NASA Engineer

 

Exploring Mars: Explorers of the Red Planet

 

A dynamic young engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kobie Boykins is on the front line of Mars exploration. Boykins designed the solar arrays that power the remarkable Mars Expedition Rovers, “Spirit” and “Opportunity,” which continue to send back data from our nearest planetary neighbor more than four years after being deployed.

Boykins is currently working at Mars Science Laboratory, preparing the actuators for the next mission. Boykins’ other projects have included work on the Mars Pathfinder mission and the Ocean Surface Topography Mission, making measurements by satellite of the Earth’s oceans.

In 2002, Boykins joined a team of young scientists for a public education tour – dubbed “Marsapaloosa” – to raise awareness of the Mars Exploration Program. Four years later he was featured in the JASON Project Expedition “Mysteries of Earth and Mars,” bringing his passion for space exploration to students and teachers worldwide.

In his public presentation, Boykins recounts the challenges and triumphs of the Mars Exploration Rovers mission and shares remarkable images and discoveries that continue to come from the Red Planet.