Dr. Kelly Fast is the Acting NASA Planetary Defense Officer for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. In her role, she manages planetary defense activities across NASA and coordinates U.S. interagency and international efforts to study and plan a response to the asteroid impact hazard. Previously, she managed NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations Program for a decade; led NASA’s Solar System Observations, Planetary Astronomy and Planetary Atmospheres research programs; served as the Program Scientist for NASA’s MAVEN mission to Mars; and worked as a planetary astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She earned her B.S. in Astrophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Maryland. Main-belt asteroid 115434 (2003 TU2) was renamed “Kellyfast” in honor of Dr. Fast’s contributions to planetary science