Mars Exploration: Zip Code Mars

Todd Barber is a JPL propulsion engineer, working on the Cassini mission to Saturn and the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. Cassini was launched on October 15, 1997 on its two-billion-mile, seven-year journey to the ringed planet. The Mars Exploration Rover team will launched twin rovers to the red planet during the summer of 2003. Part-time, Mr. Barber also worked on the Deep Space One mission, the first NASA mission to use an ion engine (ala "Star Trek") for primary propulsion. Deep Space One was launched in October, 1998, rendezvousing with a near-Earth asteroid in July of 1999. An extended mission was completed successfully--a visit to a comet in September, 2001.

Todd worked on the Galileo project for over seven years and his primary responsibility was getting Galileo into Jupiter orbit on December 7, 1995. Mr. Barber also worked part-time on the Space Infra-Red Telescope Facility (SIRTF) mission and on the Stardust mission, as well as the Mars Sample Return mission and a Mars airplane study. Todd received NASA's Exceptional Achievement Award in 1996 for his work on Galileo.

Mr. Barber is a native of Wichita, Kansas, and attended MIT between 1984 and 1990, obtaining B.S. and M.S. degrees in aerospace engineering, with a humanities concentration in music. He is also a composer of church choral music, with two pieces published to date. His hobbies include playing basketball, singing charitably and professionally, playing the piano, and amateur astronomy.

Contributions to Mars Exploration

Propulsion ground software testing and cruise stage propulsion mission operations [more contributions ...]

Personal Reflections

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I am extremely active in music, in composing/arranging, singing, and playing the piano. I sing in a church choir, front the JPL big band called "Big Band Theory" as their boy singer, and I sing in a JPL a cappella quintet, "Chanson. [more personal reflections ...]