Star Goddesses is envisioned by the Emmy award-winning documentary producer, director, and writer Kelly Kowalski, inspired by the heliophysicist Madhulika Guhathakurta, whom Kelly met at The SETI Institute. Having difficulty pronouncing Lika’s full name, Kelly opted to address her as the star goddess ―a fitting moniker for the woman who is the lead scientist at NASA’s Living with A Star program. Madhulika remarked that the nickname is the perfect title for a media project about the supernova women working in space science and exploration. And so the seed was planted ― or in this case, a solar flare was ignited!
Star Goddesses has been fueled by an all-women crew of volunteer space and media professionals from around the globe. Current key contributors are space anthropologist Karlijn Korpershoek and documentary editor Rusne Stankeviciute.
Other volunteers have included associate producer Lily Eagan, space law analyst Ruvimbo Samanga, motion graphic artist Beth Wexler, archaeobiologist Selene Cannelli, science journalist Tatyana Woodall, space architect/graphic designer Katarina Eriksson, and media psychologist Ashley Landrum.
Project Advisors
Alison Lowndes Senior Scientist, Global AI at Nvidia, UK.
Bill Diamond President and CEO of The SETI Institute, USA
Ghina Halabi Program Director, University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, UK
Likka Guhathakurta Lead Scientist for NASA’s Living with A Star, USA
Tanja Masson-Zwaan Director, International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden University, Netherlands
Project Partners
The SETI Institute ― Research, education, and outreach dedicated to the search for life in the universe.
International Space University ― Space education programs and degrees for a changing world.
Celestial Citizen ― Space media dedicated to democratizing access to space and making space futures more inclusive.
Rocket Women ― Empowering diverse women to pursue STEM careers through scholarships and public outreach.
She Speaks Science ― Storytelling by and about diverse women scientists.
