I am happy to announce that I have made a selection to permanently fill the Science Mission Directorate’s position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration (DAAX). Dr. Joel Kearns will join us on February 1 to begin working with us and our stakeholders in this critical role at NASA Headquarters.
I would like to give my appreciation and thanks to Dr. Dave Burns, who has done an excellent job in keeping the Exploration Science Strategy and Integration Office (ESSIO) portfolio moving forward by developing and strengthening partnerships, strategies and activities for robotic and human exploration at the moon and beyond. Most notably, Dave has been instrumental in leading the efforts managing the Commercial Lunar and Payload Services initiative. Dave and the ESSIO team have been absolutely critical in the burgeoning lunar economy that will deliver payloads to the lunar surface at a cadence of approximately two per year beginning in 2021.
Joel has more than 32 years of experience in leadership roles at multiple NASA centers and in private industry. He is currently the director of Facilities, Test and Manufacturing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He leads efforts that encompass facility infrastructure, aerospace testing, flight research aircraft, on-site manufacturing and environmental management.
He previously served as the deputy director of GRC’s Space Flight Systems Directorate, providing executive direction of projects assigned to Glenn in human exploration and operations, space science and space technology
Joel also previously served as an executive at NASA Headquarters in human spaceflight, and at both the Ames Research Center in California and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, where he worked on programs as varied as the space shuttle and SOFIA. He has also held positions in industry.
Joel was awarded the U.S. Government’s Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Executive in 2009. He is also an inventor on four patents for single crystal growth technology! We look forward to his insight and expertise as we move ahead with the many facets of critical work to return to the lunar surface.