TEDxISU Astronaut Ron Garan Open Source Space, Unity Node & An Orbital Perspective

Colonel Ronald Garan is a NASA astronaut recently returned from a six month mission of exploration and scientific research onboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expeditions 27 and 28, traveling 65,340,224 miles in 2,2624 orbits around the Earth during 164 days in space. During his mission, Garan participated in his fourth spacewalk, working outside in the vacuum of space for six and one half hours. He completed his first spaceflight in 2008, as a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle Discovery, when he accumulated 20 hours and 32 minutes in three spacewalks. A retired Colonel in the United States Air Force, Garan is a decorated fighter pilot, a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Engineers Without Borders, and founder of the Manna Energy Foundation.

In addition to being a space explorer, Ron has a strong belief in the ability of social entrepreneurship and appropriately targeted philanthropy to solve many of the problems we face here on Earth. His life is committed to using the perspective of living and working in space to improve life for all.