Adam Steltzner

Steltzner, born 1963, a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at University of California, Davis (1990); a Master of Science degree in applied mechanics at California Institute of Technology (1991); and a PhD in engineering mechanics at University of Wisconsin–Madison (1999). a memoir of his time at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the building of the Mars Science Laboratory. In October 2016, he was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering. Steltzner speaks publicly on the topics of leadership, innovation, team building, and the power of curiosity and exploration. ==Career==

landing system Steltzner is employed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he designed, tested and built the sky crane landing system for the Curiosity rover. Steltzner was phase lead and development manager for EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) of the lander, which successfully landed on Mars on August 5, 2012. The sky crane was an entirely new technology system, Steltzner said of it "When people look at it...it looks crazy. That's a very natural thing. Sometimes when we look at it, it looks crazy. It is the result of reasoned, engineering thought. But it still looks crazy." The sky crane allows for a precise landing ellipse opening up many areas of Mars for exploration that were previously inaccessible due to uneven terrain. Steltzner joined JPL in 1991, in the Spacecraft Structures and Dynamics group. He worked on several flight projects including the Shuttle–Mir Program, Galileo, Cassini, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) and Mars Science Laboratory as well as several mission proposals, pre-Phase A projects and technology development efforts. Initially employed as a structures and mechanics personnel, he gravitated towards landing events and Mars Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) systems. He was the landing systems engineer on the cancelled comet mission Champollion and the mechanical systems lead for EDL on MER. When asked what he would like to do next, Steltzner says, "I'd like to see a Mars sample return. I'd like to land on the surface of Europa – the most likely place in the solar system for life. And third, I'd like to float a boat on the methane lakes of Titan." Steltzner is the chief engineer of the Mars 2020 project, which launched the Perseverance rover to Mars in July 2020. The mission is taking Martian surface samples and rock cores for potential return to Earth by a later mission. ==Media appearances==

File:Curiosity Rover Begins Mars Mission August 6 2012 - Adam Steltzner speech.webm|thumb|right|Adam Steltzner speech given on the successful landing of Mars curiosity, August 6, 2012 (2m25s). Full video. Steltzner is often profiled by the press in human interest stories He has been profiled similarly in other sources. A chapter-length biography of Steltzner in the book Going to Mars (2004) is titled "Elvis Lives" after the rock and roll star who Steltzner supposedly resembles, which Esquire said "calls back to NASA's halcyon days in the late 1950s and early 1960s". He was among the scientists and engineers featured on the NOVA episode "Mars Dead or Alive" (2004), which chronicled the process that ultimately delivered the rovers Spirit and Opportunity to Mars. The episode was nominated for an Emmy in 2004. He also appeared in the NOVA episodes "Welcome to Mars" (2005) and "The Great Math Mystery" (2015), Roadtrip Nation (2014), and other TV documentaries including Countdown to Mars (2003), Bouncing to Mars (2003), Spirit of Exploration (2005), What Went Right (2006), Mars Rising episodes "Journey to the Red Planet" and "Seven Minutes of Terror" (2007), and Horizon episodes "Mission to Mars: A Horizon Special" (2012) and "Man on Mars: Mission to the Red Planet" (2014). Steltzner appeared on the news program Studio B with Shepard Smith on August 6, 2012. ==Awards and honors==

• 2005 ASME Leonardo Da Vinci Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers • 2012 Nature named Steltzner one of 10 most important scientists of the year • 2012 World Technology Award in Ethics given by the International Society for Ethics and Information Technology • 2013 Smithsonian magazine's American Ingenuity Award in the Technology category • 2013 Space Pioneer Award for Science and Engineering presented by the National Space Society to the Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) team • 2014 Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) • 2014 Astronautics Engineer Award given by the National Space Club as part of the Goddard Memorial Dinner Awards • 2016 Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering ==See also==