Dr. Cody Paige is the Director of the Space Exploration Initiative at the Media Lab, a team of 50+ students, faculty and staff building and flying advanced technology for space exploration. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT.

Dr. Ariel Ekblaw founded the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, a team of 50+ students, faculty and staff building and flying advanced technology for space exploration. Ariel leads the MIT “To the Moon to Stay Mission” and developed MIT’s “Operating in the Lunar Environment Course” that incubated and advised this first cohort of lunar surface payloads.

Dava Newman is the director of the MIT Media Lab. She holds the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics chair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is a Harvard–MIT Health, Sciences, and Technology faculty member in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dr. Hoffman is Professor of the Practice and Director of the Man Vehicle Lab at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In May 2023, astronaut, STEAM advocate, and business pioneer John Shoffner served as Pilot on Axiom Space Ax-2 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Throughout the duration of his mission, he hosted live events with schools around the world, demonstrating life in microgravity.

Sean is the Mission Integrator for the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, acting as liaison between the project teams and the flight provider.

Joseph Paradiso directs the MIT Media Lab’s Responsive Environments group, which explores how sensor networks augment and mediate human experience, interaction, and perception.

Fangzheng Liu is a second-year PhD student at the MIT Media Lab, studying in the Responsive Environments group, advised by Prof. Joseph A. Paradiso and Dr. Ariel Ekblaw.

Nathan is a multidisciplinary software engineer with several years of experience in industry, most recently an alum of Tulip Interfaces.

Dr. Jennifer Heldmann is a Planetary Scientist in the Division of Space Sciences & Astrobiology, Planetary Systems Branch at NASA Ames Research Center. Heldmann studies the Moon with a focus on improving our understanding of lunar volatile deposits as well as focusing on lunar geology.

Dr. Amanda M. Cook is a space instrument scientist at NASA Ames Research Center. She is the integration and test lead and mission ops lead for the Near-InfraRed Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS).

Dr. Ferrous Ward is a graduate of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is currently a Research and Development Engineer in the Non-Destructive Evaluation group at SpaceX.

Dr. Don D. Haddad is a Planetary Science Software Engineer working with NASA Ames Research Center and Space Exploration Initiate at MIT. He is currently serving as the Lead Software Engineer on the Camera payload.

Dante Latessa is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who merges traditional art practices with cutting-edge computer science. As the founder of Synthesis:1, a video game and graphics studio, Dante pushes the boundaries of creative innovation.

Maya is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard SEAS on the MethaneSAT project, focusing on mission planning for the instrument in-orbit Lunar calibrations, with expertise in spacecraft operations, engineering systems, technology strategy, and space law and policy.

Patrick Chwalek is a third-year PhD student in the Responsive Environments group at the MIT Media Lab.

Lenny Paritsky is an experienced aerospace and systems engineering leader who develops advanced technologies for small spacecraft.

Jamie Milliken (he/him) has over 20 years of experience designing and implementing embedded electronic systems, with a focus on robotics and sensor integration.

Dr. Forrest Meyen is a Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of the space robotics company, Lunar Outpost.

Lawrence Azerrad is the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Macroscopic. With a decades-long career as a creative director, author, and design innovation thought leader, Lawrence specializes in creative strategy incubation and executions rooted in transformational design and future-thinking across digital, tangible, and experiential realms.

Richelle Ellis is an expeditionary artist, curator, and analog astronaut. Her art and research aims to use space to help life on Earth, to see the world – and ourselves – in new ways. Richelle creates artworks made for international orbit, etched on satellites, suspended by Stratollite balloons and aboard rockets, and is one of the first women to have art on the surface of the Moon.

Sarah Kraft is the Design Strategist and Creative Operations between Inploration and Macroscopic. She leads day to day operations and production management. Sarah oversees video editing, website design and implementation, and design implementation. Combining technical expertise with a storytelling-driven approach, she executes conceptual research and editorial production, aligning creative direction with purpose, and developing innovative solutions. By blending research with a broad design skill set, Sarah advances Inploration’s mission with clarity and organization. She is committed to thoughtful, collaborative solutions that make a difference and help shape a more connected, inspired world.

Tiffany is the Managing Director for Inploration. Tiffany has 19 years of extensive experience in the arts and philanthropy sectors. She is the former West Coast Director of Development for the American Friends of the Israel Museum. In this capacity, she forged significant relationships with high level donors and internationally recognized artists, while also spearheading unique arts programming initiatives. Prior to her role at AFIM, Tiffany spent 9 years at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as Department Manager for Modern Art. There, she managed the strategic operations of 24 major exhibitions, drawing over a million visitors. Tiffany has also worked at the Hammer Museum and the Getty Research Institute.

Mehak Sarang is currently based in Denver, CO. She works with NASA to integrate scientific instruments aboard commercial lunar landers as part of the CLPS program first at Masten Space Systems, and now at ispace U.S.

As a member of the SpaceX mission management team, Becca has a hybrid systems engineering/program management role where she owns various aspects of customer missions, including test plans, verifications and operations.

Dr. Antosca serves as the the Chief of Staff of Aurelia Institute, a hybrid space architecture research institute and venture incubation studio.

Elise O’Hara, a cherished member of the Media Lab community, died on December 12, 2023 as a result of complications following the birth of a healthy child. In her time at the Media Lab, Elise was perhaps best known for her warmth and her kindness. She is survived by her husband, Sean O’Hara; her parents, Robert and Jean Valerio; her sister, Julie Cornell; and her three children.