MODEL MARS

brings 20 years’ experience in the UN system leading on science, technology and innovation for global sustainable development, including broadening participation in, and access to the benefits of, STEM and space. Her non-profit, Futuristas, builds youth programming on, and advocates for, more responsible and responsive STEAM.

is a chartered psychologist who explores the connection between human intelligence and machine intelligence. Working at the intersection of psychology, emerging technology and design, she creates interdisciplinary R&D, Innovation and Skunkworks labs for organizations that want to experiment, think forward and invent the future. Rakhi has extensive experience observing how people behave, monitoring the world for weak signals, patterns and drivers of change, subsequently creating normative or exploratory futures that lead to innovation in new products, services, business models and experiences.

is a Caltech-trained astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley and is affiliated with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. As part of the Curiosity rover science team and leader of the NASA BRAILLE Project, she uses robots to study Mars analog environments on Earth, as preparation for future missions that will explore the Martian sub-surface.

a veteran filmmaker, writer and educator, has produced films, videos, and interactive media and has written two space-themed novels. Her award-winning and internationally acclaimed documentary, Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond, argues for a more inclusive spacefaring future. The film premiered at the United Nations and has been shown in renowned academic and space venues worldwide.