Ashwin Vasavada

he/him

B.S. Geophysics and Space Physics, 1992

Dr. Ashwin Vasavada is a planetary scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Currently he is the Project Scientist for NASA’s Curiosity rover that began development in 2003 and successfully reached Mars in August 2012. After devoting twenty years to overseeing the rover’s science through development, launch, and operations on Mars, he now leads the international team of scientists as they explore Gale Crater on the martian surface. His goal is to enable scientific discovery through the combined efforts of hundreds of scientists and thousands of engineers who designed and operate NASA’s sophisticated robotic spacecraft. Earlier in his career he participated in the operation and analysis of data from several other NASA spacecraft missions, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Cassini mission to Saturn, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Ashwin holds a B.S. in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Planetary Science from Caltech.