Who Gets to Touch the Stars: Inclusion, Innovation & the Future of Human Exploration

Frontier technologies are redefining the boundaries of human potential, but only if they are designed for all humans. In this fireside chat, Sandhya Sabapathy and Sheila Xu explore what it means to build inclusive futures in space, science, and society. Sheila, the first deaf Asian female pilot and a pioneering voice in accessible space exploration, brings insights from NASA, AstroAccess, and global research. Sandhya connects these advances to broader questions of systems design, justice, and climate resilience. Together, they examine how accessibility innovations in extreme environments become blueprints for a more equitable and imaginative technological future on Earth and beyond.