FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBINAR
Advancing In-Situ Resource Utilization Technologies Through Flight Tests
April 2, 2025
Speakers
- Greg Peters, Program Manager, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program
- Gerald (Jerry) Sanders, Lead for In-Situ Resource Utilization System Capability Leadership Team, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate
- Erin Reizich, Aerospace Engineer, Mechanisms and Tribology Branch, NASA’s Glenn Research Center
- Bob Anderson, Ph.D., Research Scientist and Group Supervisor for Geophysics and Planetary Geosciences, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Luke Sollitt, Ph.D., Branch Chief, Planetary Systems, NASA’s Ames Research Center
- Lexi Humann, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Interlune
Abstract
Join us April 2 for a panel discussion on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies and the importance of flight testing to buy down risk. Harnessing and using resources found on the Moon, Mars, and beyond — rather than transporting them from Earth — is important to the success of future space missions. ISRU can help enable sustainable exploration by reducing launch costs, increasing mission duration, and improving self-sufficiency. In a discussion moderated by Flight Opportunities personnel, researchers who recently tested ISRU technologies on parabolic flights as well as the lead of the ISRU capability leadership team in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate will identify best practices, lessons learned, and key insights for flight testing ISRU technologies.
Speaker Bios
Greg Peters is currently the program manager for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program out of Armstrong Flight Research Center. During his career at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Greg held many roles across multiple projects and missions. Most notably Greg served as a Surface Scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL, Curiosity) Mission, the Project Scientist for Lunar PUFFER Instruments development, and the Cognizant Engineer for Mars geologic analogs development for the Mars 2020 (Perseverance) Mission. In 2007, Greg received a NASA Space Act Award for conceiving RASP sampling technology, which was flown on the Phoenix Mars Mission in 2008. RASP sampling provided the historical-first water-ice sample ever taken on another planet. In 2017, Greg received a NASA Voyager Individual Award for his work in determining rock properties from MSL drill telemetry. Greg also spent four years as the Chief Operations Officer at Firestar Technologies, an advanced propulsion company at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
Gerald Sanders serves as the NASA In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) System Capability Lead (SCL) at Johnson Space Center (JSC), where he is the technical steward for the agency on ISRU. He coordinates activities across multiple mission directorates and centers and leads technology, system, and mission planning and investment activities. With almost 38 years at JSC in the Propulsion and Power Division of the Engineering Directorate, he has extensive experience in propulsion, fluid systems, and ISRU. During his 29 years with ISRU, he has led multiple strategic plans and roadmap activities, architecture studies, development projects, and analog field tests for ISRU advancement.
Erin Rezich is an Aerospace Engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center conducting research and engineering in the areas of off-world granular mechanics, terramechanics, and space resource development. She conducted a parabolic flight campaign consisting of two flights in April of 2024 investigating the effects of gravity on the tool-simulant interaction force of an ultrasonically vibrating blade in a collaboration between NASA and Concordia University.
Bob Anderson has been at NASA’s Jet Propfulsion Laboratory for 25 years. His current research centers on unraveling the geologic history of Mars focusing on the tectonic and paleohydrologic evolution of the Tharsis region and understanding the geomechanical properties of planetary regolith. He recently contributed to the successful Mars Science Laboratory Sample Acquisition/Sample Handling Subsystem. Bob was the past chair of the Planetary Science Division of the Geological Society of America.
Luke Sollitt is branch chief for Planetary Systems (Code STT) at NASA’s Ames Research Center. STT activities include modeling of planetary surfaces and atmospheres, lab work, field work and mission/instrument development. In his planetary science work, Dr. Sollitt develops instrumentation for use on the Moon and other planets by future landed robotic missions and Artemis astronauts. Other research interests include the search for water on the Moon and other planetary bodies, properties of lunar and Martian dust and the development of astronomical instrumentation for use on suborbital platforms. A co-Investigator on NASA’s SPARTA (Soil Properties Assessment Resistance and Thermal Analysis) instrument, he leads the dielectric spectrometer development.
Lexi Humann is a mechanical engineer at Interlune, a natural resources company committed to the sustainable and responsible harvesting of resources from space to benefit humanity. She has previously worked in various roles in both the aerospace and mining industries. She received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah.
