Dr. Gary Lagerloef was a panelist at the "Exploring Space, Inspiring Planetary Stewardship," discussion held at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA on September 15, 2008. This public event was part of the international Association of Space Explorers (ASE) 21st Planetary Congress which included events at the University of Washington and on the Microsoft Redmond campus, as well as outreach by the ASE members in attendance to more than 50 area schools.

Membership in the ASE is comprised of 320 astronauts and cosmonauts from 32 countries who have been on missions in space which have included at least one orbit around the Earth. Approximately 70 astronauts and cosmonauts from 16 countries attended the various public events associated with the meeting, which marked only the third time since its founding in 1985, to be held in the U.S.

Space shuttle astronaut Captain Bo Bobko and former Apollo astronaut Captain Bill Anders moderated the panel discussion with Dr. Lagerloef of Earth & Space Research, and Dr. Tom Jones, a former astronaut and author.

The panelists discussed issues of Earth stewardship and historic missions from the US and the Soviet Union during the "space race", and included Dr. Lagerloef’s overview of NASA earth science missions currently in progress, including the Aquarius SAC-D Science Mission scheduled for launch in May, 2010. Dr. Lagerloef is the Principle Investigator for this satellite mission developed by NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, CONAE).

Related Links:

• Aquarius SAC-D Science Mission
• Association of Space Explorers
• Museum of Flight

.