The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces that it will host former NASA astronaut and US Navy Captain (Ret.), Daniel Bursch, as a featured presenter for its Science Speaker Series, which resumes this month. His presentation, "Six and a Half Months Off the Planet: Living and Working in Space," will take place February 22 at 7pm on Zoom. This event is free to all.
 
In his presentation, Captain Bursch will talk about the challenges of living and working—and his hobby of creating miniature Nantucket lightship baskets— in space. Captain Bursch will also share some of the beautiful views of planet Earth captured during his expedition to the International Space Station. A former Naval Flight Officer and astronaut, he completed four missions to space, including a 196-day mission to the International Space Station from December 2001 to June 2002 as a flight engineer on Expedition 4.
 
This series is generously presented by our lead sponsor, Bank of America. For additional details on this event, please visit https://www.mariamitchell.org/science-speaker-series.
 
The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages