Nancy Vermeulen is a commercial airline pilot-instructor, Master in theoretical physics and astronomy, she was Commander of a Mars simulation in Utah and took part in the ESA astronaut selections of 2008. Bringing the universe closer to people and the people closer to the universe, that is Nancy Vermeulen’s personal mission. For that reason, Nancy was the first in Europe to develop a non-governmental training program in which prospective space travelers can prepare themselves for a space voyage.

For the podcast Scientific Imagination, I invited her to talk about the fuel for the imagination in her work and why the universe has an irresistible attraction for her: Why does she think it is important to do space research? What are the advantages and disadvantages of corporations like SpaceX? And for what reasons, does she think, are we living on the verge of a shift within the space travel and research industry?

Shownotes:

00:00:00 Introduction Scientific Imagination / 00:02:41 Introduction Nancy Vermeulen / 00:04:00 Commercial space flights / 00:07:00 Exploring Moon and Mars / 00:10:00 Space species / 00:12:00 Space technology and taking care of our planet / 00:14:00 Space in Utah / 00:16:00 Space ambassadors / 00:18:00 Further recommendations

Links:

Book Glenn Damato – The Far Shore

Website Nancy Vermeulen