Cinnamon Wright
Papers
2
Total Citations
17
H-Index
2
About
Cinnamon Wright is a leading aerospace engineer whose work has been instrumental in advancing NASA’s asteroid exploration and robotic capture capabilities. Her primary research focuses on proximity operations, autonomous navigation, and robotic boulder capture for asteroid missions. Wright made major contributions as a key member of the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission (ARRM) Option B team, where she helped develop the innovative concept of capturing a multi-ton boulder from a near-Earth asteroid’s surface—a paradigm shift from earlier plans to capture entire asteroids. Her work on the Relative Terrain Imaging Navigation (RETINA) tool, which enables spacecraft to autonomously navigate relative to an asteroid’s surface using real-time terrain imaging, represents a critical advancement for precision landing and sample collection. Wright’s most cited paper, "Proximity Operations for the Robotic Boulder Capture Option for the Asteroid Redirect Mission" (13 citations), laid foundational groundwork for this ambitious NASA initiative. Her research directly supports the agency’s long-term goals of asteroid resource utilization and planetary defense, establishing her as a key figure in the future of deep-space robotic exploration.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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