David Grinspoon

Dr. David Grinspoon is a global thought leader and public intellectual in the search for life in the universe, planetary exploration, and cosmic perspective on the human future. Previously, he served as Senior Scientist for Astrobiology Strategy at NASA, where he worked to define the agenda for the future of Astrobiology research and communication. He is also an award-winning science communicator and prize-winning author.

Currently, he is a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. His research focuses on climate evolution on Earth-like planets, potential conditions for life elsewhere in the universe, and the planetary-scale impacts of human activities on Earth. He has worked on several interplanetary spacecraft missions and is currently on the science team for NASA’s upcoming DAVINCI mission to Venus. In 2013, he was appointed as the inaugural Chair of Astrobiology at the U.S. Library of Congress, where he studied the human impact on Earth systems and organized a public symposium on the Longevity of Human Civilization. He has given dozens of public lectures about climate change in the Solar System, the search for life in the universe, and the future of life on Earth. He has been invited to speak on the future of civilization at the World Economic Forum, United Nations offices in several countries, and in the Vatican.

He has taught courses and graduate seminars in Astronomy, Astrobiology, Planetary Science, History of Science and Future Studies at five American universities. His technical papers have been published in Nature, Science, and numerous other journals, and he has given invited keynote talks at conferences around the world. Grinspoon’s popular writing has appeared in the Atlantic, Scientific American, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times.

His newest book is "Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto," co-authored with Alan Stern. His book "Earth in Human Hands" was named a Best Science Book of 2016 by NPR’s Science Friday and was a finalist for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. His previous book, "Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life," won the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Nonfiction. He lectures widely and appears frequently as a science commentator on television, radio, and podcasts, including as a frequent guest and host of StarTalk Radio.

Also a musician, he currently plays with Groovadelics. Grinspoon was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal for Public Communication of Planetary Science by the American Astronomical Society. In 2022, he was elected as a lifetime Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Asteroid 22410 Grinspoon, a main-belt asteroid, is named after him.