Peter Curreri

Recognized under Tier 2 — In-Situ Resource Utilization, Peter Curreri built a long career at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center working on materials science and manufacturing from extraterrestrial resources. Curreri's research on extracting metals, oxygen, and other useful materials from lunar and Martian regolith and rocks — including electrochemical and thermal processing approaches — has contributed to the scientific and technical foundation for manufacturing on planetary surfaces using local feedstocks. The ability to produce structural materials, oxygen, and other necessities from Martian soil rather than importing them from Earth is central to any economically viable Mars colony.