Near-Earth Object Observations Program Manager, NASA Headquarters
Kelly Fast is the Near-Earth Object Observations Program Manager for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office in the Planetary Science Division. She earned her B.S. in Astrophysics from UCLA and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Maryland. She conducted ground-based investigations of ozone and atmospheric chemistry on Mars, winds on Titan, and the effects on Jupiter’s stratosphere of small body impacts as an astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center before coming to NASA Headquarters in 2011. Previously a visiting astronomer at NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Maunakea, she is also now the IRTF Program Scientist, a Discipline Scientist for NASA’s Solar System Observations Program, and Deputy Program Scientist for the MAVEN mission currently orbiting Mars. Main-belt asteroid 115434 (2003 TU2) was renamed “Kellyfast” in honor of her contributions to planetary science.