests include astrobiology, exoplanets, planetary atmospheres, planetary habitability, and the biogeochemical evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans.

Using computational models, he seeks to understand the composition, evolution, and remote spectral appearance of terrestrial (rocky) planetary atmospheres. These models are informed by observations of Earth and other bodies in our solar system, and have been used for diverse purposes, from calculating Earthshine illumination on the Moon to predicting the signatures of alien oceans. His review of exoplanet biosignatures in Astrobiology is the most highly cited article in that journal published in the last five years. He also harbors a burgeoning interest in planetary technosignatures and other possible signs of extraterrestrial civilization.
 

Dr. Josh Winn is a Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. His research goals are to explore the properties of planets around other stars, understand how planets form and evolve, and make progress on the age-old question of whether there are other planets capable of supporting life. His group uses optical telescopes to study exoplanetary systems, especially those in which the star and planet eclipse one another. His recent work has focused on the orbital architecture of planetary systems: the sizes, shapes, and orientations of the orbits, and the rotation of the central star. He was a Participating Scientist in the NASA Kepler mission and is a Co-Investigator of the ongoing NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission. Over the years, he and his group have also pursued topics in stellar astronomy, planetary dynamics, radio interferometry, gravitational lensing, and photonic bandgap materials.

Josh has been distinguished for his teaching by two awards, the MIT School of Science Prize for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, and the MIT Physics Department Buechner Faculty Teaching Prize. He is a frequent public speaker and produced two series of recorded lectures for the Teaching Company (also knows as The Great Courses, or Wondrium): The Search for Exoplanets, and Introduction to Astrophysics. He has also written a book for the general public, The Little Book of Exoplanets, published in 2023 by Princeton University Press.

Josh grew up in Deerfield, Illinois. He graduated from MIT in 1994. After spending a year as a Fulbright Scholar in the UK, at Cambridge University, he returned to MIT as a Hertz Fellow. While in graduate school, he worked in medical physics, condensed-matter physics, and astrophysics and moonlighted as a science journalist for The Economist. He earned a Ph.D. in physics in 2001, and subsequently held NSF and NASA Hubble postdoctoral fellowships at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He was on the MIT Physics faculty for 10 years before moving to Princeton in 2016.