Alum Shares Lessons from Working on NASA's Mars Rovers

Chris Lewicki, who graduated from the University of Arizona with a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 2000, has been involved in more space science than most. He is the co-founder of Planetary Resources Inc. and currently serves a co-chair at XPRIZE developing space debris remediation techniques. But prior to his time in the private sector, Lewicki worked on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix Mars Lander. 

Lewicki recently appeared on the My Favorite Mistake podcast to discuss the future of the space industry, and what he learned from a nearly disastrous mistake with the Mars rover. 

"There are thousands of mistakes that are made in the process of building these things, but it's the way that we have learned how to build and design them that allows us to work through those mistakes happening anyway and realizing that the best thing you can do," Lewicki said. "It's not a failure if you've learned from it."

Lewicki also has an asteroid, 13609 Lewicki, named after him.