Apollo 17's Dr. Harrison Schmitt to Receive the NSS Apollo Legacy Award at the National Space Society’s ISDC Conference

The 44th Annual International Space Development Conference will be held in McLean, VA, June 4-7, 2026

EXPLORATION PARK, CA, UNITED STATES, May 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Space Society is pleased to announce a keynote presentation by Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt at its 44th annual International Space Development Conference in McLean, VA, June 4-7, 2026. Schmitt flew on Apollo 17 in 1972 and was the only Apollo lunar explorer who was also a scientist, holding a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University. He also served in the U.S. Senate.

Schmitt said, “The National Space Society’s Apollo Legacy Award is a greatly appreciated tribute to the over 400,000 Americans and Canadians, as well as their families, whose dedication, initiatives, and sacrifices made the Apollo program a success during one of the most challenging periods in the history of human freedom. Fifty-seven years ago, these men and women began the movement of our species and institutions into the infinite frontier of space, continuing now with a new generation of young Americans. God speed them to further accomplishments and discoveries.”

NSS president Isaac Arthur said, “It is such a gift to have one of the few remaining Apollo astronauts, and a Moonwalker, with us for the ISDC. Dr. Schmitt was critical to NASA realizing their scientific goals on the Moon during the Space Race, having designed the geology training program for Apollo 13 through 17, and we’re honored to have him accept the inaugural NSS Apollo Legacy Award for Exceptional Achievement in the exploration of the Moon.”

The NSS Apollo Legacy Award was created to recognize individual astronauts or crews for outstanding accomplishments in the exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond, building on the pioneering spirit and legacy of the Apollo astronauts, Earth’s first explorers of the Moon. Fittingly, the inaugural NSS Apollo Legacy Award is being given to the last Apollo astronaut to set foot on the Moon.

Schmitt was selected as an astronaut in 1965, became a jet and helicopter pilot, and spent years helping his colleagues prepare for their own lunar voyages. Before joining the astronaut corps, he worked at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, developing field exploration techniques for the Apollo program.

Besides preparing others for work on the lunar surface, Schmitt was the first scientist-astronaut to be assigned to a backup crew, specifically for the flight of Apollo 15. He was then in line to fly on Apollo 18, but when that mission was canceled, he was moved to Apollo 17, as NASA management and the scientific community felt strongly that at least one trained geologist needed to perform field work on the Moon. Schmitt then became the Lunar Module Pilot for that mission. The discoveries he made while working with his colleague Gene Cernan on the Moon were a highlight of the Apollo surface missions and have recently been documented and interpreted in his online “Diary of the 12th Man.”

After leaving NASA in 1975, Schmitt served a term as a Senator for New Mexico, chairing the Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee. He subsequently has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has championed the future utilization of lunar resources, and chaired the NASA Advisory Council from 2005 to 2008.

NSS VP for Planetary Development Dr Pascal Lee said: “As a planetary scientist and co-chair of ISDC 2026, I am delighted that Dr. Schmitt has agreed to join us and receive this inaugural NSS Apollo Legacy Award. His voyage to the Moon and the discoveries it led to have been an inspiration to generations of scientists and explorers, and will no doubt continue to stir wonder far into the future.”

About the ISDC
The ISDC is the annual conference of the National Space Society (NSS), bringing together well over 1000 leading executives, managers, engineers, scientists, educators, students, and laypeople from a wide variety of backgrounds to join in working toward the common goal of developing a spacefaring civilization. The conference has attracted tens of thousands of people from dozens of countries and featured important thought leaders from NASA, commercial space, media, academia, and other space-related fields. The theme for ISDC 2026 is Space for Us All.

Subject areas for ISDC 2026 include the exploration, development, and settlement of the Moon, Mars, and cislunar space; deep space exploration; innovative spaceflight technology; the commercialization of space and space infrastructure; life support systems; collaboration in space; living in space; space solar power; the problem of space debris and mediation solutions; planetary defense; space law; and both national and international space policy, among others. For more information go to the ISDC website, isdc.nss.org.

About the NSS
The National Space Society is the preeminent non-partisan citizens’ voice on space exploration, development, and settlement, reaching millions through its membership, numerous outreach channels, and media activities. The organization was founded in 1987 via a merger of the National Space Institute and the L5 Society. To learn more about the NSS and its mission to establish humanity as a spacefaring species, visit us on the web at nss.org.

Rod Pyle
National Space Society
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