Jim Free, NASA’s Associate Administrator, announced his retirement effective February 22nd. As a senior advisor to Acting Administrator Janet Petro, he oversaw NASA’s 10 Center Directors and the agency’s operations, managing over 18,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $25 billion. During his tenure since January 2024, NASA added nearly 20 new signatories to the Artemis Accords and successfully initiated several significant missions, including the first lunar payload landings and the Osiris-Rex mission, which studied Jupiter’s moon Europa and returned samples of asteroid regolith to Earth.
Free is praised for his servant leadership approach, emphasizing the importance of mission and workforce. He has been instrumental in advancing public/private partnerships for lunar missions and has played a key role in Mars sample return strategies. His career at NASA spanned over 30 years, during which he held various leadership positions, including overseeing the Artemis I mission and managing deep space explorations. Free began his NASA journey in 1990 as an engineer and later moved to significant roles at various centers.
A native of northeast Ohio, Free holds a bachelor’s degree in aviation and a master’s in space systems engineering. He has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Presidential Ranking Award and multiple NASA distinguished service medals. His legacy is characterized by selfless service and commitment to NASA’s mission for the benefit of humanity.
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