Legendary NASA Astronaut Tom Jones on Asteroids, Challenger, Mercury & Columbia

Legendary NASA Astronaut Tom Jones on Asteroids, Challenger, Mercury & Columbia

Thomas D. Jones, PhD, is a scientist, author, pilot, and veteran NASA astronaut. In more than eleven years with NASA, he flew on four space shuttle missions to Earth orbit. On his last flight, Dr. Jones led three spacewalks to install the centerpiece of the International Space Station, the American Destiny laboratory. He has spent fifty-three days working and living in space.

After graduation from the Air Force Academy, Tom piloted B-52D strategic bombers, earned a doctorate in planetary sciences from the University of Arizona, studied asteroids for NASA, engineered intelligence-gathering systems for the CIA, and helped NASA develop advanced mission concepts to explore the solar system.

Tom is the author of several space and aviation books: Ask the Astronaut, Planetology, (written with Ellen Stofan), Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wehrmacht (with Robert F. Dorr), and Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir. The Wall Street Journal named Sky Walking one if its “Five Best” books on space.

Dr. Jones' awards include the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, four NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service award, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, the NASA Exceptional Public Service award, Phi Beta Kappa, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and Distinguished Eagle Scout. The Main Belt asteroid 1082 TomJones is named in his honor. In 2018, Tom was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Tom served on the NASA Advisory Council and the board of the Association of Space Explorers and is a board member for the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. As an aerospace and science consultant, he focuses on the future direction of human space exploration, uses of asteroid and space resources, and planetary defense. A frequent public speaker, he appears often on TV and radio with expert commentary on science and space flight.

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• Exploring Mars, Asteroids & A Look Into Space

• String Theory & Cosmology with Brown University Physics Professor Dr. Stephon Alexander

• NASA Astronaut Ron Garan on a Career in Space, the Chinese Space Program & Flying an F-16 vs a Space Shuttle

• NASA Astronaut Mike Mullane on Spacex, Life in Space, the Discovery Explosion & the Best Space Movies!

• Simmons Observatory Director Dr. Brian Keating

• Losing the Nobel Prize: UCSD Distinguished Professor of Physics at the Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences

• Future of Human Space Travel

• SpaceX vs Boeing

• From Einstein to LIGO: Gravitational Wave Detection

• Dreaming of the Stars: An Interview with Rocket Scientist Dr. Anita Sengupta

• Will Machine Learning Unlock the Cosmos?

• A New Perspective on the World: Geospatial Data

• Self-Driving Lunar Rovers

• What Will Settlements on the Moon Look Like?

• Dark Matter and First Generation Stars

• James Webb Space Telescope Will Answer Some Of The Universe's Questions

• Next Generation Space Shuttle Sets Space Flight Record

• Space: The Final Frontier of Artificial Intelligence

• The Last Starfighter Sequel Takes Off

• Cowboy Turned ISS Chief Space Surgeon

• Lunar Exploration Possible by 2024

• Black Holes: Gateway to Another Dimension, or Ghosts of Stars’ Pasts?

• Planet Jupiter: Revealed

• Was Our Moon Once Habitable?

• NASA Seeks New Worlds

• Interview with NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly: An American Hero

• Will Trump Rock NASA & The Russian Space Agency's Partnership

• South Africa's MeerKat Telescope Captures Clearest Image of Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way