Ellen Stofan
Ellen Stofan
Ellen Renee Stofanis the Chief Scientist of NASA and serves as principal advisor to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the agency’s science programs, planning and investments. Previously, she served as vice president of Proxemy Research in Laytonsville, Maryland, and as an honorary professor in the Earth sciences department at the University College London...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth24 February 1961
CountryUnited States of America
affordable break challenge chunks huge humans mars order problem sending series
We have to ask, 'How can we break a huge challenge like sending humans to Mars into a series of doable, affordable steps? How can we break that problem down into chunks in order to keep making progress?'
agencies global mission road space wants
With the mission to Mars, the whole world wants to get involved. So we actually have 13 different space agencies from around the world working on the global exploration road map.
certainly conditions expect forms life periods single solar stability takes time
What we expect to find, certainly in our own solar system, are probably simple single or multiple-cell forms of life. To get to intelligent life takes stability of conditions over huge, long periods of time.
accomplish countries expensive
One of the big things about space exploration is that it is as expensive as it is complicated, and you need all the countries of the world to help if you want to accomplish big goals.
communication issue
Communication is an issue where we can improve, and if I can do anything to help, I am happy to.
bodies life
We're going to understand that there is life on other bodies in the solar system.
affect changes chief earth job looking planets sort taking understand
As chief scientist, it's sort of my job to look at bridges between what we do and to see the connections. But when we try to understand how are planets around other stars habitable... to looking back at the Earth - how are the changes that are taking place, how are they going to affect humanity?
atmosphere coming slowing
If you think of the Apollo capsule coming into Earth with a parachute, the Mars atmosphere is just so thin, you've got to find some way of slowing yourself down really rapidly.
budget community nasa priorities scientific within
We actually look to the scientific community to kind of come back to NASA and tell us what the priorities should be. And then at NASA, we try to look within our budget and say, 'What can we accommodate, and what are the most important things for the nation?'
'The Martian' may be fiction, but at NASA, we are working to make it a reality.
expand humans multiple surface visit
As we visit Mars multiple times, we will build up infrastructure on the surface to expand the capabilities and reach of humans on Mars.
I'm actually a NASA brat. My father was a rocket scientist. He started working at NASA before it was NASA in 1959.
biased issue life
I'm so biased to this issue of the origins of life and the limits of life.
human next
It's part of the human character to want to know what's over the next hill, to want to know what's beyond.