about janan:

Janan Ferdosi is a mechanical and opto-mechanical engineer with over twelve years of professional aerospace experience at NASA. His most notable contributions to cosmic exploration include the development and delivery of Europa Clipper: MISE (Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa), launched to Jupiter’s moon Europa on October 14, 2024, and ASTERIA (Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics), launched into low Earth orbit on August 14, 2017. With a strong background in hands-on hardware builds, structural mechanics, design, analysis, optomechanics, and engineering technical management, his current work involves leading multidisciplinary teams on various NASA missions.

Janan immigrated from Iran to the United States at the age of sixteen and spent a decade working in a range of industries to support himself and fund his education before joining NASA. His early experience includes construction, the restaurant industry, fitness, teaching, and entertainment, where he was a SAG-AFTRA union member before completing his engineering degree and beginning his aerospace career.

He continued his education while working full-time and earned his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California (USC). Outside of work, he has spent the last decade traveling to 24 countries, creating mechanical art (dioramas), and steadily advancing both personally and professionally.