An Evening with Dr Chris Boshuizen at the Powerhouse
Alan Duffy
I spoke to Australian space pioneer Dr Chris Boshuizen at the Powerhouse Museum about his efforts in space… from a small country town, to co-founding Planet Labs (now the largest Earth Observing satellite fleet in history) to provide open and accessible satellite-based planet monitoring (if you have used Google Maps, you’ve used his company’s images!) and then fulfilling his lifelong dream of space travel onboard the second Blue Origin New Shepard flight in October 2021, making Chris the third Australian in space and first to fly under an Australian passport. His career is fascinating, from being the Space Mission Architect at NASA Ames Research Center to a Partner at DCVC - a deep tech and data venture capital firm which partners with innovative business to apply and utilise Deep Tech to solve current world challenges.
My thanks to Jacquie Manning for the fabulous photos below!
As an advocate of space exploration and utilisation, including the democratising of space flight, Chris’s motto “Making Space Travel as Easy as Catching a Bus” has guided his career. Following a PhD in physics at the University of Sydney, Chris devised strategy for the Space Generation Advisory Council, a space networking and UN advocacy body. In 2007, Chris raised money to establish the Singularity University, a school for individuals to learn how to leverage tech to solve global challenges.
This has to be one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve ever had on stage, and the chats behind the scenes were even more illuminating… the highlight though was when he donated his space koala that flew with him to space to the Museum. Just the greatest evening, and my thanks to the wonderful team at the Powerhouse for that chance to chat with a legend!