SPACELIVE: STEM Careers

SPACELIVE: STEM Careers is a live event providing students with an out of this world chance to connect directly with international leaders in space including mission control, engineering, scientific research, and industry strategy. The event includes a Q&A session, so students will have a chance to ask their own questions and get answers that speak directly to them.

This is a STEM careers excursion like no other, featuring a cast of diverse professionals who represent the full breadth of pathways a STEM education can lead to including NASA directors, an Australian working as the flight controller for the International Space Station, a Lockheed Martin space strategy executive, and the Chief Astronaut for Axiom Space.

Event Information Pack

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NOTE: For Perth bookings, please use this guide to complete the group booking request. 

Michael López-Alegría

Michael is the Chief Astronaut for Axiom Space. He commanded the crew of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), the first private mission to the ISS, and subsequently served as commander of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3). He is a six-time astronaut with more than 40 years of aviation and space experience with the U.S. Navy and NASA in a variety of roles including Naval Aviator, engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, and International Space Station commander.

Vanessa E. Wyche

Vanessa is the Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, home to the USA’s astronaut corps, Mission Control Center, International Space Station, Orion, and Gateway Programs. Her responsibilities include a broad range of human spaceflight activities, including development and operation of human spacecraft and NASA astronaut selection and training.

Holly Ridings

Holly is NASA’s Director of the Exploration Operations Office. She previously served as the Gateway Deputy Program Manager and became NASA’s first female Chief Flight Director in 2018, leading NASA human spaceflight operations through the first commercial crew missions to the International Space Station and the preparation for the Artemis I and II missions.

Andrea Boyd

Andrea works at the European Astronaut Centre as a Flight Controller for the International Space Station. She studied Mechatronic Engineering in Adelaide and specialised in robotics in South Korea, and worked for many years in Automation and underground FIFO Mining in central Australia. She then joined the ISS Flight Control Team as a Flight Operations Engineer for payload control, biomedical and crew operations.

Rob Chambers

Rob is the Director of Strategy and Space Exploration for Lockheed Martin’s Human and Scientific Space Exploration Division. With the company’s unparalleled heritage in robotic and human spaceflight, weather, climate intelligence, and Earth science, Rob is focused on Lockheed Martin’s blueprint for extending humanity’s knowledge of our planet, our solar system, and the universe at large.

Gwen Griffin

Gwen launched the Griffin Communications Group in 1997, leading the Griffin team to create and implement strategic communications campaigns to advance commercial, civil and military space in both B2B and B2C environments. Her vision for the future guided the agency to support nonprofit, trade and educational institutions to prepare the skilled talent needed in the burgeoning space industry.

Dr. Sara Webb 

Sara is an award-winning astrophysicist, science communicator, and global leader in the future of space research and education. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree in Healthcare & Science, recognised for her work at the intersection of astronomy, artificial intelligence, and microgravity science. At Swinburne University of Technology, Sara is the Course Director of Swinburne Astronomy Online, Australia’s longest running online astronomy program.