Steve Squyres

Steven Weldon Squyres (born January 9, 1956) is an American geologist and planetary scientist renowned for his role as Principal Investigator for the science payload on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1981, worked at NASA's Ames Research Center, and later became the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell before joining Blue Origin as Chief Scientist in 2019. His research focuses on the history of water on Mars, icy moons like Europa, and planetary exploration missions including Voyager, Magellan, and Cassini.