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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5
6 8
SOL MAN
J
ohn Grotzinger, chief scientist
and head of strategic science
planning for NASA’s $2.5 billion
Curiosity Rover Mission to Mars, shares
some details about his career and the
future of Mars exploration. A veteran
geologist withmore than 30 years of ex-
perience exploring Earth and Mars, he
has led expeditions to the far reaches
of the globe. Grotzinger recently served
as the keynote speaker at AeroMat, part
of ASM’s triple tradeshow event held in
May, in Long Beach, Calif.
WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
I was pretty sure I wanted to be a scientist of some kind.
I grew up in Pennsylvania and always enjoyed the outdoors,
especially exploring the forests and wetlands near my home.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EDUCATIONAL
AND CAREER PATH SO FAR?
In elementary and middle school, I attended the local
public school system in Pennsylvania, and then went to a pri-
vatehigh school. Theydidn’t offer AdvancedPlacement classes
at the time, but I took some special biology classes that I found
extremely interesting. I liked it so much that I started college
as a biology major, but then switched to chemistry. That was
at Hobart College in New York. In my senior year, I happened
to sign up for one geology class and I was instantly hooked be-
cause geology combines all the sciences into one discipline. I
earned my master’s degree in geology at the University of Mon-
tana and then my Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. I spent 18 years as a
geology professor at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology be-
fore moving to Caltech. In
2006, after 18 months at
Caltech, I was asked
to lead the Curiosity
Mission.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at the Mojave site.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT SO FAR?
YOUR BIGGEST SETBACK?
Leading the Curiosity team and achieving a successful
landing, and then heading up the exploration of Gale Cra-
ter and Mount Sharp was—and is—incredibly rewarding. Our
entire team was challenged in news ways and I learned a lot
about the social dynamics of hundreds of scientists and en-
gineers working together. As far as setbacks, 2009 was a very
dark year. We discovered some major lubrication issues with
the motors aboard Curiosity and we knew we had to fix them.
However, this meant missing our launch window. We had to ice
the entire mission for a year, and then put our best and bright-
est minds on solving the motor issue, which we eventually did.
DO YOU BELIEVE HUMAN EXPLORATION OF MARS
IS POSSIBLE? HOW ABOUT COLONIZATION?
Yes, I believe humans will eventually get to Mars, but we
must first overcome many technological hurdles before that
day arrives. I don’t see colonization happening any time soon.
ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS
AND ENGINEERS?
Same thing I tell my kids: Do what you love and love what
you do. And don’t promise more than you can deliver.
WORDS TO LIVE BY?
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the
chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
—Theodore Roosevelt
EXPLORERS IN ENGINEERING
Average length of a Martian solar day (sol): 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35.24409 seconds. Earth’s equivalent day: 24 hours, 0 minutes,
00.002 seconds. As time went on, keeping a “normal” schedule became increasingly challenging for the Curiosity team.
Lesson learned: If Grotzinger and the Curiosity teamwould have known howmany conical,
pointy rocks were on the Martian surface, they would have specified thicker wheels.
Grotzinger