Former "Mars Czar" and Co-Founder of XM Satellite Radio Join Society Leadership

The Planetary Society welcomes two new members to its Board of Directors: G. Scott Hubbard, a Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, and Lon Levin, Chief Strategic Officer of Transformational Space Corporation (t/Space) and Senior Advisor to Slacker.

"Scott and Lon will together bring to The Planetary Society decades of technological experience, business acumen, innovation, and unbridled enthusiasm for the science and adventure of space exploration," said Louis Friedman, the Society's Executive Director.

Hubbard worked for NASA for 20 years, and was the director of NASA's Ames Research Center from 2002 - 2006. Currently a professor at Stanford University, Hubbard also holds the Carl Sagan Chair for the Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute. He served as NASA's first Mars program director and was lauded for successfully restructuring the Mars program in the wake of several mission failures. He conceived the Mars Pathfinder mission, managed the Lunar Prospector Mission, and founded NASA's Astrobiology Institute.

In 2003 Hubbard served full time as the sole NASA representative on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, where he directed impact testing that demonstrated the definitive physical cause of the loss of the Columbia Space Shuttle. For his distinguished career and many contributions, NASA awarded Hubbard seven medals, including its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal.

The co-founder of XM Satellite Radio, Levin has 20 years experience in the space, new media, and telecommunications industries. In addition to his work at t/Space, Levin is a Senior Advisor to Slacker, a company that will offer personal radio via the web, wi-fi, and satellite. t/Space plans to provide crew and cargo transportation services to low Earth orbit.

Levin played an integral role in the formation and development of other satellite, media, and wireless companies, including Mobile Satellite Ventures, XM Canada, Motient Corporation, American Mobile Satellite Corporation, and TerreStar Networks. Levin began his career as an attorney at the Federal Communications Commission, and later became a partner in the law firm Gurman, Kurtis, Blask & Freedman. Levin serves on the Executive Committee of the Space Foundation and the Board of Governors of the National Space Society. He was a founding board member of the Satellite Industry Association and served as its co-chair from 1996-98.

Levin and Hubbard join board members Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Elon Musk, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Murray, Wesley T. Huntress, James Bell, Heidi Hammel, Christopher P. McKay, Dan Geraci, Joseph Ryan, and George Yancopoulos.