Who is Amit Kshatriya, head of NASA’s new Moon to Mars Program Office?

He will direct and lead the programs to ensure that the planning, development and operations of the Artemis program and the Mars programme are consistent with the requirements of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), under which the new office is established.

According to NASA, he will also serve as the “single point of focus” for risk management.

Amit Kshatriya’s illustrious career

Before getting into this new role, Kshatriya served as the acting deputy associate administrator for the Common Exploration Systems Development Division. In that role, he provided leadership for the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion spacecraft, and the Exploration Ground Systems programs.

According to NASA, he was an integral part of the team of Artemis I, which launched to the Moon and returned a vehicle capable of carrying humans to the Moon.

His space exploration career with NASA began in 2003 when he started work with NASA as a software engineer, robotics engineer and spacecraft operator mainly focused on the robotic assembly of the International Space Station.

Between 2014 and 2017, he worked as a space station flight director. In that role, he led teams around the world in operations and execution on the space station.

Between 2017 and 2021, he first became deputy manager of the ISS Vehicle office before he became the acting manager. In that role, he was responsible for sustaining engineering, logistics and hardware program management. In 2021, he moved to the NASA headquarters, where he took on the role of the assistant deputy associate administrator.