Reid Wiseman, commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission that flew around the Moon in April, will become deputy director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California on Nov. 30. Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA, announced the appointment Wednesday.
The move bridges human spaceflight and robotic exploration. JPL, with 4,300 employees, has never had an astronaut in senior leadership. Wiseman acknowledges the new challenge: “This is work I’ve never done in my life.” NASA aims to align robotic science with human spaceflight goals while leveraging commercial partners like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab for faster, cheaper missions.
JPL is recovering from setbacks including the Mars Sample Return mission, whose cost ballooned from $5–7 billion to $8 to $11 billion, prompting layoffs that cut staff by one-third. Caltech’s contract to manage JPL expires in September 2028, and NASA will open competitive bidding next spring.
Wiseman joins fellow Artemis II crew members Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen in transitioning to new roles. Glover and Wiseman are now emeritus astronauts; Koch is acting deputy chief engineer at NASA.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing