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Caltech has named Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman its associate vice president and deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is scheduled to begin Nov. 30, 2026, overseeing strategic leadership and laboratory operations alongside JPL Director Dave Gallagher.
Caltech has named Reid Wiseman, commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission, as its associate vice president and deputy director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the NASA research center managed by Caltech. Wiseman, a retired U.S. Navy captain and emeritus astronaut, is scheduled to start on Nov. 30, 2026, taking on responsibilities for JPL’s strategic leadership and laboratory operations.
In the role, Wiseman will help lead the laboratory’s operations and work with Caltech on institutional planning, management and compliance. NASA’s announcement says he will serve as JPL’s Center Management Authority for mission execution, overseeing mission-support functions under NASA requirements and relevant federal and state regulations. He will also be the laboratory’s primary interface for national security programs.
Wiseman joins JPL as it approaches its 90th anniversary. The lab is a federally funded research and development center that Caltech manages for NASA. JPL Director and Caltech Vice President Dave Gallagher remains in the leadership structure; the announcement described Wiseman as adding to the leadership team, but did not detail how duties will be divided between them.
Wiseman’s most recent high-profile assignment was command of Artemis II. NASA says he and fellow crew members Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen traveled 695,081 miles on a lunar flyby during the test flight. The agency described the crew’s distance from Earth as farther than humans had traveled before. The appointment announcement connects that human-spaceflight experience with a management post at a laboratory focused on robotics and deep-space exploration.
A New Role for Artemis Leadership
Wiseman’s appointment brings experience in crewed missions and flight operations into JPL’s senior management. His responsibilities will span laboratory stewardship and mission execution, areas that support the work of teams developing and operating NASA missions. The role is not described as a post on a single spacecraft project; it covers the institution and its operations.
For JPL, the appointment comes as the laboratory nears its 90th anniversary and plans its next period of work with NASA. A deputy director with experience leading astronaut crews and overseeing readiness and safety could contribute an operational perspective to that work. That is a potential benefit, not a stated change to JPL’s mission portfolio or strategy: NASA’s announcement did not identify specific programs Wiseman will lead or new initiatives tied to his appointment.
The job also has responsibilities extending beyond science missions. As JPL’s primary interface for national security programs, Wiseman will have a defined connection to that part of the laboratory’s work. The announcement gives no further details about the programs involved, which may not be publicly described.
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From Astronaut Corps to JPL
Wiseman joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2009. In 2014, he served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during the 165-day Expedition 41 mission. Two years later, he commanded NASA’s 21st Extreme Environment Mission Operations expedition, spending eight days in an underwater habitat.
From December 2020 to November 2022, Wiseman served as NASA’s chief astronaut, leading the astronaut corps and overseeing crew flight readiness and safety for NASA human-spaceflight missions. Before joining NASA, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, served in the Navy as a combat pilot and test pilot, and earned a master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
JPL was founded by Caltech and is managed by the institute for NASA. The appointment therefore places Wiseman in a leadership role shared across the laboratory and its managing institution, rather than making him a NASA center director alone. The announced title is Caltech associate vice president and JPL deputy director.
“That experience was really the jumping off point to go do the impossible things that Caltech and JPL dream, dare together, and do for NASA and the nation.”
— Reid Wiseman
Details of the Leadership Handover
NASA’s announcement sets Wiseman’s start date but does not spell out the division of responsibilities between him and Gallagher, or identify a specific transition plan. It also does not name particular missions, operational changes or national security programs that will fall under Wiseman’s oversight. The appointment description establishes broad duties, not a project-by-project portfolio.
The announcement does not describe changes to JPL’s staffing, budget or strategic priorities associated with the appointment. It also does not provide further details about Wiseman’s retirement from astronaut service beyond identifying him as an emeritus astronaut. Those matters remain unspecified in the source announcement.
Wiseman Starts in November
Wiseman is scheduled to take up the Caltech and JPL post on Nov. 30, 2026. His initial work will include the responsibilities set out in the announcement: strategic leadership, laboratory operations, partnership with Caltech on institutional management, and oversight of mission execution as Center Management Authority.
Further detail about his specific priorities and the working arrangement with Gallagher may come as Wiseman approaches the start date or after he joins. NASA and Caltech have not announced a separate first-day plan, named initiatives or changes to JPL’s mission schedule in the material provided.
Key Questions
What position will Reid Wiseman take at JPL?
He will become Caltech associate vice president and deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
When does Wiseman’s appointment begin?
He is scheduled to begin on Nov. 30, 2026.
What will Wiseman be responsible for?
His duties include strategic leadership and laboratory operations, institutional planning and compliance with Caltech, and serving as Center Management Authority for JPL mission execution. He will also be the lab’s primary interface for national security programs.
Will Wiseman replace JPL Director Dave Gallagher?
No replacement is described in the announcement. Gallagher is identified as JPL director and Caltech vice president, while Wiseman is joining the leadership team as deputy director. The announcement does not explain their detailed division of duties.
What experience does Wiseman bring to the role?
Wiseman commanded Artemis II, served aboard the International Space Station, led NASA’s astronaut corps from 2020 to 2022, and previously served as a Navy combat pilot and test pilot.
Source: nasa.gov
