Fellow of the Institute of Planetary Sciences, where he is involved in astrobiology research projects with NASA. He was director of the Astrobiology Division at the US Library of Congress. His research focuses on comparative planetology and the climate of Earth-like planets. His numerous research projects test the possibility of their habitation by humans. His book “Venus Revealed” won the Los Angeles Times Publishing Award. He was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal by the American Astronomical Society for his outstanding research in astrobiology. Asteroid 22410 Grinspoon, one of the main belt asteroids, is named after him.