Keynote address V: Some ambitious NASA mission concepts

Abstract

Brian is a JPL Fellow and the Manager of the JPL Space Robotics Technologies Program at JPL since 2010. He a B.S. Physics and B.A. Mathematics, University of California at Santa Barbara (highest honors) (1973) and a M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California (1993). In the 1980s he worked as robotics engineer assigned to Mars Rover Sample Return Mission. Between 1985 and 2005 he was the Supervisor, JPL Robotic Vehicles Group, during which time the group was responsible for the development of the Sojourner Mars Rover electronics, on-board software, mission operations software tool development, and the actual mission operations of Sojourner. Group members continued in similar key roles on MER and MSL rovers. Between 1995 and 2003 he was the Principal Investigator of the Nanorover and Nanorover Outposts and from 2004 to present, the Principal Investigator of the All-Terrain Hex-Limbed, Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) which has six wheels on the ends of six limbs that can be used for general-purpose manipulation as well as extremeterrain mobility. He was awarded NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal, for contributions to planetary rover research in 1992.