NASA’s New Science Leader Brings Out-Of-This-World Creds

From far-reaching probes traveling across the Solar System, to Earth-observing satellites, the giant Hubble Space Telescope, and a car-sized Mars rover, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has led an astonishing array of missions that have unveiled vital secrets about our home planet while deepening our understanding of the universe around us.

And as NASA announced today, there isn’t a better person to guide the plethora of world-class science projects currently in that Directorate’s pipeline than the "Hubble Repairman" himself, John Grunsfeld.

Dr. Grunsfeld, a veteran of five space missions, earned that moniker over the course of three visits to the Hubble, where he performed a total of eight spacewalks to service and upgrade the observatory.  More recently, Dr. Grunsfeld was the deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages the science program for the Hubble and is a partner in Hubble 2.0: the James Webb Space Telescope. 

Dr. Grunsfeld’s wealth of experience and leadership in exploration and discovery will ensure the United States stays on the vanguard of Earth and space science as we explore new vistas here at home, across the Solar System, and beyond.

OSTP congratulates NASA on bringing an experienced colleague back to the team to make the next generation of discoveries, and stands ready to support his steady hand of leadership as NASA tackles the difficult but exciting challenges ahead!

Carl Wieman is Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy