Ariel Waldman

Antarctic Explorer + Filmmaker

Ariel Waldman is an explorer and filmmaker whose imaginative projects explore the world below our feet and beyond our atmosphere. Her expeditions to Antarctica focus on filming life under the ice, which became the subject of her TED Talk. Ariel is a National Geographic Explorer and often collaborates with research teams around the world. An art school graduate who pivoted to science, Ariel was recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change in Citizen Science.

Previously, Ariel served as the chair to NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts advisory council. In 2014, she co-authored a congressionally-requested National Academy of Sciences’ report on the future of human spaceflight.

As the global director of Science Hack Day, Ariel grew the event to span 30 countries; the success of Science Hack Day became the prime inspiration for the creation of NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge, the world’s largest hackathon.

Ariel is the author of two books: Out There: The Science Behind Sci-Fi Film and TV and What’s It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who’ve Been There.