About Ari

Ari Koeppel is a Policy and Advocacy Fellow with The Planetary Society via the American Association for the Advancement of Science's STPF program. A planetary geoscientist by training, Ari brings over a decade of experience in research, education, and community organizing to his work advocating for space science. He holds a PhD from Northern Arizona University and completed postdoctoral fellowships at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Dartmouth College. He has served on the science teams for NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions and for the THEMIS instrument aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. His research on planetary analogs and permafrost has taken him around the world — from sand dunes in Namibia to glacial waters of the Northwest Passage. And his teaching expreience includes both time in the classroom and in the wilderness. Having seen firsthand how exploration and discovery connect people to the natural world and to each other, Ari works to promote policies that propel humanity’s ongoing engagement with the cosmos.

Some of Ari's favorite activities outside of science include outdoor activities like whitewater kayaking, gardening, and walking his dog Gwynnie, as well as creative pursuits like sculpting and ceramics. He also is a regular in pickup hockey at the local ice rink and loves old movies.