Introducing Ari Koeppel, our first AAAS Policy Fellow

We’re excited to announce The Planetary Society’s first AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow — a milestone that reflects our expanding advocacy and outreach presence in Washington, D.C.

Joining our policy team for the coming year is Ari Koeppel, a planetary geoscientist whose career spans research, teaching, and advocacy. Ari holds a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Planetary Science from Northern Arizona University and has completed postdoctoral fellowships at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Dartmouth College. He has served on the science teams for NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions, as well as the THEMIS instrument aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. His fieldwork has taken him around the world — from sand dunes in Namibia to glacial waters of the Northwest Passage — in search of planetary analogs that deepen our understanding of other worlds.

Having seen firsthand how exploration and discovery connect people to the natural world and to each other, Ari is eager to help shape policies that propel humanity’s journey in space. 

Ari will be joining The Planetary Society's Washington, D.C. operations at a critical time for NASA and space science. The agency is facing historic cuts in 2026, with science activities slated for a 47% cut by the White House in fiscal year 2026.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellowship is one of the most competitive and respected programs of its kind. Since 1973, more than 4,000 fellows from across all science and engineering disciplines have participated in the policymaking process in federal, congressional, and select private organizations. Alumni of the program have gone on to shape policy at the highest levels of government, academia, and industry.

We’re thrilled to welcome Ari to our team and excited that The Planetary Society is now part of the AAAS Fellowship tradition. We are also grateful to our generous donors and members who enabled The Planetary Society to sponsor this fellowship and expand our D.C. operations during this important moment in space history.