Peter Charles Theisinger (August 7, 1945 – June 26, 2024) was the director of the Engineering and Science Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California[1] and was the project manager of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission[2] and later project manager for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Peter Charles Theisinger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 7, 1945 Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 2024 (aged 78) La Crescenta, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Employer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Known for | Project manager of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission and Mars Science Laboratory mission |
Theisinger was born in Fresno, California in 1945 and graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in physics.[3] He joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as payload integration engineer that year and except for a three-year span in the early 1980s has worked at JPL since. Among the missions on which he has participated were the 1967 Mariner 5 flyby mission to Venus, the 1971 Mariner 9 orbiter mission to Mars, the Voyager mission to the outer planets of the Solar System, the Galileo mission to Jupiter, and the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.[4]
In 2013, Theisinger, along with Richard Cook, was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World[5] as a pioneer for his role in getting the Curiosity rover to Mars safely in August 2012.
Theisinger died in La Crescenta, California from throat cancer on June 26, 2024, at the age of 78.[3][6]
References
edit- ^ "Peter C. Theisinger Director, Engineering and Science Directorate". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ Bridges, Andrew (January 25, 2004). "Spirit of Opportunity". Beaver County Times. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ a b Roberts, Sam (August 2, 2024). "Peter C. Theisinger, 78, Dies; Led Mars Rover Missions for NASA". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ "Peter Theisinger - Biography". John F. Kennedy Space Center. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ "The 2013 Time 100: Pioneers--Peter Theisinger and Richard Cook". 18 April 2013.
- ^ Purtill, Corinne (19 July 2024). "Pete Theisinger, who led Mars rover missions for JPL, dies at 78". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
