Doug McCuistion is the former director of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's Mars Exploration Program. He is now the chief operating officer of X-Energy, LLC, a nuclear energy company developing high-temperature gas-cooled reactors located in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

Career

McCuistion was NASA's third and longest-running "Mars Czar", leading the NASA Mars Exploration Program from NASA Headquarters for 8.5 years. Under his leadership the Mars Reconnaissance Orbtier (MRO), Phoenix Lander, and Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity rover were completed and launched, and the MAVEN mission nearly ready for its 2013 launch. He led expansive international program efforts during his tenure, including a multi-national Mars Sample Return study called iMARS, and a merging of the NASA and European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars programs (which was later dissolved due to US financial constraints). Prior to his taking the helm of the NASA Mars Exploration Program, he was the director of flight programs for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Prior to coming to NASA Headquarters McCuistion held management and engineering positions in Earth and space science at the

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

, working on the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), Geosynchronous Operations Environmental Satellite (GOES),

Landsat The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Lan ...

, NEXUS (a

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

precursor), and as a deputy director in the Information Systems engineering division. Prior to his career at NASA, McCuistion was a commissioned officer in the U. S. Navy flying F-14 Tomcats and worked on the Navy's Geodetic Satellite (GEOSAT) Follow-On mission. He retired from the U. S. Navy at the rank of commander in 1998. He has written about international collaboration in Mars exploration and education and public outreach efforts in planetary science. One example is Year of the Solar System.

Awards and honors

McCuistion has been recognized with the rank of Meritorious Senior Executive, and was awarded two

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal The NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal is an award of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration established in 1991. The medal is awarded to both civilian members of NASA and military astronauts. To be awarded the medal, a NASA employee ...

s, two Navy Commendation Medals, and a variety of NASA, Navy, and other agency individual and group achievement awards.

References

External links

Doug McCuistion’s Official NASA Biography

Doug McCuistion’s Profile in NASA Solar System Exploration Leadership Web Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCuistion, Doug Living people American scientists Year of birth missing (living people)