Mike Gross
Deputy Director for Engineering & Science
Mike has served at JPL for over 30 years. During his career he has held line and project roles in NASA’s Earth and Mars project portfolios.
Early in his career he was a member of JPL’s Mission Assurance Directorate where he served in Mission Assurance Management roles on both the GRACE and the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) project (Deputy). Soon after the launch of MER, he began work in the Mars Exploration Directorate and led the instrument suite development for the Phoenix Mars Lander as the Payload Manager. After the successful launch of Phoenix, Mike took key management roles in the Autonomous Systems Division, first as the Assistant Division Manager for Flight Projects focusing on the division’s deliveries to the Mars Science Laboratory mission, and later as the Manager of the Power and Sensor Systems Section. During his time, he also worked on formulating the GRACE-FO project, and eventually moved to the Earth Science and Technology Directorate as the project’s Flight System Manager and Eventual Deputy Project Manager. After GRACE-FO commissioning, Mike became the Manager of the Autonomous Systems Division where he served until becoming the GRACE Continuity Project Manager.
Mike holds a Bachelors and a Masters in Electrical Engineering, from California State University, Northridge. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, Associate Fellow of AIAA, and a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Mike is the recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal., Exceptional Achievement Medal, and the Outstanding Public Leadership Medal. In addition, he was also honored by the AIAA with the International Cooperation Award in 2021.