Free Virtual Event Honors Hubble Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan
Richard Fienberg Running Hare Observatory
The Desert Research Institute is honoring Kathryn D. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space and the first woman to travel to the deepest point in Earth's oceans, with its 31st Nevada Medal. AAS members are invited to tune in to a free virtual event, "Sea, Earth, and Sky: Celebrating the Spirit of Scientific Exploration, Discovery, and Innovation,” on 20 April at 5:00 pm PT (8:00 pm ET), when Dr. Sullivan will discuss her career with renowned journalist James Fallows of the Atlantic.
Sullivan began her career in oceanography, then joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 1978. On 11 October 1984 she became the first American woman to walk in space. During her 15 years with NASA, she flew on three Space Shuttle missions, including the one in 1990 that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. From 2014 to 2017 she was administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and in 2017 she was designated the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. On 7 June 2020 she became the first woman to dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth’s oceans.