Major General Bill Anders flew on Apollo eight in December 1960 on one of the most visionary voyages ever attempted in human history. He, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell were the first people to leave Earth orbit to travel to another celestial body to see the dark side of the moon, to see the entirety of the Earth at once, and to travel on top of a Saturn five rocket. He took the iconic Earth rise photograph. In later life, he served in the Nixon administration to advise on space policy, then ran the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and also served as the US ambassador to Norway. 

He went on to enjoy a second stellar career in the private sector at General Electric, Textron and in particular, as CEO of General Dynamics, backed by Warren Buffett, He embarked on a period of transformation with such devotion to shareholder value that it is today the subject of Harvard case studies. 

The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration is an alliance of space industry, businesses and advocacy groups collaborating to reinforce the value and benefits of deep space exploration with the public and our nation's leaders. Their stated goal is to build lasting support for a long term sustainable strategic direction for human space exploration and science ensuring that the United States remains a leader in space science and technology. The coalition is led by Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, who serves as president and CEO. A 25 year veteran of the space industry specialising in strategy public engagement in Space Policy, Mary Lynne assumed leadership of the coalition in October of 2015. Prior to this, Dr. Dittmar coordinated research and development and later managed flight operations for the Boeing Company on the International Space Station programme. Later she acted as a special advisor to the NASA astronauts office before her appointment as Boeing’s Chief Scientist for Commercial Utilisation at the ISS. More recently, she was senior policy advisor to the centre for the Advancement of Science in Space which manages the International Space Station National Laboratory. She has also served as a senior advisor to NASA, the Department of Defence and the Federal Aviation Administration.