NASA’s Gateway Program, the real “Deep Space 9”
Oct 11, 2021 6:40 PM
Emma Lehnhardt of NASA
NASA’s Gateway Program, the real “Deep Space 9”
NASA Gateway Program business manager Emma Lehnhardt will introduce Rotarians to NASA’s Artemis Program, a mission to return to the Moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. Her talk will focus primarily on the Gateway Program, a critical part of Artemis, which is being built right now with companies across the United States and with NASA’s international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan. Gateway will be humanity’s first permanent outpost in deep space, circling the Moon in a special orbit that will allow constant communication with the Earth and access to unexplored areas of the lunar surface. Gateway will be a waystation for astronauts traveling down to the Moon’s surface as well as a testbed for science and technology that will enable further human exploration (such as missions to Mars).
As the business manager for NASA's Gateway Program, which is developing an outpost in orbit around the Moon, Emma Lehnhardt leads the team responsible for all the business operations of the program. Previously at NASA Headquarters, she led the NASA-wide process of budget formulation for the agency’s $20 billion annual budget. Emma has also worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Space Policy Institute, and consulted for government agencies and aerospace companies.
Emma holds a Master of Arts in International Science and Technology Policy from The George Washington University, a Bachelor of Arts in Politics (minor in Astronomy) from Mount Holyoke College, and attended the Space Studies Program of the International Space University. Emma grew up in Port Angeles, Washington, the “gateway” to the Olympic National Park. She loves exercising, spending time with her husband and their dog MECO, and looks forward to being able to travel and scuba dive again after the pandemic.