David S. Draper

David Draper has been named as the agency’s new deputy chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, effective July 7th.

“David’s experience and leadership are an outstanding match for the position,” said NASA chief scientist Jim Green. “His lunar and planetary exploration expertise will be instrumental in helping to achieve NASA’s goal of returning to the Moon to stay and bridging the gap from science to the future human exploration of the Moon and Mars. We’re thrilled to have him join us.”

Draper will represent the agency's strategic science objectives and contributions to the national and international science communities. He also will serve as an advisor to the NASA administrator and other senior officials on agency science programs, strategic planning, science policy, and the evaluation of related investments.

His expertise also will help NASA plan to develop a sustainable presence on the Moon and take what is learned to send astronauts to Mars. Through the agency’s Artemis program, NASA will go to the Moon in a way never gone before as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.

He most recently served as the manager of the Astromaterials Research Office, part of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In this role, Draper led a team of planetary scientists specializing in the study of samples from other worlds to determine how the solar system formed and evolved to its present state.

Draper has 27 years of experience in studying the Earth, Moon, planets and solar system, with an unbroken track record of continuous external grant funding over that time. These scientific studies explore questions regarding characteristics, processes and events of and on Earth, the Moon and Mars. In addition to his research, Draper is also involved with the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), serving as Program Committee Chair and co-Chair since 2009.

A native of California, Draper graduated from Humboldt State University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in geology. In 1991, he earned a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of Oregon.