This is Robert Picardo and you're
watching The Planetary Post.
Hello and welcome to The Planetary Post,
where we like to engage you, the public,
in the adventure of space exploration.
Engaging the public in the romance of
space is a primary component of The
Planetary Society's mission. With the
television series "Cosmos," Planetary
Society co-founder Carl Sagan inspired
millions of viewers around the world. So,
to honor the innovators who follow in
this tradition, The Planetary Society
created the Cosmos Award for Outstanding
Public Presentation of Science.
Previous recipients of the Cosmos Award
include James Cameron for his phenomenal
science-themed IMAX films, Paul Apsell,
the senior executive producer of the
Emmy award-winning series Nova, and Dr.
Stephen Hawking, who has engaged the
public for over 20 years on some of the
most profound questions of our existence.
In 2015, the Society's own Neil deGrasse
Tyson was given the award for his
outstanding work and outreach on the
much acclaimed TV show Cosmos: A
Spacetime Odyssey. Now, in 2016, the
Planetary Society is giving the Cosmos
Award to Alan Stern and the New Horizons
team. Alan and his team were standout
candidates for the Cosmos Award,
unanimously selected by the Planetary
Society Board. I know, because I was there
and I voted for him too. With stunning
photographs and captivating
storytelling throughout the Pluto flyby,
the team impassioned
an entire global community.
There are so many different kinds of landscapes that
tells you that there's a complicated
geologic story to tell here. We've had so
many ideas about what Pluto might look
like and we're only just beginning to
see the reality for the first time and
it's more exciting than we could have
imagined. Our CEO Bill Nye is presenting
Mr. Stern with the award tonight. I'm a little
late. But the cool thing is I get to go
and you get to go too.
Alan is giving a speech tonight and
during the course of speech we will present
him with the award.
There's a lot of scientists here but I
haven't seen a single old guy with white
socks and sandals on yet.
Let's look.
Oh. I got it!
The Principal Investigator of the
mission to Pluto, New Horizons, that's
what is going to talk about today. Please
welcome Alan Stern.
There were many setbacks and reversals and political intrigue
cancellations, budget cuts. And those two
organizations The Planetary Society and
the Division of Planetary Sciences stuck
with us. If you came here tonight to hear
about the exploration of Pluto, you owe
it in large measure to them and I'd like
to ask you to give them a round of
applause.
This is the spacecraft we built it. We
designed it, we built it, we tested it.
This is a picture of it. It's actually
powered by Plutonium. The element named
for the planet Pluto. We sent Plutonium
to Pluto. We went across the solar system.
We did it all. We did what Carl Sagan
said only one or two generations in
history would have a chance to do--
to turn planets from points of light into
real worlds before our very eyes.
All those years, all those people, all
that persistence. We pulled it off.
What an extraordinary thing it is for
humankind to build these spacecraft. So it
is my honor to present the Cosmos Award
to the New Horizons team and especially
Dr. Alan Stern. Thank you.
Dr. Stern is not only a great scientist, but a terrific
communicator.
Let's go find him. We found that beyond the
science, which is what we're all about,
that New Horizons is this vehicle--it
infects people with enthusiasm. Nine and a half
years traveling to Pluto and then it all
happens in half an hour.
It was like being strapped to a train.
After nine years getting there and
planning for it, all of a sudden we were
just whoosh right through it and it was
just the ride of a lifetime.
Many of the members of the New Horizons team
are members and Planetary Society. We
wouldn't have done New Horizons if it hadn't been for
the support of The Planetary Society and not
just once, many times over many years.
It's been a great pleasure to meet you,
Dr. Stern, it's a well-deserved
award and it was a pleasure to be in the
audience. May I ask one favor?
What's that?
I do impressions. I'm going to let you guess what it is, okay? Okay.
 
So, congratulations Alan and the
entire New Horizons team on your awesome
work. As always, go to planetary.org/connect
to subscribe to this
newsletter and get more space news in
your inbox from me.
