David H. Grinspoon is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 astrobiologist

Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,...

. He is the current curator

Curator

A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...

 of Astrobiology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is a municipal natural history and science museum in Denver, Colorado. It is a resource for informal science education in the Rocky Mountain region. A variety of exhibitions, programs, and activities help museum visitors learn about the natural history of...

. He has published numerous works, such as Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life, which won the 2004 PEN literary award for nonfiction.

Currently, he is Interdisciplinary Scientist on the European Space Agency

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

's Venus Express

Venus Express

Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and has been continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven science instruments, the main objective of the...

 spacecraft mission to Venus.

In 2006, he was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal

Carl Sagan Medal

The Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science was established by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society to recognize and honor outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public...

 by the Division for Planetary Sciences

Division for Planetary Sciences

The Division for Planetary Sciences is a division within the American Astronomical Society devoted to solar system research. It was founded in 1968. The first organizing committee members were: Edward Anders, L. Branscomb, J. W. Chamberlain, R. Goody, J. S. Hall, A. Kliore, M. B. Elroy, Tobias...

 of the American Astronomical Society

American Astronomical Society

The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...

.

He is the son of Harvard psychiatrist and author Lester Grinspoon

Lester Grinspoon

Dr. Lester Grinspoon is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Grinspoon was senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston for 40 years. Dr. Grinspoon is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American...

.

Works

• Venus Revealed: A New Look Below the Clouds of Our Mysterious Twin Planet (1998)
• Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life (2004)