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25th Anniversary Gala Awards Dinner

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• 25 for the 25th

November 12, 2005

Our theme was the future – Our Next Age of Exploration – and the excuse was a celebration of the last 25 years of The Planetary Society. We were building momentum for the next twenty-five years, with everyone there pushing together, Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 and Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek, Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Bill Nye the Science Guy, former NASA head Dan Goldin and Neil Tyson, head of the Hayden Planetarium and Chairman of the Board of The Planetary Society. We gathered for a gala dinner at Santa Anita Park on November 12 to mark the Society’s silver anniversary, greet old friends and make new ones, and congratulate our members and our organization for coming so far in so short a time.

The emotional core of the evening was Ray Bradbury’s acceptance of the Thomas O. Paine Award for Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars: “A night like this is something I was born for.” Before we could reach the Red Planet with our spacecraft, Ray’s words enabled us to see ourselves as part of the Martian landscape and set us on the path the Mars. We are grateful to have had this opportunity to thank him for his inspiration.

Ann Druyan, wife and collaborator of Society co-founder Carl Sagan, gave a moving remembrance of creating with Carl the landmark television series, Cosmos. The Society has created The Cosmos Award for Public Presentation of Science to encourage excellence in conveying the wonders of science by the media. Our first recipient of the Cosmos Award is director James Cameron.

Everyone with us that night shared an enthusiasm for exploration and a belief in a future for humanity among the planets. Our presenting sponsor, Northrop-Grumman Corporation, allowed us to make this anniversary dinner a spectacular celebration of accomplishment and a renewal of commitment to achieve The Planetary Society’s mission: to explore other worlds and seek other life.

The Planetary Society is proud to honor Ray Bradbury and James Cameron.

James Cameron

The Planetary Society's 25th Anniversary Gala Awards Dinner celebrated our 25-year history and, now, our entry into a new age of exploration. The Planetary Society marked Our Next Age of Exploration with an evening of space explorers and entrepreneurs, celebrities, great food and stargazing, all at the world famous Santa Anita Park in Southern California. We also had an online auction as part of the evening's captivating program. Proceeds from this event will benefited The Planetary Society, and through our organization, the future of space exploration.

Ray Bradbury

Our guests joined us for the presentation of two prestigious awards: The Thomas O. Paine Memorial Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars honoring author, poet and playwright, Ray Bradbury

The Planetary Society's first Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentationof Science honoring director James Cameron.

The Planetary Society is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Donations and a portion of the ticket price are tax deductible.