Wes Huntress Named Vice President of The Planetary Society

Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Director of the Geophysical Laboratory of the
Carnegie Institute of Washington, has been named Vice President of The
Planetary Society, replacing Laurel Wilkening who is retiring from the
Society’s Board of Directors after six years of service, nearly four years
in the capacity of Vice President.

Dr. Huntress was the Associate Administrator for Space Sciences at NASA
from 1993 until 1998. There he was a key architect of NASA’s Mars
Exploration and Origins programs and was responsible for NASA’s programs in
astrophysics, planetary exploration, and space physics. Huntress enjoyed a
20-year career at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to coming to NASA
headquarters.

“The Planetary Society is fortunate indeed to have Wes Huntress serve as
Vice President of our organization, bringing with him a wealth of
experience in planetary exploration that will help guide the Society’s
programs in the 21st century,” said Bruce Murray, President of The
Planetary Society. “At the same time, we are sorry to lose Laurel Wilkening
from our Board, but are very grateful for her invaluable assistance over
the past six years.”

The Planetary Society has on its Board of Directors and Advisory Council
many well-known figures from the worlds of space exploration, science,
science fiction and entertainment, including director Steven Spielberg;
Bill Nye the Science Guy; astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Kathy Sullivan and
Franklin Chang-Diaz; author Ray Bradbury; futurist Arthur C. Clarke; writer
Ann Druyan; biologist Stephen Jay Gould; Hayden Planetarium Director Neil
De Grasse Tyson; and planetary scientist and former director of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Bruce Murray, who is the President of the Planetary
Society.

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For more information, please contact Susan Lendroth at (626)793-5100 ext
214 or by e-mail at tps.sl@mars.planetary.org.

Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded the Society in 1980 to
advance the exploration of the solar system and to continue the search for
extraterrestrial life. With 100,000 members in over 140 countries, the
Society is the largest space interest group in the world.

The Planetary Society

65 N. Catalina Ave.

Pasadena, CA 91106-2301

Tel: (626) 793-5100

Fax: (626) 793-5528

E-Mail: tps@planetary.org