Lisa Spence/NASA - A trip to Mars

Lisa Spence
Flight Analogs Project Manager

NASA Johnson Space Center
“Flying” to Mars….a Space Mission Without Leaving Earth

Spaceflight analogs and the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)

Lisa Spence is the Deputy Element Manager for Flight Analogs with NASA’s Human Research Program at the Johnson Space Center, providing project leadership and management for human research conducted in a variety of spaceflight analog facilities. In this capacity, she manages the conduct of simulated missions in the Human Exploration Research Analog at the Johnson Space Center, for bed rest studies at a facility in Cologne, Germany, for long duration isolation simulations at a facility in Moscow, Russia, and for NASA human research conducted in the National Science Foundation stations in Antarctica.  She began her NASA career as a Space Shuttle instructor, training astronauts and ground personnel in the operations of shuttle systems.  Subsequent assignments have included developing training systems, simulators, and curriculum for the International Space Station Program; serving as science program training coordinator for the Shuttle-Mir program in Star City, Russia; international liaison to the Japanese Space Agency, Russian Space Agency, and Italian Space agency for training development; integration engineer for EVA training and development at the Neutral Buoyancy lab; and systems and operations integration engineer in the Constellation Program.  She received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University, holds Master’s degrees in Computer Systems Design, Public Administration, Biological Sciences, and Communication and Leadership; she is a PhD Candidate in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.