In the 25 years since Space.com first launched its space news mission on July 20, 1999, humanity has accomplished amazing feats in astronomical research and spaceflight. But what lies ahead in the next quarter century?
Join Space.com as we celebrate our 25th anniversary by looking to the future of humanity's reach into the cosmos with the live virtual panel "The Next 25 Years of Space Exploration - To the Moon, Mars and Beyond" on July 17 at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT/9 am PT/5 p.m. BST) on this page and on the Space.com homepage.
Check out a list of Space.com's special 25th anniversary week stories in our hub linked here!
Moderated by Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik, a 23-year veteran of Space.com, our panelists will discuss the great strides to date in the fields of exoplanet research, the search for life, human spaceflight and astronomical discoveries, and how giant new observatories, new spacecraft and technical advances could yield even more advancements.
Our panelists will be:
- Dr. Sara Seager, astrophysicist and professor of planetary science, physics and aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge;
- Dr. John Mulchaey, director of the Carnegie Observatories overseeing the Giant Magellan Telescope;
- Dr. Tom Marshburn, chief medical officer for Sierra Space and former NASA astronaut and three-time spaceflyer.
Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at MIT, where she has worked as a pioneer in the field of exoplanet discovery and characterization. Her research has two main goals: the discovery of another Earth and the search for signs of life beyond Earth. Her ground-breaking research ranges from the detection of exoplanet atmospheres to innovative theories about life on other worlds to development of novel space mission concepts. She has served as deputy science director of the MIT-led NASA TESS exoplanet mission, principal investigator of the JPL-MIT Asteria cubesat mission, lead of the Starshade Rendezvous Mission concept to find a true Earth twin around a sun-like star and the Venus Cloud Life project to determine if the Venus atmosphere could support life.
Her research earned her a MacArthur “genius” grant and in addition Professor Seager is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of US National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of the Magellanic Premium Medal, and has Asteroid 9729 named in her honor.
John Mulchaey is an astrophysicist serving as Director and Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair of the Carnegie Observatories, one of the world's premiere astronomy institutions. He joined the scientific staff at Carnegie in 1999 (the same year Space.com launched), and was named The Observatories’ 11th Director in 2015. Today, Mulchaey oversees Carnegie’s main campus in Pasadena as well as The Observatories’ large-telescopes facility in Las Campanas, Chile, where the Giant Magellan Telescope will be built. He also serves on the Board for the Giant Magellan Telescope, a next-generation telescope being designed in Pasadena.
Mulchaey’s research focuses on a wide range of scientific problems including dark matter and black holes. In 1993, he led the research team that discovered large amounts of dark matter in the local universe. More recently, Mulchaey has appeared in the press as one of the discoverers of the first binary quasar system and as part of the team to follow-up a mysterious fast radio burst for the first time. He also lectures and hosts astronomy nights at many schools and recently founded a program for gifted high school science students from around the Pasadena area. His outreach activities were recognized by the Rotary International with their 2020 Helios Award given for outstanding scientific work with a humanitarian component.
Tom Marshburn serves as Chief Medical Officer for Sierra Space, leading the medical team for the Human Spaceflight Center and Astronaut Training Academy. As a medical doctor and engineer, he is responsible for the human health of Sierra Space’s corps of our Career, Specialist, and Experiential astronauts. Before joining Sierra Space, Tom served 28 years at NASA, where he was a veteran of three spaceflights, STS-127, Expedition 34/35, and Expedition 66/67 as part of Crew-3. Prior to his selection as an astronaut in 2004, Tom served as a Flight Surgeon for the Space Shuttle Medical Operations and the joint U.S./Russian Space Program.
He also served as Medical Operations Lead for the International Space Station and piloted the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station. Marshburn was a flight engineer on Expedition 66 and commander of Expedition 67. He spent 337 total days in space over his career and over 24 hours on spacewalks. Tom is the recipient of NASA Superior Achievement Award, the Space and Life Sciences Division Special Space Flight Achievement Award twice, and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Superior Achievement Award.
Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com based out of our New York City office and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee.
Be sure to join us at Space.com on July 17 for what promises to be an amazing discussion on the future of space exploration and astronomy.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
