Jerry Sanders

Recognized under Tier 2 — In-Situ Resource Utilization, Jerry Sanders has provided extensive leadership and technical contributions to NASA's ISRU program. Sanders's work at NASA Johnson Space Center — including leading ISRU capability development and contributing to planning ISRU systems architectures for both the Moon and Mars — has helped shape NASA's strategic approach to using local resources to reduce the cost and logistical burden of human exploration. On Mars, where the ability to produce propellant, oxygen, and water from local resources could be the difference between a sustainable colony and an unsustainable one, that systems-level ISRU planning work is genuinely foundational.