NASA Astronaut Raja Chari and ISS National Lab to Lead Multiple Sessions at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

NASA astronaut Raja Chari

NASA astronaut Raja Chari

Media Credit: NASA

Two sessions slated to take place on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at the Las Vegas Convention Center highlighting a variety of research partners and Chari’s experiences living in space

LAS VEGAS (NV), January 9, 2024 – The International Space Station (ISS) is a technological marvel that enables innovation not possible on Earth. To showcase the orbiting platform’s unique capabilities, the ISS National Laboratory® and NASA are spearheading multiple sessions at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas—the world’s largest and most influential gathering of technology companies and researchers. NASA astronaut Raja Chari will join the sessions to discuss his experiences living and working on the space station.

CES is an annual conference that brings together more than 100,000 in-person attendees. The event provides an exciting venue to network, collaborate, and discuss how the ISS National Lab facilitates access to the unique space environment so companies can accelerate their research and technology development (R&D) and drive innovations that separate them from the competition.

This year, NASA and the ISS National Lab are leading two sessions at CES, both taking place on Thursday, January 11, at the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall W218. Below highlights the sessions and panelists that are open to accredited media at the conference.

1:00-1:40 p.m. PDT

How Space Stations Accelerate Emerging Tech and AI
Moderator:
Patrick O’Neill, Public Affairs and Outreach Lead, ISS National Laboratory
Panelists:

  • Raja Chari, Commander, NASA SpaceX Crew-3, NASA astronaut
  • Norm Follett, Sr. Director, Global Technical Marketing/Space Technology Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    • Follett will discuss HPE’s third iteration of the Spaceborne Computer, which is launching to the orbiting laboratory on Northrop Grumman’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (NG-20) mission in the coming weeks to further advance capabilities for near-real-time data analysis in space.
  • Nicole Wagner, CEO, LambdaVision

2:00-2:40 p.m. PDT
Preserving Our Beautiful Planet Through Space-Based Research
Moderator:
Patrick O’Neill, Public Affairs and Outreach Lead, ISS National Laboratory
Panelists:

  • Raja Chari, Commander, NASA SpaceX Crew-3, NASA astronaut
  • Simon Hook, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    • Hook is the lead principal investigator for ECOSTRESS, a remote sensing experiment in operation since 2018 that leverages the space station to provide detailed temperature and emissivity measurements of the surface of the Earth.
  • Diana Klochkova, Chief Marketing Officer, Privateer Space
    • Klochkova will discuss the mission of Privateer Space, a burgeoning startup working to eliminate single-use satellites by building a space data sharing platform.
  • William Stefanov, Branch Chief, Exploration Science Office, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
    • Stefanov will discuss his role as the ISS Program Scientist for Earth Observations, providing subject matter expertise in remote sensing to payload developers and program management.

Chari reported for duty to NASA in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an astronaut candidate. He then served as the director of the Joint Test Team for the NASA Commercial Crew Program. He also served as commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the space station, which launched on November 10, 2021, and served as a flight engineer onboard the space station for 177 days in orbit. During his time on station, Chari performed two spacewalks and helped in capturing and releasing three SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and two Cygnus cargo vehicles, while supporting a variety of experiments. Chari will have media availability the morning of January 11, 2024, prior to the sessions he is slated to participate in. Please contact dana.l.davis@nasa.gov to coordinate a possible interview.

These sessions will showcase the diversity of R&D capable through access to the space station and how this research brings value to our planet and furthers humanity’s footprint in low Earth orbit. For those attending the conference, please join these conversations to learn how conducting R&D in the space environment may be something for your company or organization to explore.

To learn more about how to join this expanding research community, visit our Current Opportunities webpage, or go to issnationallab.org.

Download the high-resolution image for this release: NASA Astronaut Raja Chari

Media Contact:       
Patrick O’Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org

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About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.

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