David is Professor of Planetary Geosciences at the Open University, based in Milton Keynes, where he teaches about planets, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and geology in general. Although he loves the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, he has been part of the team for the European Space Agency’s BepiColombo mission to Mercury (the closest planet to the Sun) since 2006. This is due for launch in autumn 2018. Using Nasa data, he is currently working with his PhD students and his European counterparts to prepare geological maps of Mercury to set the context for BepiColombo’s observations.

If you could change one thing about the world through your work, what would it be?

I’d like people to realise that other planets are fascinating, but the one we all currently share is the most precious of the lot.

“I wasn’t expecting to feel so emotional today about real life stories. It was very, very powerful. Just get out there and talk to people. Get out of your comfort zone. Be more generous.”

– TEDxLondonSalon attendee