On May 17, Town Hall Seattle and The Museum of Flight host a lecture and book signing with space experts, Alan Stern and David Grinspoon, who will share insight from their new book “Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto.” The authors will present an inside look at the triumphs and challenges of the most revealing spaceflight since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door or available at townhallseattle.org
New Horizons and the Book
Imagine a roughly minivan-sized space probe screaming through space at more than 32,000 miles per hour more than 3 billion miles from Earth, focusing its instruments on the long mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system. This is the life of the NASA spacecraft New Horizons.
In their book, Stern and Grinspoon tell the story of the men and women behind the New Horizons mission, their decades-long commitment, the political fights within and outside of NASA, and the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly the mission. They outline the science, politics, egos, and public expectations that fueled the greatest space mission of our time, and reveal plans for New Horizons’ next encounter 1 billion miles past Pluto.
The Authors
Dr. Alan Stern is Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission. A planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author, he has participated in 29 NASA space missions and has been involved at the highest levels in most aspects of American space exploration.
Dr. David Grinspoon is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist, award-winning science communicator, and prize-winning author. In 2013 he was appointed the inaugural Chair of Astrobiology at the Library of Congress. He is a frequent advisor to NASA on space exploration strategy, and is on the team for the Curiosity Mars Rover. Grinspoon’s previous books include “Earth in Human Hands” and “Lonely Planets,” and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Scientific American, Los Angeles Times, and others.
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
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