Dr. John R Brophy

I have worked on the development of ion propulsion technology for NASA's robotic exploration of the solar system for nearly forty years. “God’s Ground,” is a realistic depiction of life in space where settlements do not take place on the surface of a solid body (i.e., a planet or a moon). I believe people will choose to live in the microgravity of space because it offers the one thing, the only thing that cannot be obtained on Earth, the absence of gravity. This choice will have a profound impact on the future of humanity.

I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and later earned a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University. I was a co-initiator of the use of ion propulsion on NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft and was responsible for the development of the ion propulsion system for NASA's Dawn mission. I co-led the study by the Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech on retrieving entire small asteroids that led to NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (that was subsequently cancelled part-way through it's development).

I am a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). In 2015, I received the Stuhlinger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Electric Propulsion and I was part of the Dawn spacecraft team that received the U.S. National Aeronautic Association Robert J. Collier Trophy that year. In 2017 I received the AIAA Wyld propulsion award presented for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems.

I appeared in Episode 1, Season 3 of the "Through the Wormhole" series. The episode was titled "Will We Survive First Contact?" and can be found here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2264711/.

I also appeared in Episode 9, Season 1, "Rockets and Propulsion," of the TV show "Xploration Outer Space" which can be found here http://www.hulu.com/watch/711011.