

Our Vision of the Future:
We are dreamers and builders, scientists and storytellers, engineers and artists. We are humanity, daring to lift more than bodies into orbit, we lift ideals, imagination, and the boundless spirit of our species.
Creating Space is the promise that space exploration is not reserved for a select few but is the opportunity of us all. It is the belief that in every star we see a reflection of ourselves, and in every question we dare to ask, we plant the seeds of tomorrow.
We seek curiosity that sparks wonder, creativity that ignites progress, and plurality that lifts every voice to the cosmos. Together, we carry forward not only our science, but our songs; not only our tools, but our poetry; not only our machines, but our humanity.
This journey is larger than any one of us. To realize it, we will move as many, we will move one. Join us. Together, we will create space for all.This vision of the future is bigger than any one individual and will take all of us: scientists, storytellers, artists, engineers, poets, technologists, students, parents, space nerds and more to shape the future we want to create. Creating Space is taking the first few steps, but we need you to join us to reach it.

Inspiration and Talent Retention:
As the industry matures and faces economic pressures, many students and early-career professionals in space related fields struggle to find purpose and direction, while longtime professionals risk burnout or disillusionment. Reconnecting people to their personal “why” sustains motivation and retains talent.
Maintaining Values Amid Rapid Growth:
With the rise of commercial space and international actors, the field risks drifting from shared humanistic ideals. Value-centered leadership helps unify diverse teams and missions under a vision of space exploration that benefits humanity as a whole.
Expanding Imagination:
Scientific and engineering achievements often fail to resonate beyond the industry. Art-driven, location-based experiences can bridge this gap, generating emotional connection, cultural relevance, and public support, vital for policy, investment, and societal buy-in.
Providing Funding Opportunities:
Ongoing funding reductions and market-driven cycles have left many researchers and professionals vulnerable. A pitch competition offers an agile, hopeful response, empowering new science, surfacing innovative ideas, and cushioning the impact of industry instability.
Creating Space is building bridges to overcome the challenges facing today’s space exploration industry
Meet the Team
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Neela Rajendra
CO-FOUNDER
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Paul Propster
CO-FOUNDER
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David Delgado
CO-FOUNDER
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Jeffrey Flory
CO-FOUNDER
Advisors
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Mary Snitch
Advisor
Lockheed Martin -
Sue Owen
Advisor
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Get to know us a little better
Neela Rajendra, Co-Founder
Neela spent the last four years as an executive focused on improving team performance, developing stronger leaders, and fostering a more inclusive workplace at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. As Chief Team Excellence and Employee Success Officer, she supported team effectiveness, employee development, and a culture that reflected JPL’s values across all missions.
Neela joined JPL in 2021 as Chief Inclusion Officer, a role in which she established the Office of Inclusion and led the development of data-driven solutions to support a safe, inclusive, and exciting workplace; supported the wellness of JPL systems and culture; and documented best practices to share with the broader space exploration ecosystem.
Before JPL, Neela was Executive Director and co-founder of the Science of Diversity & Inclusion Initiative (SODI), where she built an organization of over 100 social scientists and 15 partner companies, including BlackRock, GE, and Google, to advance evidenced-based approaches for selecting and promoting the best talent.
Paul Propster, Co-Founder
Paul Propster was the Founder and Chief Story Architect of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s StoryLab. StoryLab is NASA’s first “story accelerator” that uses the tools and language of storytelling to communicate JPL's impact on humanity.
Paul’s 10.5 year mission at NASA/JPL began with capturing nearly $200M in mission funding his first 2 years, winning a $1.5M project award from NASA HQ to teach diverse communities about proposal writing, developing and delivering JPL’s first Strategic Plan in over 10 years, co-creating a workshop for subject matter experts to become “credible messengers”, and in the end help capture billions of dollars for missions and was recognized with four “Voyager” awards and five “Team” awards.
With more than 25 years in strategic communications across small to large businesses, Paul has been a business keynote speaker and guest lecturer at several universities sharing on the power of narrative thinking.
David Delgado, Co-Founder
David Delgado is a creative director, educator, and curator who transforms scientific ideas into immersive experiences. His work blends art and science to expand imagination and deepen our connection to the cosmos and one another.
For almost 20 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, David has shaped projects ranging from new mission proposals to installations that support JPL’s culture of exploration. Some of his career highlights include widely recognized public works such as Visions of the Future, a NASA poster series imagining travel to real exoplanets; Orbit Pavilion, a sound sculpture that lets visitors hear NASA satellites passing overhead; Metamorphosis, a mist-filled sculpture evoking a comet’s tail; and Blended Worlds, an art–science collaboration with Getty PST: Art & Science Collide exploring how empathy and imagination can expand our relationships with the cosmos.
David began at NASA leading Imagine Mars, a national STEAM initiative engaging students with scientists to design solutions for living on Mars, then express those solutions through the arts and humanities.
Jeffrey Flory, Co-Founder
Jeffrey Flory is an Associate Professor of Economics at the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College. His research uses lab and field experiments to study workplace diversity, pay gaps across gender, race, and age, and how different incentives influence employee behavior. His work provides organizations with practical, evidence-based strategies while contributing to key debates in economics.
He is the co-founder and research director of the Science of Diversity & Inclusion Initiative (SODI), where he leads research projects with companies such as Google, GE, and UKG to advance workforce goals using field experiments.
Professor Flory has advised U.S. and international NGOs, foreign governments, multilateral aid agencies, and major corporations—designing experiments that inform policy and deepen our understanding of human behavior. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the World Bank, DFID, and the Low Institute of Political Economy, and featured in outlets such as Time Magazine, ABC News, Freakonomics, and Science Daily.
Join Us
Music credits:
John Adams: Harmonielehre (Part 3: Meister Eckhardt and Quackie), performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. Adams has described the work as being inspired by a dream in which he was driving over the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and witnessed an oil tanker suddenly rise from the water and launch into the sky like a Saturn V rocket
Image Credits:
Bryan Goff, Orion Nebula, taken from his backyard in Petaluma, California. Courtesy of Unsplash.