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RECENT TALK:

Celebrate  at Fiske Planetarium in Â鶹ӰԺ, Colorado with our new fulldome film Forward! To the Moon, supported by NASA and Lockheed Martin. Kari Byron from MythBusters narrates the film and launches us on a journey beyond the Earth towards a sustainable future in space. NASA’s 21st century Artemis program, named after the Greek moon Goddess and twin of Apollo, is the next step in our mission to explore the universe. Dr. Jack Burns from NASA's NESS program will join us and talk about making the film and answer your questions about space exploration to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

After the film and talk, stay and enjoy CAPCOM GO! The Apollo Story and Laser Floyd Dark Side of the Moon. Plus, observe the moon through the telescopes at Sommers-Bausch Observatory from 8-10 p.m.

Bio: Jack Burns, Ph.D. is a Professor in the  and a Professor in the Department of Physics, both at the , and is Vice President Emeritus for Academic Affairs and Research for the CU System.  Jack is also the Director and Principal Investigator of the NASA-funded . In addition, he has longstanding ties with  and served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2008-2010, Chair of the Council’s Science Committee from 2009-2010, and as a member of the 2016-2017 Presidential NASA transition team. Additionally, Jack served as the Senior Vice President of the  from 2014-2017.

Forward! To the Moon Premiere Events

Forward! To the Moon, a 25-minute fulldome film featuring the , engages audiences in the pursuit to land the first woman and person of color on the surface of the Moon this decade.

The film features current and aspiring astronauts along with robotic explorers that will help further our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon, Solar System, and cosmos.

Learn more...

Virtual Event: New Hampshire Astronomical Society Taking Silicon Valley to the Moon

Dr. Jack Burns gave a virtual presentation on February 16, 2022 for the New Hampshire Astronomical Society about the future of human and robotic exploration of the Moon and beyond, inspired by the approach taken by Silicon Valley computer and commercial space companies.

NASA’s Orion and Space Launch Systems along with rockets and landers by SpaceX and Blue Origin will be described. Show how such Moon and Mars can be explored via governmental programs, international partnerships, and even public-private-academic partnership. The tools for exploration include telerobotics where astronauts aboard NASA’s Lunar Gateway in orbit of the Moon will operate rovers and deploy telescopes on the lunar surface in a new synergy between robots and humans.

NEW Informational website

Our NESS collaborators at UCLA have released a describing the science of the Cosmic Dawn, with a particular focus on potential contributions to studying this era by lunar radio telescopes. 

Virtual Event

Nivedita Mahesh, NESS Team member and PhD Candidate in Astrophysics, Low Frequency Cosmology Group, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe presented a public talk on March 19, 2021 on FARSIDE for the East Valley Astronomy Club.

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Past Outreach Events

• Jack Burns presented 'Taking Silicon Valley to the Moon' to celebrate the  on September 26, 2020.  from Fiske Planetarium's .
• We celebrated  on October 5, 2019 at Fiske Planetarium, CU Â鶹ӰԺ.
• On July 13, 2019, Jack Burns presented 'Our Future in Space: The Moon and Beyond' during the Apollopalooza celebration at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. Watch the of his talk.
• On July 12, 2019, Jack Burns presented 'Our Future in Space: The Moon & Beyond' for the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Celebration at Fiske Planetarium, CU Â鶹ӰԺ campus.
• Jack Burns led a talk back session on May 1, 2019 after the audience watched the film "Apollo 11" which is a cinematic space event film fifty years in the making. Featuring never-before-seen large-format film footage of one of humanity's greatest accomplishments: travelling to the urface of the moon. (Todd Douglas Miller, 2019, USA, 1:33, G) 
• We participated in Astronomy Day on April 6, 2019 organized by Fiske Planetarium and Sommers-Bausch Observatory. The theme of the event was 'THE MOON - Appreciating our Nearest Neighbor.' It was a full day of free family-friendly activities, telescope observing, light labs, scale solar system tours, stomp rockets, comet labs, and planetarium shows focused on our Moon. NESS Director, Dr. Jack Burns delivered the keynote presentation for Astronomy Day titled, 'Our Future in Space: The Moon and Beyond' at 7pm Fiske Planetarium.  
• Dr. Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut and scientist visited NESS and then presented 'Walking on the Moon: Apollo 17 Exploration and Beyond' at Fiske Planetarium on October 29, 2018. Read more on CU Â鶹ӰԺ Today's article, Apollo astronaut visits campus, shares tales from the moon. Also, watch the at Fiske Planetarium's YouTube Channel. 
• We celebrated International Observe the Moon Night on October 20, 2018.  is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation and understanding of our moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. The annual event connects scientists, educators and lunar enthusiasts from around the world. The Network for Exploration and Space Science, Fiske Planetarium, and Sommers-Bausch Observatory had activities planned throughout the evening, including 'Our Future in Space: Humans, Robots, and Telescopes Exploring Together' by Dr. Jack Burns: 7 p.m. at Fiske Planetarium and Telescope Observations of the Moon: 8-10 p.m. at Sommers-Bausch Observatory. 
• Jack Burns presented 'Our Future in Space' at Fiske Planetarium to 45 high school STEM students participating in the national Summer Science Program (SSP) at CU-Â鶹ӰԺ on July 24, 2018.
• Jack Burns, along with Scott Pace (Executive Director of the National Space Council), conducted a panel on Space Policy for the 60th anniversary alumni symposium of the SSP at CU-Â鶹ӰԺ on July 28, 2018. Download the presentation (PDF, 12.3 MB)
• Jack Burns presented 'Our Future in Space: Humans, Robots, & Telescopes Exploring Together' at the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition 2018 conference in Pensacola, FL on February 22, 2018. Watch full of talk.
• International Observe the Moon Night, October 20, 2017: The Network for Exploration and Space Science, Fiske Planetarium, and Sommers-Bausch Observatory hosted InOMN with a special presentation by Jack Burns, titled 'Back to the Moon for Good.' Additionally, telescope observations of the Moon were offered at Sommers-Bausch Observatory throughout the evening.