Ron Sostaric
Papers
2
Total Citations
17
H-Index
2
About
Ron Sostaric is a leading aerospace engineer at NASA whose work is foundational to the future of precision planetary landings. His research centers on trajectory design, navigation requirements, and hazard avoidance systems for crewed and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. Sostaric’s major contributions include defining the navigation performance needed for future precision landers, as outlined in his highly cited 2019 paper (9 citations), which directly supports the Safe and Precise Landing Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) project. He also played a key role in the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project, authoring a seminal 2009 paper (8 citations) on lunar landing trajectory design for onboard hazard detection. His work bridges the gap between current state-of-the-art landing capabilities and the high-precision requirements of human exploration, enabling landers to autonomously identify safe touchdown sites. With a career dedicated to advancing NASA’s exploration goals, Sostaric’s research is critical for ensuring the safety and success of upcoming Artemis missions and future Mars sample return efforts.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Defining Navigation Requirements for Future Precision Lander Missions9 citations · 2019
- 2