Next Generation Exploration Conference

NGEC-2
February 12-15, 2008

A gathering of emerging global space leaders to design the future of space exploration through direct input at NASA's highest levels.

NGEC-2 focused the energies and innovations of this group on "Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Lunar Development," and produced output documents for the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Commercial Development Policy group and Innovative Partnerships Program Office.

NGEC-1
August 16-18, 2006

The 2006 Next Generation Exploration Conference (NGEC) sponsored by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) brought together emerging leaders, students, and early-career professionals with a keen interest in space exploration. This three-day conference hosted at NASA Ames Research Center was a planning session to develop strategies for human space exploration in the 21st century, as humanity prepares to return to Earth's nearest neighbor in space: the Moon.

NGEC was created to follow-on to NASA's Exploration Strategy Workshop that was held in April 2006 in Washington, DC. The focus of the original workshop was to develop a strategy for lunar exploration—why are we going, and what are we going to do once we get there.

NASA sponsored NGEC to obtain input of early-career scientists, engineers, professionals, and students. NGEC delegates first focused on reviewing the themes and objectives from the April 2006 Exploration Strategy Workshop, which focused on approximately the first 20 years of lunar exploration and then focused on the destinations beyond.

Each of the participants in the conference was hand-selected from four major categories—NASA center civil servants and contractors, students, industry and non-governmental organizations, and the international community. The total number of delegates were 166, where 45% were NASA civil servant or contractors, 32% were students, and 24% were non-US participants from 16 different countries.