Saturday, February 1
Nature Exploration Center
WRAL 3D Theater, 1st Floor
2:30 PM, Space Food: The Final Frontier
Ever wondered what astronauts eat in space, how their meals are prepared and preserved, and—most importantly—whether they actually taste good? Join Vickie Kloeris, retired NASA food scientist and author of Space Bites, for a captivating journey into the science and stories behind space food. Learn how sandwiches are assembled in zero gravity, hear Vickie’s firsthand accounts—including her experience feeding the Apollo 13 crew—and uncover what it takes to create meals that keep astronauts nourished, satisfied, and mission-ready.
Book sale and signing will follow presentation outside of theater.
Photo by: Robert Markowitz
About the speaker: Vickie L. Kloeris recently retired from NASA where she worked in space food systems for 34 years. For 29 of those years, she served as the NASA manager of first the Shuttle and then the International Space Station food systems. She has authored and co-authored numerous publications and has received several awards including NASA’s highest employee award, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
3:30pm: Member Meet & Greet
Enjoy a Member-exclusive meet & greet with space Chef Vickie Kloeris. Don’t miss her talk “Space Food: The Final Frontier” at 2:30pm in the WRAL 3D Theater.
Location: Curiosity Classrooms, 3rd Floor, Nature Research Center
Windows on the World, 3rd Floor
11:30 AM, The Weirdest Places in the Universe: Black Holes, Neutron Stars and Quasars
Christopher A. Rowe, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
Perhaps the “weirdest” place in the universe is a concept so mind-boggling that even Albert Einstein dismissed their existence. Yet, we not only have proof, but even actual images proving the existence of black holes. This presentation will discuss these “weird” objects, and their related phenomenon.
12:30 PM, Mars Vs. Venus Planetary Smackdown
Mike Keefe & Doug Lively, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors
The Earth, 3rd rock from the Sun, orbits between two other rocky planets — Mars and Venus. In this presentation, our speakers will take a humorous yet informational approach to contrasting Mars and Venus in a bid to determine which planet is the best option for eventual colonization.
1:30 PM, How to Become a Scientist at Any Age
Christopher A. Rowe, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
Want to help NASA hunt for exoplanets? Participate in dark energy research? Try to find Planet 9 (sorry, Pluto)? With modern technology producing unprecedented amounts of data, researchers not only invite the general public to assist, but actually need the contributions from crowdsourcing. This presentation will survey several notable Citizen Science projects you can participate in, whether you are 8 or 80.
2:30 PM, Light, Cameras, Astronomy: Applications of Light in the Arts and Sciences
Reilly Milburn, UNC-Chapel Hill Dept of Physics & Astronomy
3:30 PM, Remote Observing at AppState’s Dark Sky Observatory
Dr. Dan Caton, Appalachian State University
Real time observing using the Appalachian State Dark sky Observatory’s 32-inch telescope will be demonstrated. We will image some bright objects visible in the daytime sky, including the Moon.
Nature Research Center
SECU Daily Planet Theater, Floors 1-3
11 AM, The Farthest View
Dr. Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization, American Museum of Natural History
How far can we see, and what does it tell us? We will show you and tell you what cannot be seen. Piecing together a distance ladder of data can now be shown with software shared freely for us all thanks to NASA and a major international collaboration.
12:30 PM, UFOs: Fact vs. Fiction
Dr. Rachel L. Smith, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Sightings of UFOs have inspired humanity’s fascination with life beyond Earth, and helped shape our evolving view of Earth in the cosmos.
This presentation will provide a brief overview of UFOs and their influence in the ongoing social discourse of extraterrestrial life, alongside the scientific quest in the search for life beyond our world.
2 PM, Defending Dark Skies and Human Health
Dr. Dan Caton, Appalachian State University
Light pollution is a threat to both astronomy and human health. We will cover the basics and then the newer threats of LEDs to health and satellite constellations to astronomy.
3:30 PM, A Photo Tour of the Infrared Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope
Dr. Klaus Pontoppidan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Most of the light in the Universe is not visible to the human eye, but can be seen by space telescopes tuned to see infrared radiation. I will present a tour of recent infrared images taken with the James Webb Space Telescope that reveal the hidden Universe, and provide a glimpse of what the future may bring.
This presentation is sponsored by NC Space Grant.
Saturn Room, 4th Floor
11 AM, Exploring Beyond the Solar System with Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
Ann M. Murphy, Raleigh Astronomy Club
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are now part of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM). Learn about the history of this mission and its primary goals – to explore the outer solar system environment, search for the heliopause (the outer edge of the heliosphere), and study interstellar space (the space beyond the heliosphere).
