Lane Painter

NASA Mars Exploration Program

Operations Specialist

Working on innovative models, emerging technologies and partnerships to enable the next generation of Mars exploration

Co-Lead for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program STRIDE (Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration) - STRIDE is soliciting proposals from U.S. industry to conduct design studies of advanced robotic surface and aerial mobility systems with payload transportation and deployment capability for Mars surface operations, and, where applicable, early-stage prototyping of hardware. These studies will inform the future development of procurable robotic mobility systems that are Mars-environment capable and able to traverse challenging Mars terrain to deliver science payloads across the Martian surface. Learn more about STRIDE.

Next-Generation Mars Robotic Mobility – Researching advancements in aerial and surface robotic mobility, embodied ai, autonomy, and other innovative technologies that will enable the future of robotic missions in NASA’s Mars Exploration Program.

NASA Mars Commercial Services – Exploring commercial service model partnerships for large and small payload delivery and hosting, high-resolution imaging, next-generation communication/positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) to support lower-cost, more frequent Mars missions.

International Mars Ice Mapper Mission Concept – Supporting the development of a multinational mission concept in development to map subsurface ice on Mars as a resource for future exploration.

International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG) – Collaborating with global space agencies to align strategies and initiatives for Mars exploration.

University of Chicago - BA, Economics
University of Cambridge - Masters, Industrial Systems, Manufacture & Management
University of Chicago Booth School of Business - Deferred Admission, MBA (Chicago Booth Scholar Accelerated Track)