Sol Speaker Series

From Analogs to Artemis: Preparing for Space by Understanding Ourselves explores how Earth-based simulations shape the future of human spaceflight. The talk recaps life inside HI-SEAS, highlights the global collaboration of the World’s Biggest Analog, and concludes with Artemis II updates, showing how lessons from analog missions inform the human challenges of returning to the Moon.

Sharife Gacel is based in Central Florida near Kennedy Space Center, where space exploration is part of the local landscape. Sharife is an analog astronaut and has completed two missions. The first was at HI-SEAS in Hawai‘i as the Medical Officer, and the most recent was in Mission Control during the World’s Biggest Analog in Vienna, where she served as the Operations Task Manager and now contributes to the Human Factors team for the Austrian Space Forum. 

Sharife is the founder of the Blue Marble Project, a multidisciplinary initiative that integrates psychology, space science, art, and public outreach with the mission of Exploring Space, Inspiring Earth. She has participated in 8 NASA Social events, has received NASA Media accreditation for several launches, and manages social media for her adopted greyhounds, reaching over 25,000 people worldwide. She is also a psychotherapist, specializing in awe-inspired therapy, anxiety, life transitions, and multicultural mental health. Her academic background includes Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Veterinary Medicine, Psychology, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Sharife is currently pursuing a second Master of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Human Factors. For fun, she enjoys kayaking, watching rocket launches, spending time with her family and greyhound Cosmos, and is a NAUI Divemaster.