Renita Saikia Fincke

Renita Saikia Fincke manages a team that implements Earth-based analog studies for NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP). The work simulates aspects of spaceflight missions to better understand how they affect human health and to test ways to improve astronaut health, performance, and safety. Analog environments include the 650-square-foot Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), long-duration bedrest facilities, Antarctic stations, parabolic flights, and atmospheric chambers.

Fincke started her career at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston as a quality engineer in the Medical Sciences Division, overseeing developmental testing of biomedical experiments on the space shuttle. She then supported the International Space Station as an integration engineer responsible for certifying and maintaining spaceflight medical equipment. The work included carrying out simulations in mockups of the space shuttle, space station, Orion spacecraft, and more. Among numerous other NASA positions, Fincke has served as deputy exploration exercise system manager, supporting biomedical projects that will enable humans to return to the Moon and to Mars. 

Fincke received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and her master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston in Clear Lake.