Dr. Thomas D. Jones

Thomas D. Jones, PhD, is a scientist, author, pilot, and veteran NASA astronaut. In more than eleven years with NASA, he flew on four space shuttle missions to Earth orbit. On his last flight, Dr. Jones led three spacewalks to install the centerpiece of the International Space Station, the American Destiny laboratory. He has spent fifty-three days working and living in space.

After graduation from the Air Force Academy, Tom piloted B-52D strategic bombers, earned a doctorate in planetary sciences from the University of Arizona, studied asteroids for NASA, engineered intelligence-gathering systems for the CIA, and helped NASA develop advanced mission concepts to explore the solar system.

Tom is the author of several space and aviation books: Ask the Astronaut, Planetology, (written with Ellen Stofan), Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wehrmacht (with Robert F. Dorr), and Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir. The Wall Street Journal named Sky Walking one if its “Five Best” books on space.

Dr. Jones' awards include the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, four NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service award, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, the NASA Exceptional Public Service award, Phi Beta Kappa, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and Distinguished Eagle Scout. The Main Belt asteroid 1082 TomJones is named in his honor. In 2018, Tom was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Tom served on the NASA Advisory Council and the board of the Association of Space Explorers and is a board member for the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. As an aerospace and science consultant, he focuses on the future direction of human space exploration, uses of asteroid and space resources, and planetary defense. A frequent public speaker, he appears often on TV and radio with expert commentary on science and space flight.

Broadcast 3109 Dr. Thomas Jones

Guest:  Dr. Tom Jones; Topics:  Multiple topics including returning to the Moon, Mars, lunar landers, human risk factors, artificial gravity, planetary defense & protection, Apollo 7, NASA budget, ISS commercialization and more.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com.  Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program.

Broadcast 1547 (Special Edition)

Guest: Dr Thomas (Tom) Jones. Topics: Space Shuttle, space policy, planetary protection. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. We welcomed Dr. Tom Jones back to the program to discuss the retirement of the shuttle, planetary protection, space policy, and the possibilities for human spaceflight and why.

Broadcast 1113 (Special Edition)

Guests: Dr. Tom Jones, Dr. Charles Oman, Ron Small. Topics: Spatial disorientation, space motion sickness, vertigo, solutions. Our guests today, Dr. Jones, Dr. Oman, and Ron Small, are involved in a research project with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to assist pilots in real-time to overcome spatial disorientation for aviation and space. We also talked about motion sickness, particularly space motion sickness, and ways to combat it. Physiology plays a big part in both disorientation and motion sickness, so you will want to hear what our guests had to say.

Broadcast 1069 (Special Edition)

Guests: Dr. Tom Jones and Dr. Ellen Stofan were the guests for this program to discuss their new book, "Planetology: Unlocking The Secrets Of The Solar System." We started our discussion with Drs. Jones and Stofan telling us how they got together and collaborated on this book which contains 250 unique color photographs plus an equal amount of exciting and informative text.

Broadcast 647 (Special Edition)

Rusty Schweickart and Dr. Tom Jones were the guests for this Space Show program to discuss the Chabot Space & Science Center program with the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) to support eliminating the global NEO threat. ASE is working with the United Nations to address this threat and both Rusty and Tom are part of the effort and the Chabot benefit program. During this discussion, both Rusty and Tom went into detail about the NEO threat as well as the characteristics of different kinds of NEOs.

Broadcast 475 (Special Edition)

Dr. Tom Jones was the guest for this Space Show program. Dr. Jones began the interview speaking about his new book, "Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir." This is an exceptional book and it provided the basics for this program as we discussed space walking, on orbit construction, our spiritual connection to space, space food, exercise in space, space suits, even the astronaut's family remaining back here on Earth and the effect of the launch and space mission on the family staying behind. We also discussed the VSE and Dr.

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