MaryLiz Bender is a storyteller of our space exploration era, an analog astronaut, technologist and futurist.
As co-founder and creative director of Cosmic Perspective, she creates films, photography, and immersive experiences that tell the story of our journey to Mars. She documents SpaceX’s Starship program and co-hosts the Everyday Astronaut Starship live streams where she interviews astronauts, scientists and the people sending missions to space. In collaboration with her Cosmic Perspective co-founder, Ryan Chylinski, she has captured hundreds of rocket launches in stunning cinematography.
She designs experiences of awe and wonder to inspire hope, elevate empathy, clarify the interconnectedness of life on Earth, and motivate us to better care for our planet.
MaryLiz’s live performance combines story, music, space and perspective to gift audiences the experience of “The Overview Effect” — the cognitive shift in awareness astronauts experience during spaceflight while viewing the Earth from outer space. Using MI.MU gloves she interweaves her interviews with astronauts with music and stunning visuals. She narrates a sonic journey through the new space exploration era.