10:00am EST., Friday February 16th

Presenting Live via Zoom

Title: Living in the extremes- stories from analog missions across the globe

Irish explorer, writer and ESA Champion for Space Education Dr. Niamh Shaw has just returned from the Antarctic as part of a global leadership program about climate change. Prior to this she participated in a 15 day simulated Mars mission in the high Utah desert. Last July she joined a science field trip to the Kalahari desert on a different kind of analog mission. She wants to share what she has learned so far about our planet and about ourselves in visiting these extreme places for humans.

With a Ph.D. in science and two engineering degrees, Niamh Shaw is an Irish STEAM communicator, writer, and explorer. As an ESA Champion for Education, a fellow of The Explorers Club and a space reporter, she has shared her passion for science and space for over 12 years through various means such as podcasts, videos, conferences, workshops, and social media. Niamh has written space features for The Irish Times and BBC’s Sky at Night magazine and contributes science segments on national radio. An advocate for equal access to education, Niamh also provides space and Earth-themed content for younger viewers on RTÉ television's "Home School Hub" shows. In her work sharing engaging stories about space and our planet she has participated in a Mars analogue mission in the Utah desert, survived a zero gravity flight in Moscow’s Star City and reported on launches of astronauts to space from NASA Kennedy Space Centre and Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. In November 2023, she embarked on a Women in STEM expedition to the Antarctic with Homeward Bound global leadership programme to highlight climate change. She travelled to the Kalahari Desert in Botswana earlier that year on a Mars science analogue mission to highlight how space sustainability can help us to appreciate Earth's limited resources. Her ultimate aspiration is to report live from the International Space Station and the Moon.