🚀 The FUTURE of SPACE (FoS) video podcast, hosted by Daniel Fox, is a candid and informal conversation between Fox and leaders, investors, innovators, educators, celebrities, movers and shakers, who are shaping the future of humankind into outer space and here on Earth. 🚀
Our guest today is Gentry Lee, engineer, scientist, author, and one of the most influential figures in the history of robotic space exploration.
Dr. Lee has spent decades at the forefront of humanity’s exploration of the Solar System. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he played major leadership roles on some of the most iconic planetary missions ever undertaken, including Viking, Galileo, Cassini, and Mars exploration programs that transformed our understanding of the universe and our place within it.
Known for his rare ability to bridge science, engineering, philosophy, and storytelling, Lee has helped shape not only how we explore space, but how we communicate its meaning to humanity. Beyond his work at NASA, he is also a celebrated science fiction author, co-writing bestselling novels with legendary writer Arthur C. Clarke, including the Rama series — stories that inspired generations to think bigger about intelligence, exploration, and the future of civilization.
Throughout his career, Gentry has remained deeply focused on one fundamental idea: exploration is not simply about technology or destinations, but about expanding human perspective. His work continues to challenge us to think beyond borders, beyond disciplines, and beyond our assumptions about what may exist out there in the cosmos.