Chris Carberry

Chris Carberry is the Executive Director and co-founder of Explore Mars, Inc., which was created to promote science and technology innovation and education with a use for Mars exploration. Chris has been actively involved in the space exploration advocacy community for many years. Prior to Explore Mars, Chris served as Executive Director of The Mars Society, an international non-profit space advocacy organization which supports the human exploration and settlement of Mars. While serving as Executive Director, Chris spearheaded the development of The Mars Quarterly, a highly acclaimed international online and print magazine, and provided a business strategy that resulted in two successful international conferences. His innovative ideas resulted in a new presentation platform at the 2008 conference that included a debate between Apollo astronaut, Walter Cunningham (representing the McCain campaign) and Lori Garver (representing the Obama campaign). Through his expertise in building open strategic alliances among industry leaders, Chris successfully broadened the organization's outreach, and improved donor commitment and sponsor participation in various programs. He previously served the organization as a member of the Steering Committee, for which he organized congressional outreach efforts around the country. Chris previously served as chairman or co-coordinator of such congressional lobbying events as the 2007-2010 Space Budget Blitz, the 2007 Moon-Mars Blitz, the 2006 Space Blitz, and the Great 2006 Mars Blitz. Chris co-authored space language in the 2000 Republican National Platform, has co-authored Congressional testimony, and has met with high level officials at the White House, NASA, and Congress. During the last several elections, he had the opportunity to speak with most of the major presidential candidates, and more recently, with the Obama NASA transition team in 2009. Chris also serves as the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Space Exploration Alliance, which is an umbrella group representing 13 space advocacy organizations with total membership of over 700,000 people. Chris has been quoted in numerous national and international newspapers and magazines and has appeared on national and international television and radio. He is the author of many articles and Op-Ed pieces concerning space policy and politics. Chris is also the author of a mystery/science fiction novel called Celestial Pursuits: in the hub of the Universe which was published in 2006. He is currently working on several writing projects, including another science fiction novel, a sequel to Celestial Pursuits, as well as a non-fiction book concerning art theft. In addition, in 2007, Chris signed a movie option contract for his novel, Celestial Pursuits, with a Los Angeles production company. Chris holds a Bachelor's degree in political science and a Master's degree in history and archival methods. For several years he worked as an archivist at the Massachusetts Historical Society, where he processed the papers of United States Senator Leverett Saltonstall, as well as numerous other collections. While in this position, he compiled The Guide to Modern Political Papers in Massachusetts, and helped to put together numerous displays. Chris transitioned into the role of Operations Manager at the Historical Society, where he is currently responsible for the protection of numerous art works and the greatest collection of early American documents outside of the Library of Congress. Chris has an extensive background in historical research, having worked as research assistant for several authors, including British biographer Sarah Bradford (America's Queen) and former New York Times Magazine editor Ed Klein (The Kennedy Curse). In 2007, Chris was contracted to archive a large collection of political correspondence and documents, and to ghost write the autobiography of a prominent Boston businessman and philanthropist. In addition, Chris has composed pieces of music that have been performed by the Boston Bel Canto Opera in Boston and at the Massachusetts State Awards Ceremony.