Jews in Space: Members of the Tribe in Orbit | Meet Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman
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Meet an Astronaut
Co-presented with Center for Jewish History Admission: $15 |
What’s it like to spin a dreidel in zero gravity? Find out when five-time Space Shuttle astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman discusses his experiences as a Jew in orbit who brought a Torah, a tallis, a dreidel, and other Judaica on his trips into space. Dr. Valerie Neal, curator of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, will provide an overview of the history of Jewish Astronauts and their achievements in Space.
About the Speakers
Jeffrey Alan Hoffman, Ph.D., was NASA’s first Jewish male astronaut, and has been to space five times. A professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, Hoffman’s space missions have included repairing the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, when the orbiting telescope's flawed optical system was corrected. Over the course of his five missions he has logged more than 1,211 hours and 21.5 million miles in space. Born on November 2, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York, Hoffman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in astronomy from Amherst College in 1966, a Masters Degree in materials science from Rice University in 1988, and a Doctor of Philosophy in astrophysics from Harvard University in 1971.
Dr. Valerie Neal has been a space history curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum since 1989 and is current chair of the Space History Department. Her research, exhibition, and collection responsibilities focus on human spaceflight in the Space Shuttle era and beyond. Author of numerous books on space flight and science, Dr. Neal has curated three major exhibitions on space exploration and eight Smithsonian Channel documentaries. Before joining the Smithsonian, Dr. Neal spent a decade in Huntsville, Alabama, writing for NASA. She also participated in underwater astronaut crew training activities and worked in mission support on four Shuttle missions. Dr. Neal has taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Vanderbilt University, and Georgetown University.
