Indian-origin robotics engineer Amit Kshatriya has recently been appointed as the new Associate Administrator of NASA. Born in Wisconsin and raised in Katy, Texas, Amit Kshatriya has more than twenty years of experience in NASA, who has now got a chance to work in the agency’s highest civil service position. Before coming to this position, he was the first head of NASA’s ‘Moon to Mars Program’, where he played an important role in formulating the strategy for human space exploration.
A NASA press release on September 3 said that “Acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy on Wednesday appointed Amit Kshatriya as NASA’s new Associate Administrator, the agency’s most important civil service position.”
Kshatriya also made important contributions to the Artemis campaign, where he was responsible for the planning and execution of human missions to the Moon. NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), which is the cornerstone of humanity’s first Mars mission, succeeded under his leadership.
In the new role, Amit Kshatriya has been entrusted with the responsibility of advancing NASA’s ambitious plan to return to the Moon during the tenure of US President Donald Trump.
Amit Kshatriya is an alumnus of the California Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin. According to his LinkedIn profile, he earned a BS degree in Mathematics from Caltech in 2000. He is among the select 100 people in history to have served as a Mission Control Flight Director.
Amit Kshatriya, a first-generation member of an Indian immigrant family, began his career at NASA in 2003. He worked as a software engineer, robotics engineer and spacecraft operator, where his main focus was the robotic assembly of the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy said, “Amit has given more than two decades of dedicated service to NASA, strengthening America’s space leadership capabilities. Under his leadership, the agency will create a bold plan to return to the Moon during President Trump’s tenure.” He further said, “Amit’s knowledge, honesty and commitment to new discoveries make him special for this role. With Amit we will make the impossible possible.” Amit Kshatriya was awarded the ‘NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal’ in April 2017 for his contribution when he was the lead flight director of the 50th expedition of the space station. Apart from this, in January 2013, he was also awarded the ‘Silver Snoopy’ (Astronaut’s Individual Achievement Award).
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