and 1995 World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). He served at the 1995 WRC as a U.S. delegate. He also worked extensively in Russia and the former Soviet Union on scientific and telecommunications matters. In 2002 he co-founded the B612 Foundation along with fellow former-astronaut Ed Lu and two planetary scientists, also serving as its Chair. The B612 Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to defending Earth from asteroid impacts. In May 2005 Schweickart testified before the U.S. Congress on the dangers of an asteroid impact related to 99942 Apophis. and in 2010 served as the co-chairman, along with astronaut Tom Jones, NASA Advisory Council's ad hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense. He has been an advocate of increasing NASA's annual budget by $250M–$300M over a 10-year period to more fully catalog the NEOs that can pose a threat to Earth and also provide a deflection capability. Schweickart has also spoken and taught at the Esalen Institute, and currently serves as the B612 Foundation's Chair Emeritus. Organizations Schweickart is a fellow of the American Astronautical Society and the International Academy of Astronautics, and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is also an honorary trustee and a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. Awards and honors He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1969) and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale De la Vaulx Medal (1970) for his Apollo 9 flight. He also received the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees Award (Emmy Award) in 1969 for transmitting the first live TV pictures from space. In 1973, Schweickart was also awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his leadership role in the Skylab rescue efforts. He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1983 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997. Main-belt asteroid was named in his honor. In 2012, Schweickart was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. In 1892, his grandfather Jacques Schweickart emigrated from Lembach, a small town located in Alsace, France, to the United States. After visiting Lembach several times, Schweickart has been awarded honorary citizenship of the town. Biographies and portrayals In the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Schweickart is portrayed by Kieran Mulroney. He also appeared in the television series The Universe in