Reid Wiseman named deputy director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Reid Wiseman, listed as Artemis II commander, is named deputy director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech associate vice president. The facts also list him as to be announced in the NASA JPL deputy director role.

Wiseman is named deputy director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech associate vice president. He is also listed as to be announced as NASA JPL deputy director.

The facts list Nov. 30, 2026 in connection with Wiseman.

Caltech manages JPL for NASA and founded JPL. The laboratory is in Southern California and is NASA's center of excellence for robotics and deep space exploration. It is also NASA's only federally funded research and development center.

The role is listed with strategic leadership, stewardship and continuous improvement of laboratory operations, and with close partnership with Caltech on institutional planning, management and compliance.

Wiseman is listed as the Center Management Authority for JPL mission execution and as JPL's primary interface for national security programs. The regulatory item lists NASA requirements and applicable federal and state regulations.

He is listed as Artemis II commander and on the Artemis II test flight crew with Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The test flight is listed with a lunar flyby orbit, 695,081 miles and the milestone of farthest human travel from Earth.

His record includes flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. He is also listed as commander of NASA's 21st Extreme Environment Mission Operations expedition; that expedition is listed with 8 days, the ocean floor and 2016.

He is listed as NASA chief astronaut, with associated dates Dec. 2020 and Nov. 2022, and as having led NASA's astronaut corps. He is also listed as an emeritus astronaut and a retired U.S. Navy captain.

For lunar industry tracking, the move links Artemis II crew leadership with JPL, the lab described as NASA's center of excellence for robotics and deep space exploration.

JPL's institutional position is significant because Caltech manages it for NASA, founded it, and it is NASA's only federally funded research and development center. Wiseman's listed duties include mission execution authority and an interface role for national security programs.