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About

Jeffrey Slostad is a pioneering aerospace engineer whose work spans planetary robotics, distributed mission operations, and on-orbit manufacturing. He is best known for his contributions to the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) mission, which made history as the first planetary mission to use Internet-based distributed ground operations—a groundbreaking approach that enabled scientists and engineers to collaborate on daily mission activities from geographically dispersed locations. His paper on this system (51 citations) remains a foundational reference in the field of remote planetary operations. Slostad also played a key role in developing the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) Robotic Arm, a critical instrument designed to dig trenches, acquire soil samples, and support thermal analysis on the Martian surface (15 citations). More recently, he has advanced the future of space infrastructure through the SpiderFab project, which explores on-orbit fabrication and assembly of kilometer-scale apertures. His work on SpiderFab (16 citations) demonstrates the feasibility of building large space structures in space, rather than launching them from Earth. Through these contributions, Slostad has helped shape both the operational and mechanical foundations of modern planetary exploration and in-space manufacturing.