Alan Stern

Quick Facts

Full Name	Alan Stern
Occupation	Astronomer
Date Of Birth	Nov 22, 1957(1957-11-22)
Age	67
Birthplace	New Orleans
Country	United States
Birth City	New Orleans
Horoscope	Capricorn

Alan Stern Biography

Alan Stern is one of the most popular and richest Astronomer who was born on November 22, 1957 in New Orleans, New Orleans, United States. Sol Alan Stern (born November 22, 1957) is an American engineer and planetary scientist. He is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Chief Scientist at Moon Express.

Stern has served on various NASA committees, including the Lunar Exploration Science Working Group (LExSWG) and the Discovery Program Science Working Group (DPSWG), the Solar System Exploration Subcommittee (SSES), the New Millennium Science Working Group (NMSWG), and the Sounding Rocket Working Group (SRWG). He was Chair of NASA’s Outer Planets Science Working Group (OPSWG) from 1991 to 1994 and served as a panel member for the National Research Council’s 2003-2013 Decadal Survey on planetary science. Stern is a member of the AAAS, the AAS, and the AGU.

A 2000 paper by Stern and Levison proposed a system of planet classification that included both the concepts of hydrostatic equilibrium and clearing the neighbourhood used in the new definition, with a proposed classification scheme labeling all sub-stellar objects in hydrostatic equilibrium as “planets” and subclassifying them into “überplanets” and “unterplanets” based on a mathematical analysis of the planet’s ability to scatter other objects out of its orbit over a long period of time. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were classified as neighborhood-clearing “überplanets” and Pluto was classified as an “unterplanet”. One could take this classification system as planet and dwarf planet respectively, with the major difference of the IAU definition classifying the two as distinct categories of celestial bodies instead of two subsets of planets.

Stern has become particularly involved in the debate surrounding the 2006 definition of planet by the IAU. After the IAU’s decision was made he was quoted as saying “It’s an awful definition; it’s sloppy science and it would never pass peer review” and claimed that Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune have not fully cleared their orbital zones and has stated in his capacity as PI of the New Horizons project that “The New Horizons project […] will not recognize the IAU’s planet definition resolution of August 24, 2006.”

I recall going to JPL, the Jet Propulsion Lab, the summer of 1989 when I was in graduate school to take a summer course in planetary exploration at Caltech and this was the summer of the Voyager fly-by of Neptune and Triton (which has turned out to be rather a twin of Pluto). It was amazing to get to be a part of some first-time exploration like that! Within a matter of months, a small group of us had formed a team, an advocacy group, Why don’t we get a mission together for Pluto?

Alan Stern Net Worth

Alan Stern is one of the richest Astronomer from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Alan Stern 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Stern was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Joel and Leonard Stern. He graduated from St. Mark’s School of Texas in 1975. He then attended the University of Texas, Austin, where he received his bachelor’s degrees in physics & astronomy and his master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and planetary atmospheres. He earned a doctorate in astrophysics and planetary science from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

From 1983 to 1991, Stern held positions at the University of Colorado in the Center for Space and Geoscience Policy, the office of the Vice President for Research, and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy. He received his doctorate in 1989. From 1991 to 1994 he was the leader of Southwest Research Institute’s Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences group and was Chair of NASA’s Outer Planets Science Working Group. From 1994 to 1998 he was the leader of the Geophysical, Astrophysical, and Planetary Science section in Southwest Research Institute’s Space Sciences Department, and from 1998 to 2005 he was the Director of the Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute. In 1995 he was selected to be a Space Shuttle mission specialist finalist and in 1996 he was a candidate Space Shuttle payload specialist but did not have the opportunity to fly on the Space Shuttle.

Stern has been involved in 24 suborbital, orbital, and planetary space missions, including eight for which he was the mission principal investigator. One of his projects was the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System, an instrument which flew on two space shuttle missions, STS-85 in 1997 and STS-93 in 1999.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Alan Stern Dating?

According to our records, Alan Stern is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Alan Stern’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Alan Stern. You may help us to build the dating records for Alan Stern!

On November 23, 2008, in an op-ed in The New York Times, Stern criticized NASA’s inability to keep its spending under control. Stern said that, during his own time at NASA, “when I articulated this problem… and consistently curtailed cost increases, I found myself eventually admonished and then neutered by still higher ups, precipitating my resignation earlier this year.” While complimenting current NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, Stern suggested that Griffin’s decision to again bail out an over-budget mission was motivated by fear “that any move to cancel the Mars mission would be rebuffed by members of Congress protecting local jobs”.

Facts & Trivia

Alan Ranked on the list of most popular Astronomer. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Alan Stern celebrates birthday on November 22 of every year.

In December 2008, Stern joined Blue Origin, a company that was founded by Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos as an independent representative for research and education Missions. The company has stated that its objective is to develop a new vertical-take-off, vertical-landing vehicle known as New Shepard that is designed to take a small number of astronauts on a sub-orbital journey into space and reduce the cost of space transportation. The company is located in Kent, Washington and has flight tested some hardware.

Is Alan Stern married?

Dr. Stern’s personal interests include running, hiking, camping and writing. He is an instrument-rated commercial pilot and flight instructor, with both powered and sailplane ratings. He and his wife Carole have two daughters and a son; they make their home near Boulder, Colorado.

Where was Alan Stern born?

New Orleans, LA

Who is the principal investigator on the New Horizons mission and where

does that person work?

Alan (far left) and his team celebrate after New Horizon’s historic Pluto flyby in 2015. Alan is best known as the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, but his long career in exploration spans the solar system.

Where was the New Horizons launched?

CCAFS Space Launch Complex 41

Where does Alan Stern work?

Sol Alan Stern (born November 22, 1957) is an American engineer and planetary scientist. He is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Chief Scientist at Moon Express. New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.