Aggies in the Artemis era

Millions watched, eagerly awaiting the safe return of Artemis II as its crew re-entered the atmosphere, braving temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees and forces nearly four times Earth’s normal gravity.

As the world looked to the sky, a massive team coordinated to ensure a successful mission — including several Texas A&M University graduates turned NASA engineers. Three of these Aggies supported Artemis II with their skills and dedication, from tracking the Orion capsule during reentry to expertly designing spacesuits that protected the crew. 

Jeff Fox ’84 described his role as “just a speck on this historic moment,” yet the accomplishment was possible because of the combined efforts of thousands of NASA employees.

Jeff Fox ’84

Orion’s safe return was more than just a splashdown or the success of Artemis II. It marked decades of persistence and the immense power of interdisciplinary collaboration fueling the future of space exploration.

“This work is not easy, but the sense of mission and accomplishment is a great reward,” Fox said. “I’m blessed to do something I love, and it seldom feels like work. We get to build spaceships with our friends.” 

Fox has lived out that philosophy for over 40 years at NASA. Through leadership roles and hands-on work in cockpit design and flight operations, his career has centered on engineering the human experience.

“Growing up, having been just old enough to appreciate the significance of the Apollo program, there was a feeling that we could do anything,” Fox said. “Taking on seemingly impossible challenges seemed routine to this impressionable youth at the time.”

In 1979, he applied this mindset to the rigorous coursework he faced at Texas A&M.

“My education taught me how to integrate learning to solve problems and communicate information,” he said. “These courses forced me to think about other aspects of engineering, mainly human factors and communication.”

Fox has lived out that philosophy for over 40 years at NASA. Through leadership roles and hands-on work in cockpit design and flight operations, his career has centered on engineering the human experience.

“Growing up, having been just old enough to appreciate the significance of the Apollo program, there was a feeling that we could do anything,” Fox said. “Taking on seemingly impossible challenges seemed routine to this impressionable youth at the time.”

In 1979, he applied this mindset to the rigorous coursework he faced at Texas A&M.

“My education taught me how to integrate learning to solve problems and communicate information,” he said. “These courses forced me to think about other aspects of engineering, mainly human factors and communication.”

An industrial engineering graduate, he serves as the chief engineer at the Astronaut Office’s Rapid Prototyping Laboratory. Fox and his team develop hardware and software prototypes used for spacecraft displays and control interfaces that astronauts use to monitor and operate the Orion capsule.

Fox also collaborated with the U.S. Navy to track debris and capture infrared, video and photographs of the Orion capsule during reentry and splashdown from helicopters. 

The team worked to capture high-quality imagery during the capsule’s descent and splashdown, giving researchers the data needed to analyze the components and ensure flight objectives were met.

As the Artemis program charts a path toward Mars, Fox sees the next era of space exploration as a shared responsibility, not a distant aspiration. The same collaborative foundation that shaped his career will guide humanity’s progress into deep space.

Cody Kelly ’10

Cody Kelly ’10 serves as the technical director of the U.S. Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking program, which develops advanced search-and-rescue beacons. 

For the Artemis II mission, he coordinated search-and-rescue satellite coverage to locate the Orion capsule after splashdown. This satellite coverage would also support search-and-rescue efforts in the event of a post-landing emergency by using the Advanced Next-Generation Emergency Locator beacon on the crew’s suits.

Kelly’s role has evolved over time. As an aerospace engineering student at Texas A&M, he interned with NASA and became involved in the Artemis program early in his career. 

As an intern, Kelly supported interior layout designs for the Orion capsule. Since then, he has led the development, certification and testing of astronaut survival equipment for Orion missions, including crew survival kits and specialized search-and-rescue beacons. 

In 2017, Kelly led NASA’s first open-ocean space capsule egress training, which prepared astronauts to safely exit their capsule following landing. Kelly also oversaw astronaut life raft testing at Texas A&M’s Offshore Technology Research Center.

