Meet: Geoff Briggs

My Journals

I am currently the scientific director of the NASA Ames' Center for Mars Exploration, which was formed in 1992. At NASA Ames I have been working closely with colleagues skilled in information technology and aeronautics; we are developing an autonomous solar powered drill to begin the subsurface exploration of Mars and a small autonomous rotorcraft to provide aerial mobility support for future Mars landers. I continue to work with colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at the Johnson Space Center planning the future robotic and human exploration of Mars.

My Career Journey

I received my Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Durham, England. I worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California as a science investigator on the Mariner 9, Viking Orbiter and Voyager imaging teams.

From 1977 to 1990, I worked at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, first as deputy director and then as director of NASA's Solar System Exploration Division. This period included the launch of the Pioneer Venus missions, the Pioneer 11 encounter with Saturn, the Voyager launch and encounters with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the start of the Mars Observer and Cassini missions and the launch of Galileo, Ulysses and Magellan.