Alan Stern: The Pluto System as Explored by New Horizons

Principal Investigator, New Horizons mission Horizons mission to Pluto. He has been involved in 27 suborbital, orbital, and planetary space missions, developed 8 scientific instruments for planetary and near-space research missions, and been a guest observer on NASA satellite observatories, including the International Ultraviolet Explorer, the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Infrared Observer, and the Extreme Ultraviolet Observer. His career has taken him to numerous astronomical observatories, to the South Pole, and to the upper atmosphere aboard various high performance NASA aircraft. Stern previously served as associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. He received bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy from University of Texas, Austin and his Ph.D. in astrophysics and planetary science from University of Colorado, Boulder. A has been awarded the Von Braun Aerospace Achievement Award of the National Science Society, the 2016 Sagan Memorial Award from the American Astronautical Society, and the 2016 NASAD Distinguished Public Service Medal. In both 2007 and 2017, he was named to the Time 100.