Dr. Kristine Ferrone is the Lead Scientist for Human Spaceflight within The Aerospace Corporation’s Physical Science Laboratories. She is currently a Co-I for the Active Radiation Dosimeter (ARD) for NASA’s xEMU spacesuit, science team member for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER), and a ventures scientist within Aerospace for studying future technologies such as using lunar regolith for radiation shielding.
Prior to joining The Aerospace Corporation, Dr. Ferrone was a flight controller for the International Space Station (ISS) at NASA Johnson Space Center, supporting planning and timeline development for crew and ground activities. She previously worked as a Physics Associate at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, studying the effects of space radiation on astronauts and space vehicle equipment. She also served as the Interdisciplinary Scientist for the 2009 crew to the Mars Society's Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS), living and working in an analog Mars environment for one month.
Dr. Ferrone received her PhD in Medical Physics from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her dissertation project studied the effectiveness of active magnetic shielding at reducing radiation dose and cancer risk to astronauts during interplanetary spaceflight. She also holds a MS in Space Architecture from the University of Houston, MS in Sports Medicine from the United States Sports Academy, MBA from the University of Florida, and BS in Physics/Astrophysics from Carnegie Mellon University. She is also certified as a volunteer firefighter, private pilot, SCUBA diver, and air crew member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary.