Humans and Robots on Other Worlds (Exploring Space Lecture)

In the 1960s, five Lunar Orbiter missions successfully imaged 99 percent of the Moon’s surface. These missions paved the way for crewed landings on the Moon during the Apollo missions. Using the Lunar Orbiter and Apollo Lunar Module spacecraft as milestone touchpoints, this program will explore will how humans and robots work together to explore the Moon and planets.

Join shuttle astronaut Robert Curbeam, cybernetics engineer and robotics technologist Håvard Grip, and space historian Valerie Neal as they discuss the importance of human and robotic exploration and how they work together to increase our knowledge of our Solar System.  

Håvard Grip is a principal engineer and robotics technologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was the chief pilot for NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, leading the development of its Aerodynamics & Flight Control System and guiding the first powered flight on another planet. His work focuses on advancing autonomous flight and robotic systems that expand the reach of human exploration. 

Robert Curbeam is a NASA astronaut who flew on three Space Shuttle missions and holds the record for most spacewalks during a single spaceflight (four spacewalks on STS-116). Before becoming an astronaut, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy.

Valerie Neal is a curator emerita in the Space History Department at the National Air and Space Museum. Before her retirement she was responsible for  the Museum's human spaceflight artifact collections from the Space Shuttle era and International Space Station.

Visit the Museum's galleries from 7-8 pm then hear from our panelists from 8-9 pm. 

Your registration includes:

• A ticket to this Exploring Space talk from 8-9 pm.
• Concessions available for purchase prior to 8 pm.
• Access to select Museum galleries from 7-8 pm. Check the event website for a list of open galleries as we get closer to the program. 
• Opportunities to learn about Earth's Moon from Museum curators and staff at Discovery Stations from 7-8 pm. 
• 9 pm Sidewalk Stargazing (outside, weather permitting) with Air and Space's Astronomy Team. 

This lecture series is made possible by the generous support of L3Harris and United Launch Alliance.