Reid Wiseman, the former NASA astronaut and commander of the Artemis II mission, has been appointed as the associate vice president of Caltech and deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is scheduled to begin his new responsibilities on November 30, 2026.
In his new capacity, Wiseman will oversee the strategic leadership and operational management of the laboratory. He will also serve as the primary interface for national security programs and ensure compliance with federal and state regulations while coordinating institutional planning with Caltech.
Wiseman’s career includes serving as a flight engineer on the International Space Station during a 165-day mission in 2014 and leading the astronaut corps as chief astronaut from 2020 to 2022. He is a retired U.S. Navy captain and a former test pilot.
During the Artemis II lunar flyby, Wiseman and his crew traveled 695,081 miles. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Wiseman is joining, is a federally funded research and development center that is approaching its 90th anniversary.
