PBS39 is proud to present The Future is Female: Women, Science and NASA, introducing you to the women powering NASA’s mission to put the first woman on the moon. This presentation is a preview of our upcoming PBS39 documentary special Moon-to-Mars: The Next Giant Leap, which highlights the roles companies in the Lehigh Valley and around Pennsylvania play in the space program.
This special preview event features a half a dozen interviews with women including Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA’s first female launch director, Zena Cardman, 2020 NASA Astronaut Corps graduate and Penn State alum, and Casey Hoffman, a rocket engineer from Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh-based company that develops space robotics for NASA’s missions.
Following the virtual screening, PBS39 journalist Megan Frank will lead a panel discussion featuring:
- Former astronaut and Lehigh University professor Terry Hart. Professor Hart will discuss the evolving role of women in space exploration and share what it was like to have Sally Ride as his NASA desk mate.
- Rocket engineer Casey Hoffman of Pittsburgh’s Astrobotic Technology. Hoffman will share stories from the numerous space missions she’s worked on and talk about why more women should pursue STEM careers.
- Director of Education Karen Knecht from Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Knecht will discuss opportunities for women in STEM.