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Space Topics: 25th Anniversary Gala Awards Dinner

Awards

At this event, the Society will present two prestigious awards: the Thomas O. Paine Memorial Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars, and the inaugural Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science.

Click to enlarge > Ray Bradbury

The Thomas O. Paine Memorial Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars is named for Tom Paine, a member of The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors for many years and NASA Administrator at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The Award recognizes the group or individual who has done the most to advance the long-range human exploration of Mars. We are delighted to honor Ray Bradbury, author, poet and playwright, with this year’s Thomas O. Paine Award.

Ray has been whisking readers to Mars and other distant reaches of the universe for more than half a century. Many of the scientists and engineers now engaged in planetary exploration were first introduced to alien worlds in Bradbury’s short stories and novels, including his famous Martian Chronicles. We applaud his ability to inspire the generations of men and women who will one day build the spacecraft to take humans to Mars.

Past recipients of the Paine Award include the U.S. and Soviet members of the Apollo-Soyuz Crew; Daniel Goldin, then Administrator of NASA; planetary scientist at NASA Research Center, and now Planetary Society Board Member, Chris McKay; members of the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor teams; and posthumously, to Planetary Society co-founder, Carl Sagan.

Click to enlarge > James Cameron

The Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science
Engaging the public in the romance of space exploration is an integral part of The Planetary Society’s mission. Carl Sagan’s landmark television series, Cosmos – written with Ann Druyan, who is chairing the dinner – also celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Cosmos fueled the imagination of millions of viewers around the world. To honor the innovators who follow in this tradition of presenting science and scientists in an accurate, yet entertaining and enthralling, way, the Society is bestowing the first Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science to James Cameron.

Cameron’s recent IMAX films Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep have allowed audiences to join true-life adventures with real explorers as exciting as any fictional plot that Hollywood could devise. Cameron is a firm supporter of planetary exploration, a member of the NASA Advisory Council, and is planning future film projects to introduce audiences to the wonders that await us on Mars.