Robert Hogg is a Senior Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. He is the Mission Manager for the Mars 2020 project, which operates the Perseverance rover and accompanying Ingenuity helicopter, both of which are currently exploring Mars.
Robert began his career at NASA in 1997 as a flight software engineer for the Deep Space One spacecraft, which tested twelve advanced high-risk technologies in space and returned the closet-ever images captured of a comet.
He then moved into robotic research, where he developed systems and behavior software for the JPL Urban Robot, concluding with a complete robotic system ahead of its time that could navigate complex terrain and climb flights of stairs autonomously. Concurrently he created the Spiderbot research task, which investigated adaptable sensor webs and mobility for small legged robots, and which sparked the imagination of millions.
Robert has extensive experience in flight systems design and development, and planetary operations in the areas of robotics and navigation from his years of work on the Mars Science Laboratory mission, and its Curiosity rover, which successfully landed in 2012 and is still exploring mars to this day.
On the succeeding Mars 2020 project Robert has held multiple senior engineering roles across eight years of design development, implementation and construction, verification and validation, and final system integration in preparation for launch. After a successful entry and landing on Mars in February of 2021, the project’s Perseverance rover is searching for signs of past microbial life using seven advanced instruments, capturing the most scientifically promising soil and rock samples to be returned to Earth. Concurrently the Ingenuity helicopter carried out the first powered flight on another planet, and then continued into a combined operations mission with Perseverance by carrying out reconnaissance flights on Mars.
Robert continues his work as the Mission Manager for the project, working on the possibility of finding life on another world, for the first time in human history.
Bachelor of Science (1998, with honors) in Computer Science and Engineering, from the University of California Los Angeles
Exploring other worlds with autonomous robots.
1999 - JPL Team Award For Excellence - DS1 Avionics & Flight Software - Design & development of flight software
2000 - JPL Team Award For Excellence - Tactical Mobile Robotics - Developed a robot for autonomus navigation
2003 - JPL Award for Outstanding Accomplishment - Leadership on small, legged robots
2009 - JPL Team Award - MSL Motion Control Team - Direct contribution to initial Motion Control system-level integration and testing of this challenging multi-component system
2011 - JPL Team Award - MSL Surface Phase ATLO V&V Team - For successful development of MSL Instrument procedures for ATLO
2013 - NASA Team Honor Award - MSL Surface Systems Engineering - For outstanding systems engineering achievement in the system and operational design, development and testing of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
2013 - NASA Team Honor Award - MSL Project Operations Team - For outstanding achievement in the operation and successful execution of the Curiosity rover's mission of exploration to the surface of Gale Crater
2013 - JPL Team Award - MSL EO Mobility V&V Team - For contributions to the MSL mobility V&V effort and its successful use in early surface operations.
2015 - NASA Team Honor Award - MSL Prime Mission Science and Operations Team - For exceptional technical innovations in rover surface operations leading to significantly improved MSL prime mission performance and science
2015 - JPL Team Award - Ripple Testing & Driving - For the Successful analysis, development, testing and execution of driving in challenging sand ripples and slopes
2016 - JPL Voyager Award - For leading the remote science end-to-end design effort resulting in a successful 2020 surface phase PDR.
2017 - JPL Voyager Award - For high-quality preparation and execution for the Mars 2020 Surface CDR Part 1
2018 - JPL Voyager Award - For excellent work leading up to and presenting at the Mars 2020 CDRs especially theMars 2020 Surface Phase CDR part 2
2019 - JPL Voyager Award - Successful integration of the Mars Helicopter onto the M2020 rover in response to a late request by NASA to include the Helicopter into the mission.
2020 - JPL Team Award - Mars 2020 Project Systems Engineering - For the successful support and execution of Mars 2020 Project Systems Engineering tasks leading up to launch.
2021 - JPL Voyager Award - Provided exceptional leadership as the surface phase lead, leading to successful operations of the Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter.
2021 - NASA Team Honor Award - Mars 2020 Surface Phase Systems Engineering team - For extraordinary achievement in developing and testing rover capabilities in preparation for Mars 2020 surface phase mission
2022 - JPL Award - For outstanding performance in Mission management and helicopter operations
2023 - JPL Team Award - Mission Lead Team - For outstanding leadership and work in managing the Mars 2020 tactical mission through the end of prime mission and Sample Depot Creation
