NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will appoint Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman deputy director on Nov. 30, giving him oversight of laboratory operations and JPL mission execution.
JPL announced the appointment Oct. 28. The role also makes Wiseman an associate vice president at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages JPL for NASA. His responsibilities include strategic leadership and improvement of laboratory operations, coordination with Caltech on institutional planning, management and compliance, and service as the lab’s primary contact for national security programs. JPL designated him Center Management Authority for mission execution.
Wiseman joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2009. He served as a flight engineer on Expedition 41 during a 165-day stay aboard the International Space Station in 2014. From December 2020 through November 2022, he led NASA’s astronaut corps as chief astronaut.
NASA reported that Wiseman and his three Artemis II crewmates traveled a total of 695,081 miles during the April mission. The flight launched April 1 and ended with splashdown at 8:07 p.m. ET (00:07 UTC April 11) on April 10.
JPL dates to 1936. Caltech has overseen the facility for NASA since the space agency began in 1958. JPL describes itself as a federally funded research and development center. In a Sept. 14 message, Ray Jayawardhana, Caltech’s president, and Dave Gallagher, JPL’s director, said the institute had opened a search for a deputy director. Their statement described the post as important to the lab’s management and its work for NASA.
NASA said in May it would put JPL’s operating contract up for competition. Caltech’s current agreement ends Sept. 30, 2028. The appointment announcement did not link Wiseman’s selection to that contract process. His dual appointment begins Nov. 30.