“This means a lot to me as someone who has worked on the Orion capsule since the earliest days of my career,” he said. “It has touched so many aspects of my life with long nights and endless work to make sure our friends and colleagues flying around the moon can come home safe.”

A Bandera, Texas, native, Kelly arrived at Texas A&M in 2006. Despite self-described early poor mathematical skills, he worked to earn a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and, later, a master’s certificate in advanced international affairs.

“The connections you make on campus are going to carry you later in your career. If I can do it, anyone with the grit and drive to succeed can work in the space sector,” Kelly said. “As the sector evolves and focuses on lunar and Martian exploration, Texas A&M is well-poised to create the next generation of leaders. We are lucky to live in a time when these opportunities exist.”

Along with perseverance, Kelly gained practical experience as a student through the AggieSat Laboratory and built connections to career advancement programs through the Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

Katherine Plaza ’22

Katherine Plaza ’22 works as a project engineer for the Orion Crew Survival System, the iconic orange suits worn by astronauts for launch, reentry and contingency operations on Artemis missions. 

She joined NASA after earning her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M in 2022, but her connection to the storied space agency — and the Artemis program — runs much deeper.

“My involvement with Artemis began from a young age, with my mom having worked at NASA her entire 38-year career,” Plaza said. “She worked on the International Space Station program before transitioning to Artemis later in her career.”

Plaza’s work focuses on the waste management system, which includes the internal and external suit hardware needed for long-duration wear. If the cabin depressurizes, the crew may be required to wear their survival suits for up to 144 hours. In this scenario, the waste management system’s hardware connects to the capsule walls to allow for liquid waste removal. Plaza certifies the system’s hardware and trains astronauts to use it.

“I got to see a huge effort of coordination with so many teams across multiple NASA centers and the U.S. military to perform an amazing operation,” she said. “It made me proud to be part of the integrated team.”

After Artemis II splashed down, some of Plaza’s teammates were present to help the astronauts remove their suits once on board the recovery ship. The team disassembled the suits to protect hardware from saltwater corrosion and preserve them for potential reuse in future missions or training.

Plaza also helped raise public awareness of the Artemis mission. Prior to launch, she was at Kennedy Space Center doing interviews during Artemis Media Day and at a social influencer event.

Beyond Artemis II

The success of Artemis II reflects coordinated work across multiple scientific and engineering disciplines. That same momentum will propel the program’s next phase and continue shaping the future of space exploration.

For those on the forefront of innovation, there is reignited excitement for what the future holds.

“Artemis is the nation’s push to satisfy our human desire to explore and push boundaries,” Plaza said. “We are exploring the universe with humans, first on the moon and eventually pushing to farther destinations, like Mars.”

Fox sees the historic mission as an opportunity to inspire the public and future generations, much as the Apollo program once inspired him. Motivated by that same sense of curiosity, educators continue to carve new pathways across science and engineering. 

“I hope this translates into more people from all walks of life developing an interest in STEM,” Fox said. “NASA can once again excite the masses and influence them to believe that we can accomplish great feats.” 

With demand for dynamic engineers rising, there are increasing opportunities to contribute to innovative advances on Earth and beyond. 

“The Artemis II mission represents the hard work and effort of common, everyday Americans working together to send astronauts further into space than ever before in human history,” Kelly said. “This type of grand undertaking shows what humanity can do and opens the door to a new grand age of space exploration.”

As Artemis II moves from mission to milestone, the work of Fox, Kelly and Plaza highlights the broad network of expertise behind human spaceflight. Their paths — sparked by early curiosity, strengthened through their Texas A&M education and carried into their careers at NASA — show how individual talent contributes to the complex systems that make deep‑space exploration possible.

WATCH: From Aggieland to Outer Space | Texas A&M Engineering

By Campbell Atkins and Alyssa Schaechinger, Texas A&M University College of Engineering

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