Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman will become deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech associate vice president on November 30, 2026. NASA’s October 28 announcement describes the next role for the former astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain.
Operations and mission support
Wiseman’s responsibilities will include laboratory operations, institutional planning, management and compliance in partnership with Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. He will oversee mission-support functions as JPL’s Center Management Authority for mission execution and serve as its principal contact for national-security programs.
The appointment is to the deputy role. Dave Gallagher remains identified in the announcement as JPL director and Caltech vice president.
From crew leadership to laboratory leadership
Wiseman joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2009. He served as chief astronaut from December 2020 to November 2022, overseeing flight readiness and crew safety, before commanding the Artemis II lunar flyby.
The November 30 start is still ahead. The announcement establishes a leadership appointment; it does not announce a new spacecraft launch or change a mission’s flight schedule.
