NASA gets its 1st Indian-American chief
Amit Kshatriya, an Indian-American engineer with two decades at NASA, has just been named Associate Administrator—the highest-ranking civil service job at the agency.
He'll be steering big projects like the Artemis Moon missions and Mars exploration, while managing NASA's 10 center directors from Washington DC.
Kshatriya's appointment underscores US's commitment to space leadership
Kshatriya's appointment signals how serious the US is about leading in space—especially with renewed Moon missions and growing competition from China.
It also points to NASA's push for more collaboration with private space companies, aiming to boost both America's space economy and future exploration.
His journey from robotics engineer to top NASA official
Born in Wisconsin, Kshatriya studied math at Caltech and UT Austin before joining NASA as a robotics engineer in 2003.
He worked his way up through mission control and played a key role in Artemis I.
Along the way, he earned honors like the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and the astronaut-awarded Silver Snoopy for flight safety.
Kshatriya steps into role amid renewed focus on Moon and Mars
He steps into this role to guide some of NASA's most ambitious missions yet.