Make what’s possible, inevitable.
Astrofuturist + Engineer + EntrepreneurI’m interested in…
developing strong, thoughtful foundations for the near-future space economy.
Here are some of the organizations I am contributing to.
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I’m always looking for the next frontier-expanding infrastructure-enabling space startup to launch.
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Supporting the XPRIZE Foundation with a future “Space Prize”
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Board of Directors for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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Board of Advisors for SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space)
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Board of Advisors for Space For Humanity
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Board of Directors for Space Kind / Yuri’s Night
a “near-futurist”
FOCUS > Space Industrialization + Space Economy + In-Space Infrastructure
Managing the Phoenix Mars Lander surface mission
I’m fascinated by exponential technologies, integrating ideas from disparate industries, and developing sustainable foundations for In-Space Infrastructure.
I received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Arizona. I’m grateful to be a recipient of two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals and to have an asteroid named in my honor: 13609 Lewicki.
I predict that Space Infrastructure will extend beyond traditional concepts of technology and include new Economic Systems and mechanisms for governance of activities beyond Earth.
Working on Mars Spirit Rover
I believe the significant presence of humans in space will only be possible by sourcing raw materials from interplanetary space, including asteroids, the Lunar surface and Mars for construction, spacecraft fuel, and life support consumables.
Previously, I co-founded and was CEO of Planetary Resources Inc. (PRI), focused on the prospecting, development and use of resources found on near-Earth asteroids. I helped acquire over $60M in investment and revenue, build a team of 80 extremely talented engineers, scientists, business and policy leaders, launch 3 experimental spacecraft, and advance the adoption of space resource as a crucial part of humanity’s activities in space.
This resulted in key contributions to the passage of Title IV of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015. PRI was acquired by ConsenSys Inc. in 2018, where I led a small team which created “TruSat”, a citizen-powered, open source system for creating a trusted record of satellite orbital behavior.
Prior to entering the private sector, I was a key member of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix Mars Lander, serving as Flight Director for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and as the Surface Mission Manager for Phoenix. I also performed system engineering development and participated in assembly, test and launch operations for both missions.
Some fruits of my wood craftsmanship
Consulting focus
Investor Diligence - Space Tech
Technical Review Boards
Startup Business Planning
Autonomous Critical Events design/testing
things i enjoy outside of work
Working on my next Astrophotography session
Playing Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Working in my wood shop with hand tools
Genealogy and Family Picture Archival
Supporting my wife’s Abstract art, Andrea Lewicki Art
Astrofuturist, engineer, space ENTREPRENEUR
Except from 04.07.2017 Wired Article“[Chris]…has a way of condensing highly technical topics into seemingly straightforward explanations that make you feel like maybe you too could understand rocket science.”
He studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Arizona and, in 1999, joined Nasa, where he rose through the ranks. In 2003, at the age of 29, he oversaw the landing of the Spirit and the Opportunity Mars Rovers.
Those missions were the fulfilment of his childhood dream. Now, with the Phoenix - his third mission to Mars - he began to feel restless. "A lot of my friends were working on the next big robot project, Curiosity," he says. "But that felt like the easy thing to do." So he started casting around for a new job.
Except from 02/20/2018“Chris Lewicki believes that the past has a lot to tell us about the future of humans in space.”
He thinks back to 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on a voyage of discovery to the American West. The rest of the country didn’t just marvel at the reports of natural wonders and vast expanses. Rather, Americans actually went to those places for adventure, to search for gold and silver, or to raise families and build a livelihood.
The same thing, Lewicki says, will happen in space.
“Chris has A WAY OF… making YOU FEEL LIKE MAYBE YOU, TOO COULD UNDERSTAND ROCKET SCIENCE.”
~ Wired Magazine ~
Speaking Opportunities
I welcome opportunities for talks, podcasts, and other media interviews.
Here are some of the topics I speak on most often.
If you are interested in inviting me to speak, please fill out the form below.
Commercial Space Development, Space Infrastructure
Space resources, asteroid & moon mining
Planetary Exploration: Mars Rovers and Landers
Other topics: System Engineering, Critical Event design, Fault Protection, Operations, Relay Communications, Autonomy, power modeling for planetary landers
Other topics I’m able to speak at length on: Astrophotography, Woodworking, Hacking the Home and adventures in remodeling