Chief Technologist, Marshall Space Flight Center – NASA’.
Les Johnson is the Chief Technology Officer at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. As such, he leads the MSFC team on matters involving center-wide technology development. Les recently served as the Principal Investigator for the NASA Near-Earth Asteroid Scout mission which launched into space aboard Artemis 1 in 2022 as well as many other space technology missions and projects. During his career at NASA, Les served as the Manager for the Space Science Programs and Projects Office, the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project, and the Interstellar Propulsion Research Project. He holds three space technology patents. Les is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics, a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.