Alejandro Miguel San Martín (January 6, 1959) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and a science educator. He is best known for his work as Chief Engineer for the Guidance, Navigation, and Control system in the latest missions to Mars. His best known contribution is the Sky Crane system, of which he is coinventor, used in the ''Curiosity'' mission for the descent of the rover. In addition to his work as an engineer, he is dedicated to giving presentations about the work he does with his team at NASA. He has participated as a speaker at various events such as Campus Party, Robotics Day, Real Talks Atlanta and TEDx Río de la Plata, among other conferences. He is featured in the NASA video "''Curiosity'' Seven Minutes of Terror" along with other ''Curiosity'' engineers.

Early life and career

He left

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

after he graduated from industrial school, moving to the United States to get a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

College of Engineering and Computer Science, being named Engineering Student of the Year. He completed his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. In various interviews he said that he decided to be a space engineer on a winter's night in 1976 at his parents’ farm, while he listened to the BBC on short wave reporting the arrival of the ''Viking'' mission to Mars. He started working for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1985, where he participated in the ''Magellan'' mission to Venus and ''Cassini'' mission to Saturn. Later in the ''Pathfinder'' mission he was named Chief Engineer for the Guidance, Navigation, and Control system, which landed ''Sojourner'' rover. In the same role he was part of the ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' missions in 2004. He helped to develop the Sky Crane system which landed ''Curiosity'' on Mars as part of the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on Augus ...

mission, and with his team at JPL he also worked on the software for the landing. He is a member of the NASA National Engineering and Safety Center. In February 2019, he was elected as member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

Awards

* 1998, 2013:

NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal The NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal (abbreviated EEAM) was established by NASA in 1981 to recognize unusually significant engineering contributions towards achievement of aeronautical or space exploration goals. This award is given ...

* 2004:

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, a ...

* 2007:

NASA Group Achievement Award The NASA Group Achievement Award (GAA) is an award given by NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the U ...

* 2013: Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award - The Engineers' Council * 2013:

Collier Trophy The Robert J. Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been t ...

for the Curiosity Team - National Aeronautic Association * 2013:

National Air and Space Museum Trophy The National Air and Space Museum Trophy was established in 1985. The trophy presented to the winners is a miniature version of "The Web of Space," a sculpture by artist John Safer. The National Air and Space Museum presents this trophy annually ...

for Current Achievement - Smithsonian Institution * 2013: Premio Konex: Diploma al Mérito en Desarrollo Tecnológico - La Fundación Konex * 2013: Premio Konex de Platino: Desarrollo Tecnológico - La Fundación Konex * 2013: Magellan Award for Outstanding Senior JPL Management - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory * 2013: NASA Group Achievement Award: MSL Guidance, Navigation, and Control System Team * 2013: NASA Group Achievement Award: MSL Entry, Descent, and Landing Team * 2013: NASA Group Achievement Award: MSL Project Operations Team * 2013: JPL Fellow - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory * 2013: Best Paper Award: 23rd AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Conference - AAS/AIAA * 2019: He was elected a member of the

for technical contributions and leadership in guidance, navigation, and control leading to successful Mars entry, descent, and landing.

References

External links

* https://migonmars.wordpress.com {{DEFAULTSORT:San Martin, Miguel 1959 births Argentine aerospace engineers Electronics engineers Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni NASA people People from Villa Regina Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science alumni Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal 20th-century Argentine engineers 21st-century Argentine engineers

Early life and career

Awards

See also

References

External links