Dr Kirby Runyon, Planetary Geologist

“I love outer space! I have a PhD in planetary geology, I work on NASA-funded solar system research, I’m a zero-gravity coach for the Zero Gravity Corporation, I train private astronauts in Earth’s geology as seen from the ground and space, and I speak publicly about how everyone can experience a bit of outer space here on Earth. I use photos from robotic NASA spacecraft to map the Moon and planetary surfaces across the solar system, I’m especially interested in the Earth and Moon’s first billion years of asteroid bombardment and how it relates to the emergence of life. I also conduct impact cratering experiments on reduced-gravity parabolic aircraft flights to simulate cratering on asteroids.”