The National Space Society invites you to the next Space Forum
Thursday, September 24, 2026, 8:00 pm to 9:15 pm EST
Beyond Survival:
Designing to Thrive in Space
With special guest
Dr. Amy Gregory
Endowed Chair of Space Tourism Programming & Initiatives; Associate Professor, University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management
As commercial space stations, lunar habitats, and future settlements move from concept toward reality, the challenges of human spaceflight are changing.
For decades, engineers and scientists have focused on the technologies needed to keep humans alive beyond Earth—transportation, life support, safety, and habitat design. But as longer-duration missions and a permanent human presence become increasingly achievable, a new question emerges: Once we can live in space, how do we thrive there?
Join Dr. Amy Gregory, Endowed Chair of Space Tourism Programming & Initiatives and Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Rosen College of Hospitality Management, for a fascinating look at the emerging field of space hospitality.
Drawing on more than 25 years of hospitality industry leadership and her current research at UCF, Dr. Gregory will explore how hospitality principles can contribute to human habitation in orbital, lunar, and planetary environments. She will examine how food, recreation, social connection, privacy, sensory design, community formation, and a sense of place can influence our well-being.
Dr. Gregory will challenge us to think about hospitality not simply as a luxury or amenity, but as part of the infrastructure needed to support mental health, productivity, resilient communities, and human flourishing. As we expand into Low Earth Orbit, return to the Moon, and eventually venture to Mars, success may depend as much on creating places where people want to live, work, and build communities as on developing the technologies that take them there.
Join us for this thought-provoking Space Forum and explore a side of humanity’s future in space that goes far beyond rockets, spacecraft, and life-support systems.
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Dr. Amy Gregory is the Endowed Chair of Space Tourism Programming & Initiatives and an associate professor at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Appointed to the UCF Space Council, she contributes to the university’s interdisciplinary efforts in space habitation, workforce development, and the future of human experiences beyond Earth.
With more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in hospitality, lodging, food product development, revenue management, and customer experience strategy, Dr. Gregory brings a distinctive perspective to the challenges of long-duration human habitation in space. Before entering academia, she held senior leadership positions with Marriott Corporation, Ritz-Carlton Club & Residences, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, and Sunterra Resorts. Earlier in her career, she managed product innovation at Rich SeaPak Corporation, contributing to the development and launch of nationally recognized food products for Burger King and Red Lobster.
Her current research explores the emerging field of space hospitality, examining how hospitality principles, food systems, environmental psychology, community formation, service design, and workforce development can contribute to human thriving in orbital, lunar, and planetary environments. She also serves as guest editor for the International Journal of Hospitality Management special issue, “Space Hospitality: Theories, Frameworks and Experiences Beyond Earth” and is a Council Member for the Deep Space Food Consortium.
Through her research, education, and public engagement, Dr. Gregory is exploring a critical question for humanity’s future in space: Once humans can survive there, how do we help them thrive?
Register today to reserve your seat and ask your questions. Use the link below.
Register no later than September 24 at 7 pm EST
