As the first director of NASA's newly established Moon to Mars Programme, Amit Kshatriya, an accomplished Indian-American software and robotics engineer, will assist the agency in ensuring a long-term lunar presence necessary to get ready for humanity's next great leap to the Red Planet.
According to a statement released by NASA on Thursday, Kshatriya will take over as the organization's first head of office immediately.
According to a NASA press release, the new office seeks to carry out the organization's human exploration efforts on the Moon and Mars for the sake of humanity.
According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, "the golden era of exploration is now, and this new office will assist ensure that NASA effectively creates a long-term lunar presence needed to prepare for humanity's next great leap to the Red Planet."
Nelson said, "The Moon to Mars Programme Office will aid NASA in preparing to carry out our audacious missions to the Moon and land the first humans on Mars.
According to the statement, the new office is part of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and reports to Jim Free, the directorate's associate administrator.
The Moon to Mars Programme Office focuses on hardware development, mission integration, and risk management tasks for programs critical to the agency's exploration approach, which uses Artemis missions at the Moon to usher in a new era of scientific discovery and get ready for manned missions to Mars, as instructed by the 2022 NASA Authorisation Act, according to a press release.
This covers the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion ship, auxiliary ground systems, spacesuits, and other deep space exploration-related items.
According to the statement, the new organization will also oversee long-term planning and analysis to support human journeys to Mars.
Kshatriya's new position entails designing and carrying out the project for manned expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
According to the statement, Kshatriya oversaw the Space Launch System, Orion, and Exploration Ground Systems programs as well as related Artemis Campaign Development Division initiatives connecting the agency's Moon to Mars objectives. Kshatriya also provided leadership and integration for these programs.
Kshatriya has previously held the position of Common Exploration Systems Development Division acting deputy associate administrator.
As a software engineer, robotics engineer, and spacecraft operator, Kshatriya started his career in the space program in 2003. He mostly worked on the robotic construction of the International Space Station.
He worked as a space station flight director from 2014 to 2017, leading international teams in the management and execution of the space station across all phases of flight.
He was given a job at NASA Headquarters in 2021 as an assistant deputy associate administrator in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, where he played a crucial role in the team that brought back a spacecraft intended to take people to the Moon during the Artemis I mission.
Kshatriya, a first-generation immigrant from India to the US, has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, as well as a Master of Arts in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Although Kshatriya was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, he now calls Katy, Texas, home.
He received the Silver Snoopy, an honor given by astronauts for exceptional performance enhancing flight safety, for his actions as the lead robotics officer for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Dragon demonstration mission to the orbiting laboratory, as well as the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his actions as the lead flight director for the 50th expedition to the space station, according to the press release.
