Bruce Martin Jakosky (born December 9, 1955) is a professor of Geological Sciences and associate director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has been involved with the Viking, Solar Mesosphere Explorer, Clementine, Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Science Laboratory and MAVEN spacecraft missions, and is involved in planning future spacecraft missions.

Biography

Career

Jakosky heads the University of Colorado at Boulder team within the NASA Astrobiology Institute. He was a research associate at Laboratory for Atmospherics and Space Physics from 1982 to 1988. He serves on numerous national advisory committees and is an associate director at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is an expert in Earth and planetary geology and extraterrestrial life, including both the science and the societal and philosophical issues relating to the science. His research interests are in the geology of planetary surfaces, specifically the geology of Mars, the evolution of the martian atmosphere and climate, atmospheric chemistry, the potential for life on Mars and elsewhere, and the philosophical and societal issues in astrobiology. In September 2008, the MAVEN project, a Mars orbiter, was chosen as an upcoming NASA exploration mission. The probe was launched on November 18, 2013. Jakosky served as MAVEN's principal investigator from inception in 2003 until he stepped down on August 31, 2021, passing the leadership on to Shannon Curry. The $485 million program represents the largest research contract ever awarded to the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Selected publications

Books

Articles and essays