Mission Statement

 

"We are at a cusp, a decision point. We can decide to go one way, to the stars, and enjoy unlimited opportunities, unimagined possibilities, endless evolution, and eternal racial life. Or we can refuse the challenge, stay where we are—and die.”

~ Robert A. Heinlein™, 1972    

 

The legacy of Robert and Virginia Heinlein is the shared dream of a future of humankind expanding ever outward into space—to the Moon, to the planets, out and onward to the stars.

 

Space is not to be the realm of the select few. The dream and the future belong to us all, of every race and every nation. It is in a child in school today who understands the positive vision of the future of Robert Heinlein. It is the dream of all who see a future bright with possibilities.

 

The Heinlein Prize® honors the memory of Robert A. Heinlein™, a renowned American author. The purpose of the Heinlein Prize® is to encourage and reward progress in commercial space activities that advances Robert and his wife Virginia’s dream of humanity’s future in space. Efforts include The Heinlein Prize® for Accomplishments in Commercial Space Activities, The Microgravity Research Competition, The  Heinlein Commercial Space Activity Prize, and The “Flight Into the Future” international contests.

 

On July 7th, 2006, which was also the 99th birthday of Robert Heinlein, Dr. Peter Diamandis was awarded $500,000 as the first recipient of the Heinlein Prize® for Accomplishments in Commercial Space Activities. Dr. Diamandis’ contributions to the commercialization of space include founding or cofounding: Students for  Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), the International Space University (ISU), Zero Gravity Corporation, the X PRIZE Foundation, and Space Adventures, Ltd.

 

The Division of Nanomedicine of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston won the Microgravity Research Competition in 2009, and the Heinlein Commercial Space Activity Prize was awarded to Biologic MD, LLC from the University of Arkansas in 2010.