Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards is the Director of the Space Division at Optech Incorporated, a world leading developer of advanced laser radar (lidar) systems for space exploration, observation and operations.

Bob studied aerospace and industrial engineering at Ryerson University; physics and astronomy at the University of Toronto; and space science at Cornell University where he became special assistant to Carl Sagan. In 1987 Bob founded the International Space University (ISU) with Peter Diamandis and Todd Hawley, where he served as the university's first Associate Administrator for Strategic Planning and chaired the board's administrative and strategic planning committees during ISU's first phase of development. Today Bob continues to serve on the Board of Advisors of ISU; now a well established global institution operating out of its Central Campus in Strasbourg, France, with thousands of graduates worldwide. Prior to ISU he co-founded the Space Generation Foundation with Diamandis and Hawley, whose youth outreach programs today include Yuri's Night and the Space Generation Congress, with UN Observer Status and space policy activities through its sister organization, the Space Generation Advisory Council. Bob first joined forces with Diamandis and Hawley in the creation of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), which continues today as the largest student run space organization in the world.

Bob serves on the boards of numerous international space organizations, and in 2005 was elected Vice President of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) and a Member of the International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation.

Bob is the recipient of four international space awards: the K.E. Tsiolkovski Medal (Russia, 1995), the Space Frontier 'Vision to Reality' Award (USA , 1994), the Arthur C. Clarke Commendation (Sri Lanka, 1990) and Aviation & Space Technology Laurel (USA, 1988). He is a contributing author of "Blueprint for Space", published by the Smithsonian Institution (1992), and "Return to the Moon", published by Apogee Books (2005).

In 2005 Bob received a Doctorate of Space Achievement (honoris causa) from the International Space University for "Distinguished accomplishments in support of humanity's exploration and use of space."

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Melissa Battler - Mars Society Canada President

Melissa Battler is currently working on her M.Sc. in Planetary Geology at the University of New Brunswick's Planetary and Space Science Centre. She is developing a lunar highland regolith simulant in cooperation with EVC & NORCAT in Sudbury, Canada, to help validate the design of lunar excavation equipment for upcoming missions to the Moon. During the summer of 2004 she attended NASA Ames Astrobiology Academy, where she began working on a Spanish/American Mars Drilling Project, MARTE. She has served on three Mars Society Canada training and research missions at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah; as Crew Geologist on Expedition One (Mar 2003); as Research Manager/Science Instructor on Expedition Alpha (Dec 2004); and as Commander/Science Instructor on Expedition Beta (Feb 2006), and plans to continue managing operations of many future Mars analog missions, including Commanding both a NASA Spaceward Bound crew (Jan 2007), and the four-month expedition to the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, FMARS, on Devon Island, Canada (May-Aug 2007).

She is a Canadian Space Agency Student Ambassador, President of Mars Society Canada, a NASA Spaceward Bound Commander, co-chair of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG)'s Young Lunar Explorer's committee, Canadian Representative for Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), Advisor to the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) Canada, founder of the Waterloo and Fredericton Space Societies, and a member of both the Association of Mars Explorers and the Mars Desert Research Station Remote Science Team. She enjoys rock-climbing, yoga, hiking, camping, ice-climbing, SCUBA diving, skydiving, traveling, and is working on her pilot's license. Her primary goal is to become an astronaut and to study the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, however she would be almost as happy to train future astronauts, and prepare them for scientific exploration of other planets.

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Paul Graham - Mars Society FMARS Engineering Team Coordinator

Paul has been working as an Engineer for the Mars Society's Mission Support since the FMARS 2002 season, and is the current Engineering Team Coordinator. Paul is also on the 4 Frontiers Generation II Mars Settlement Programing team as a dual division head (Building Trades & Mars Suits.) He attended Colorado School of Mines where he studied Engineering Physics, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering as a triple major. He has worked in every building trade, including several years as a plumber, a tinner and an electrician, has extensive RV experience from construction, repair, refitting and living and even spent a few days working on the ARES rover.

Currently he is the CTO of Alpine Systems, a PC consulting company where he loves to teach people how to use their computers in a fun creative manner, and Alpine Systems Engineering, a Linux/Unix consulting and Web/e-mail hosting company where he spends most of his time building and breaking servers and figuring new and creative ways to use or abuse computers and electronic hardware. He is currently working on several Embedded controller real time telemetry and streaming media projects. He is also working with developing rural broadband using several wireless technologies. His other interests include writing (He is currently writing a novel, a movie script, and a childrens story having several published short stories and non-fiction magazine articles), photography, videography, theater, acting, mountaineering, hiking and other outdoor activities, SCUBA diving, and he is an amateur radio operator (KC0IFZ).

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Kirk Kittell - Vice President of Education, American Astronautical Society

Kirk Kittell attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a B.S. and M.S. in aerospace engineering. He was a participant in the local SEDS chapter at Illinois. He attended the International Space University Summer Session Program in Strasbourg, France in 2006. Currently, he works as a systems engineer at Orbital Sciences Corporation and volunteers as the Vice President, Education for the American Astronautical Society.

Kirk is extensively involved in the international space community as an advisor to SEDS chapters around the world.