Founders
Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom
Emeline is a space entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and advocate for democratizing access to space. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of SpaceBase, a New Zealand-based social enterprise focused on co-creating space ecosystems in developing and emerging countries. Emeline has also co-founded the Global Space Enablers Network and International Space Consultants. Emeline served as the Chief Impact Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations at Singularity University and is their Global Space Fellow. She has extensive experience with space startups, including roles at Space Adventures, Zero Gravity Corporation, Ceres Robotics and Extraterrestrial Power. Emeline holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Physics and Earth and Space Science, and is an alumna of the International Space University (ISU), where she contributed to developing its master's and summer programs. She is currently an ISU Adjunct Faculty. She serves on the Associate Editorial Board for the New Space Journal. Additionally, she is on the Board of Trustees for the Ten to the 9th Plus Foundation. Emeline is co author of the book “Realizing Tomorrow: The Path to Private Space Flight,” which was on the US Air Force’s Chief of Staff Reading List (2013). Emeline together with her husband Eric Dahlstrom were named ‘World Class Friends of New Zealand’ in 2023 at the Kea Global awards for their work supporting the NZ space sector.
Eric Dahlstrom
Eric Dahlstrom is a co-founder and CTO of SpaceBase, a social enterprise focused on democratizing space for everyone by co-creating space ecosystems in developing and emerging countries, starting with New Zealand. In 2017, he joined the inaugural cohort of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship program in New Zealand. Mr. Eric Dahlstrom is co-founder of International Space Consultants, consulting on projects involving spacecraft design, space science, and space business. Eric is a space engineer, astronomer, and consultant who has worked on spacecraft design and space science for 35 years, both for NASA and the commercial space industry. He studied physics, astronomy, and space systems engineering and is currently on the faculty of International Space University, having taught in eleven countries. Mr. Dahlstrom worked on the design of the International Space Station including the Russian interface. He co-authored NASA’s “Lessons Learned from Challenger” report and the risk of Shuttle accidents. Mr. Dahlstrom has served as project manager for commercial lunar spacecraft and payloads, managed team projects at Singularity University, and was a planetary sciences mentor for the NASA Frontier Development Lab, applying artificial intelligence to the hazard of asteroid impact. He has supported a dozen entrepreneurial space companies, including Extraterrestrial Power, Made In Space, Satellogic, XISP, TGV, Space Adventures, Moon Express, Orbit Beyond, and Ceres Robotics.
Michael Sims
Dr. Michael Sims is the CEO of Ceres Robotics Inc. Prior to founding Ceres, he served as a Senior Research Scientist at the Mars Institute and as Vice President of Software and Chief Robotics Officer at Moon Express. Before joining Moon Express, Dr. Sims spent 25 years at NASA, where he was involved in a broad range of high-impact projects. He co-founded the Connect Lab—Art and Science of Collaboration—and played a pivotal role in the Mars Exploration Rovers mission, serving as a Co-Investigator and a member of the operations and science teams. He held several leadership roles, including Long-Term Planning Lead and Payload Uplink Lead for the Microscopic Imager and seven of MER’s nine cameras. He developed virtual reality models for hundreds of Mars sites to support scientific investigations and built software to automate the creation and processing of these VR models. Additionally, he designed and developed tools used by the Microscopic Imager and engineering camera teams to process rover image sequences, manage related files, and generate and publish reports for each uplink.
Dr. Sims also founded the Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames and served as the Associate Chief Scientist for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). At NASA Headquarters’ Office of Exploration, he led initiatives in Automation, Robotics, and Human Factors. He holds numerous patents related to minimally invasive surgery and earned his Ph.D. from Rutgers University. His research contributions can be explored further at his ResearchGate profile.
Udit Shah
Udit Shah is a technology leader, systems architect, and entrepreneur advancing the frontier of lunar exploration and sustainable space systems. With over a decade of experience across aerospace, AI, and deep-tech ventures, he currently serves as Chief Engineer at Ceres Robotics, where he leads the development of next-generation space transportation and sustainable power systems supporting NASA’s Artemis program. He is a NASA Principal Investigator, serves as the Technology Chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), sits on the Executive Committee of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), and is a member of the AIAA Space Logistics Technical Committee, pushing the boundaries of space infrastructure and transportation to enable sustained human presence and enterprise beyond Earth. Udit previously held engineering leadership roles at Orbit Beyond and Team Indus, where he helped secure multiple NASA CLPS and Human Landing System contracts, and led the development of India’s first privately built lunar lander. As co-founder of Atom360, he brought AI-powered early cancer detection tools to market with backing from the Government of India’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and the Karnataka State Government.
An Edmund Hillary Fellow, Udit holds a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech, is a Tau Beta Pi inductee, and has been recognized for award-winning systems engineering and technological leadership.
Michael D'Angelo
Michael D’Angelo is an innovator and entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in space, aviation, biotech, and investment management. He has been a founding and executive team member of more than ten companies. He is currently the Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Phantom Space and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Wolverine Capital. Mike has held leadership roles at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, POET, Pratt & Whitney, and a multi-billion-dollar family office as EVP of Direct Ventures. He also served as CEO of a global leader in in-vitro human tissue model innovation, where he successfully led the company to a strategic exit. Earlier in his career, Mike was an executive at a venture-backed aerospace startup where he led the development, flight testing, and FAA certification of three manned, rocket-powered aircraft. He is an Edmund Hillary Fellow, a recipient of the Jonas Weil Entrepreneurship Fellowship from Cornell. He holds multiple patents, has been published in The Journal of Private Equity.