On May 7th, 2011, the National Space Society’s Space Ambassador program began its year-long mission. The top ambassador will be assigned a research trip to space on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
The program, which was over two years in development, is the first of its kind. The mission of the Space Ambassador program is to communicate the benefits of space exploration to our daily lives and to inspire and educate young people and the public to pursue careers in science, engineering, and mathematics. We wish to inspire a new generation of leaders to take an active role in helping to create the future they wish to see come to pass.
Space ambassadors will achieve the program goals by scheduling and conducting speeches and presentations where they see fit, particularly in schools and universities. These presentations are conducted by volunteers who share the dreams and goals necessary to expand commercial space and space exploration endeavors of the future.
To date there are approximately 5,000 registered Space Ambassadors worldwide. Almost every country on Planet Earth is represented in this program. At the end of the program run, the top Space Ambassadors will be announced at the 2012 International Space Development conference in Washington D.C. and their award missions will be assigned.
The top ambassador will be assigned a research trip to space on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and report back to the Society and its members. Other ambassadors will be assigned space training and research with ZeroG Corporation, NASTAR center and Aurora Aerospace, among others.
It is envisioned the program will reach out to over one million students around the globe during the course of the program and inspire future space industry leaders, giving its audiences valuable information regarding commercial space development and exploration progress. This will enable students to make educated decisions regarding their future education goals.
More informaton about the NSS Space Ambassador Program can be found at Space Ambassadors
