Speakers » Rob Manning

He is the man behind the missions to Mars. Rob Manning, Chief Engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory, was – and is – responsible for ensuring that the mission and the team could successfully land Curiosity Rover on Mars on August 5, 2012 and carry out meaningful experiments on the red planet.  An Engineering Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Rob has been designing, testing and operating spacecraft for 32 years. From engineering Mars Pathfinder, Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity and now Curiosity, he’s been a significant part of Mars missions since the early ’90s. Rob’s received two NASA medals and is in the Aviation Week Magazine Space Laureate Hall of Fame in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. In 2004, SpaceNews magazine named Rob as one of 100 people who made a difference in civil, commercial and military space since 1989.

More than just a giant in space engineering, Rob has deeply philosophical views on humankind’s reach for planets beyond our home. What are we chasing in this space quest, and what’s next?

For more on Rob, visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/bios/team/manning.html