President's Commission on
Moon, Mars and Beyond

Eight high-ranking aerospace and technology experts have been appointed to the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, joining Chairman Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge. The Commission, known as the President's Commission on Moon, Mars, and Beyond, is charged with providing recommendations to the President regarding moon research activities, increasing young people's interest in space science, and bringing in industry and other countries as space partners.

Members of the Commission, headquartered in Arlington, VA, are:

• Carleton Fiorina, Chairwoman and CEO, Hewlett Packard, who holds a masters of science degree from MIT's Sloan School and a masters degree in business administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
• The Honorable Michael P. Jackson, Senior VP, AECOM Technology and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation
• Laurie Leshin, Director of Arizona State University's Center for Meteorite Studies, who is currently leading a team that is designing a potential mission to Mars for collection of soil samples
• General Lester L. Lyles, USAF, Retired, former commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, who holds a master of science degree in mathematics and nuclear engineering, New Mexico State University
• Paul D. Spudis, Planetary Scientist, Johns Hopkins University, who specializes in the geology of the moon and was deputy leader of the science team for the Clementine lunar mission in 1994
• Neil deGrasse Tyson, prolific author, educator and Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, who served on the Future of the US Aerospace Industry Commission in 2001
• The Honorable Robert S. Walker, Chairman and CEO, The Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates and former Congressman from Pennsylvania who served as Chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee
• Maria T. Zuber, E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, MIT, who has been involved in more than half a dozen planetary missions aimed at mapping the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and asteroids.

Welcoming the members, Chairman Pete Aldridge said: "I am delighted with the Commissioners named by the President for this important task. They come from diverse backgrounds in technical management, the private sector, the academic community, and government service. Their experience will serve the nation and the President well, and I look forward to working with them all."