Symposium on "Return to the Moon: A Partnership of Government, Academia, and Industry"

Symposium on "Return to the Moon: A Partnership of Government, Academia, and Industry"

WHAT: Sending American astronauts back to the moon for the first time since 1972, eventually to Mars and other deep space destinations called for under President Trump's Space Policy Directive will require new technologies, funding and collaboration among universities, businesses and governments, both domestic and international. Innovative aerospace entrepreneurs and experts will be joined by top U.S. and European policymakers to explore:

    --  Use of the moon as a staging platform for testing new systems and mining
        its valuable resources
    --  Strategies for aligning U.S. commercial, civil and defense space
        initiatives with those of other nations under the Outer Space Treaty

WHEN: Wednesday, March 28, 2018
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST (program)
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST (reception)

WHO:

    --  Robert Lightfoot, Acting Administrator - NASA
    --  Jan Woerner, Director General - European Space Agency (ESA) (video
        message)
    --  Hon. Harrison H. Schmitt - Apollo 17 astronaut and former U.S. Senator
    --  Ellen Stofan, NASA Chief Scientist (former) - NASA Headquarters
    --  James Carpenter, Strategy Officer, Strategic Planning and Outreach
        Office - European Space Agency (ESA) Space Research and Technology
        Center
    --  Clive Neal, Professor, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering and
        Earth Sciences - University of Notre Dame
    --  Carle Pieters, Professor, Dept. of Earth, Environmental and Planetary
        Sciences - Brown University
    --  Philippe Lognonné, Professor, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris -
        Université Paris Diderot-Sorbonne Paris Cité
    --  Jason Crusan, Director, Advanced Exploration Systems - NASA Headquarters
    --  Christie Iacomini, Head, Advanced Systems - Blue Origin
    --  Angel Abbud-Madrid, Director, Center for Space Resources - Colorado
        School of Mines
    --  Dan Hendrickson, Vice President of Business Development - Astrobotic
        Technology, Inc.
    --  Jeff Isaacson, President and CEO - Universities Space Research
        Association (USRA)
    --  Steven Ackerman, Chair, Council of Institutions - Universities Space
        Research Association (USRA)
    --  Henry Hertzfeld, Director - Space Policy Institute, George Washington
        University

WHERE: Capitol Hill Holiday Inn
550 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
Metro: L'Enfant Plaza station (Blue, Green, Orange, Silver, Yellow lines)

MEDIA REGISTRATION: All media must register for a badge to attend symposium sessions and the reception. Reporters, producers and photojournalists with valid media credentials are encouraged to pre-register via email with their name, news affiliation, title and phone number to Suraiya Farukhi (sfarukhi@usra.edu; (410) 740-6224) by 5:00 pm on Friday, March 23. All media requests received after this deadline will be handled onsite at the symposium on Wednesday, March 28. Both pre-registered and on-site registrants must provide a business card, press pass or equivalent identification at the media registration desk the day of the symposium.

MULTIMEDIA: All sessions may be video- or audio-recorded by credentialed media, provided symposium proceedings are not disrupted. All photographers and videographers will be escorted by a USRA or SPI staff member to designated areas on-site.

INTERVIEWS: Interviews may be conducted after all sessions conclude at the speakers' individual discretion.

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- March 12, 2018/

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association