Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman
Former NASA astronaut, veteran of five Space Shuttle flights and four spacewalks, including the initial repair mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, and Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
BIO
KEYNOTES
TESTIMONIALS
VIDEOS
As a NASA astronaut (1978-1997) Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman made five space flights, becoming the first astronaut to log 1000 hours of flight time aboard the Space Shuttle. He has performed four spacewalks, including the first unplanned, contingency spacewalk in NASA’s history (STS 51D; April, 1985) and the initial rescue mission that repaired the optics of the Hubble Space Telescope (STS 61; December, 1993). His primary research interests are in improving the technology of space suits and designing innovative space systems for human and robotic space exploration. He is Deputy Principal Investigator of the MOXIE experiment on NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, which will for the first time produce oxygen from extraterrestrial material, a critical step in the future of human space exploration. Dr. Hoffman is director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium. In 2007, Dr. Hoffman was elected to the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Dr. Hoffman is a professor in MIT’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. He received a BA in Astronomy (summa cum laude) from Amherst College (1966); a PhD in Astrophysics from Harvard University (1971); and an MSc in Materials Science from Rice University (1988).
Keynote Presentations
Traveling into Space - An Astronaut's Perspective
A veteran of five Space Shuttle flights, Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman describes the preparation of both the equipment and crew for a space flight. He then shares the personal experience of what it is like to go through launch, experience weightlessness, observe the Earth from orbit, and reenter the atmosphere at 25 times the speed of sound.
The Hubble Space Telescope
Astronaut Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, who made three spacewalks during Hubble’s initial rescue and repair mission, tells the story of how Hubble went from a colossal failure to one of NASA’s greatest successes. He will share his personal experiences from the rescue mission and finish with a retrospective of images of Hubble’s greatest discoveries and their implication for our understanding of the universe.
The Future of Space Flight
If you think cruising the world’s oceans is exciting, how about a tourist trip into space?! Astronaut Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman describes how large numbers of private citizens may soon be able to enjoy the wonders of space flight and what you might experience as a space tourist. He will also describe what needs to be done so that astronauts can once again travel beyond the Earth, to the Moon and, someday, Mars.
Exploring Mars with Telescopes, Robots and Humans
Dr. Hoffman reviews the past history of Mars exploration and looks ahead to the future, including an experiment he is working on that will travel to Mars in 2020 and will, for the first time, produce oxygen on the surface of Mars using local Mars resources.
Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman Testimonials
“Dr. Hoffman was excellent. He did a great job of giving us the feel for space travel. He had some great visuals and great stories.”
“Interesting, informative and very professional.”
“Two excellent lectures from this Scientist/Astronaut. Very popular subject matter with guests of all nationalities. His interview and Q&A in the RCT with me was very well received and great interaction from the audience present.”
“Excellent a real top notch speaker and highly enjoyed by many! A true gentlemen and scholar…well worth keeping and using again!”
“Dr. Hoffman was excellent. I received many very nice comments about his lectures. This guy is the real deal. Would want him back. Great job.”
“An excellent Speaker, the best of the crossing, who filled Illuminations on his three talks. Highly recommended.”
“Very popular Speaker and strong attendance. Strong visual imagery, content and delivery. Highly recommended.”