ASP2025: Eyes on the Cosmos - Embracing the Future August 21, 2025

ASP2025 was held August 21 taking a journey across four dynamic themes — Questioning, Investigating, Adapting, and Connecting.

Attendees engaged with world-class thought leaders as they delve into the big questions:

What groundbreaking discoveries await us?

How will advancements in astronomy revolutionize our understanding?

What strategies do we need to thrive in this new reality?

How do we honor cultural astronomy with the power of shared narratives?

Symposium Features:

Affordable

Carbon Neutral

Scholarships Available

Recordings of panels and Q&A

Special film event the evening before the symposium

Conference Details

Our one-day virtual symposium featured four panels of invited guests exploring the Big Questions remaining to investigate, Big Astronomy and how it will facilitate answering the open questions, how we adapt to Big Challenges in society, and creating Big Connections to share our stories and perspectives.

Each panel was followed by a Q&A section and the opportunity to explore further in breakout rooms.

Guest Panelists

Visit Speaker Bio's and Schedule

Panel 1 - Questioning: What’s next in Space Science and Astronomy?

Moderator I Hakeem M. Oluseyi I CEO, ASP

Panelists:

Nathalie Cabrol I SETI Institute
- Expanding Views on Habitability and Life
David Grinspoon I NASA
- Searching for Life and Saving the Earth through Planetary Exploration
Ethan Siegel I Starts With A Bang/Big Think
- Rewinding the clock to the beginning of the Universe
Kate Storey-Fisher I Stanford / KIPAC
- Can mapping the cosmos reveal the nature of dark energy?

Panel 2 - How are we Investigating the Universe?

Moderator I Andrew Fraknoi I Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco

Panelists:

Sukanta Bose I Washington State University
- Uncovering cosmic secrets with gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars
Clare Higgs I NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
- Making Greatest Ever Cosmic Movie with the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Steph LaMassa I Space Telescope Science Institute
- How JWST is Changing our Perception of Neighboring Worlds to Galaxies Far Away
Rob Zellem I NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Exoplanet Watch: Inviting Citizen Scientists to Observe Transiting Exoplanets

Panel 3 - How are we Adapting to a New Reality

Moderator I Jimmy Negus I Colorado State University

Panelists:

Dara Norman I American Astronomical Society
- The Importance of Science Advocacy
Meredith Rawls I University of Washington and IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky
- Science Through a Swarm of Satellites
Ann Zabludoff I University of Arizona and Steward Observatory
- Will Humans Make the Greatest Astronomy Discoveries of the Future?

Panel 4 - Connecting: Sharing the Story of the Quest to Know the Universe

Moderator I Yasmin Catricheo I Associated Universities Inc.

Panelists:

Kat Gardner-Vandy I Oklahoma State University
- Connecting our Ways of Knowing: Science Engagement and Collaborations with Indigenous Communities
Jarita Holbrook - CfA, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- Where sits Cultural Astronomy?
Kal Mannis I Arizona Science Center
- Bring the WOW of astronomy to rural communities
Moiya McTier I Media Moiya
- Building Worlds, Building Minds

Wilfred Buck Film Trailer

The opening evening before ASP2025 offered a free special film showing honoring Cree Elder & Indigenous Astronomer Wilfred Buck in conversation with Daniella Scalice, Communications and Engagement Lead for the NASA Astrobiology Program.