Carolyn Porco

Planetary Scientist

“…When I’m old and looking back on my life, I will feel that I did the coolest thing anyone could ever possibly do with their life.”

Career Highlights

• Director of the Imaging Lab at the Space Science Institute and Leading Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley
• Participated in many historic missions as an imaging specialist with NASA, including the Voyager in the 1980s, Cassini’s present orbit around Saturn and the New Horizons spacecraft mission to Pluto
• Plays a special role in bringing space exploration to the wider public via social media, scientific papers, popular science articles, television programs and news networks
• Her first memorable moment in science as a child was exploring the limitless sky through her friend’s telescope