12 PM, Northern Lights in the Carolinas
Tony Rice, NASA-JPL Solar System Ambassador
Solar max is here! Learn about the solar cycle an how it has brought rare opportunities to see the aurora borealis deep into the United States, and about the NASA and NOAA missions that help study and predict space weather.
1 PM, SpaceX and Commercial Space Report 2024
Marc Fusco, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
We’ll review the exciting things that went on in the world of commercial space in 2024. We’ll look at SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, and the rest, determine whether they had good or bad years, and see how things in commercial space are blowing up (in a good way).
3 PM, Exploring Heavenly Mountains
Matthew Funke, NASA/JP Solar System Ambassador
The world’s space agencies have been sending space probes to “minor planets”, learning more about the random debris that wanders between the planets. Why are we exploring, what have we learned, and what are we hoping to do in the future?
4 PM, The Great Migration of Jupiter
Ron Monti, Raleigh Astronomy Club
Four and a half billion years ago, Jupiter migrated into and back out of the inner solar system, wreaking gravitational havoc upon the planets there. This talk will cover the evidence for the Grand Tack hypothesis- how Jupiter’s migration resulted in today’s solar system, and how it made life as we know it possible on Earth.
Uranus Room, 4th Floor
11:30 AM, Europa Clipper: What’s Beneath the Ice?
Jeff Qualls, Ken Brandt, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors
We will provide an overview of the Europa Clipper mission and what we hope to learn about Jupiter’s moon Europa and the massive warm, salt-water ocean that scientists believe exists under a thick ice shell. We will discuss the scientific instruments that will investigate the potential for life in that ocean.
12:30 PM, Interview with a Planet Hunter
Alan Rich, NASA-JPL Solar System Ambassador, with Madyson Barber, UNC Chapel Hill
We’ve found thousands of alien planets orbiting distant stars. We’ve got billions left to find! How are we doing it? Will we find life on them? Planet Hunter Madyson Barber of UNC tells us how she does it.
1:30 PM, Averting Armageddon
Matthew Funke, Alan Rich NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors
Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth and upset the global climate for years, resulting in the extinction of the dinosaurs. They didn’t have a space program, but we do — what are we doing to avoid the same fate?
2:30 PM, NASA’s Return to the Moon: Exploring the Next Giant Leap
Mike Keefe, Tony Rice, and Doug Lively, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors
Join NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors for an exciting overview of NASA’s ambitious return to the Moon! Discover why we’re going back, how we plan to stay, and get an inside look at the cutting-edge hardware that will make it all possible. From the powerful SLS rocket to SpaceX’s innovative technology, learn about the tools and missions that will propel humanity into a new era of lunar exploration. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the future of space exploration.
3:30 PM, The Case for Life on Mars
Ken Brandt Director, Fellow, International Planetarium Society
Cheyava Falls: the rock sample that will confirm once and for all-that there fossils on Mars. Many other lines of evidence will be presented in the quest to answer the question: Was Mars an abode for life? Does it remain so?
Neptune Room, 4th Floor
11 AM, How to Drive Robot-Rovers and Fly Helicopters on Mars
Alan Rich, NASA-JPL Solar System Ambassador
Everything you need to know to drive a robotic rover or fly a helicopter on Mars! Hint: It’s nothing like you would guess!
12 PM, Protecting the International Space Station from Space Junk
Tony Verdone, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
The ISS circles the earth in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) which contains millions of space junk created by satellites and rockets. This presentation discusses how the ISS and astronauts are protected from collisions with small and large debris.
1 PM, Curiosity Rumbles On: Twelve Years Exploring Mars
Ken Brandt Director, Robeson Planetarium/NCSEA Ambassador, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
Curiosity continues it’s ascent of Mt. Sharpe in Gale crater. Find out about it’s continued mission, and the latest science results.
2 PM, How to Start Your Own Space Program
Ian Hewitt, Coastal Carolina University
Getting involved in space is easier than ever in the 21st century! This talk will discuss how to start getting involved in space missions, from simple things and individual can do to more advanced projects that can be done by small institutions.
3 PM, Discovering an Infant Exoplanet
Madyson Barber, UNC Chapel Hill, with Alan Rich, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
Infant exoplanets can help teach us about how our own Earth formed, but young planets are tricky to find. Learn about how astronomers in North Carolina discovered the youngest transiting planet!
4 PM, Human Spaceflight Report 2024
Marc Fusco, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
A review of 2024, another banner year in human spaceflight (HSF), and how it is shaping up for the coming decade. SpaceX is leading the way to a new golden era of human spaceflight and is poised to change the dynamics of HSF with their new Starship, and NASA is back to the Moon with the Artemis program.