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Astronomical Society

In memoriam:  Dr. Michael Martin-Smith

October 2024



It is with great sadness that we say farewell to our former president and very long-standing member Michael Martin-Smith, who passed away in October 2024.

Michael was the president of our society from 2010 until 2019.

Michael was a Doctor of Medicine and Physiology and had a special interest in space medicine. He was for 30 years a General Medical Practitioner and a lifelong amateur astronomer and promoter of space development. He was a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, a member of the National Space Society, the Mars Society, and of the Planetary Society - as well as HERAS!

Michael was the author of ‘Salto nello Spazio’ and ‘Man, Medicine and Space’, plus several papers on astronautics given at International Astronautical Federation congresses, and over 60 articles translated into several languages, on space, astronomy, philosophy, and ancient Egypt. He had lectured on each subject for 25 years.  

He was a director of the Space Renaissance Initiative from 2008-2009.


Rest in peace, Michael. Your support for - and many contributions to - HERAS will be long-remembered.




                                                                           Here is Michael meeting    

                                                                          Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell

                                                                                     in 2015.