For our latest OL Spotlight, we're delighted to feature John Elliott (1976), who is a Spacecraft Systems Engineer and Mission Architect at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

Q1. Tell us a little about your career and background?

"After leaving Loretto, I returned to finish my last year of high school in the US before attending Purdue University in Indiana, where I earned Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in nuclear engineering with an emphasis on aerospace applications. I found my first job with TRW Systems in the Los Angeles area, working on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory spacecraft, followed by a number of other space and technology projects. I then spent six years working in the nuclear power industry with the Bechtel corporation, after which I returned to TRW to work on the Chandra X-ray Observatory. When that launched in 1999, I moved to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I’ve spent the past 26 years working on a wide variety of missions and concepts spanning the solar system, from the surface of the moon all the way to Pluto.”

Q2. What led to your love of engineering?

“I grew up next to Cape Canaveral during possibly the most exciting time in the US space program. My father and most of our neighbours worked at the Cape, primarily in engineering or science-related fields. In retrospect, it was a unique environment in which to be raised, and my interest in space exploration and the engineering that went into it seemed completely natural.”

Q3. What would you say is the best aspect of your career?

“In my time at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I’ve had the opportunity to study mission concepts that seem to come right out of science fiction. We’ve looked at nuclear powered spacecraft using ion propulsion to explore the moons of Jupiter, radioisotope-heated hot air balloons flying in the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon, Titan, orbiters around Pluto, and human bases on the moon, to name a few. It has been a real privilege and joy to be able to develop and explore these concepts, even though most of them may not ultimately end up being realised.”

Q4. What do you consider to be your biggest success so far?

“I recently led a study effort to develop a long-range rover mission (called Endurance) that would explore the far side of the moon and collect samples to be returned to earth by future astronauts. I was delighted to learn that this mission concept was recommended to NASA as the ‘highest priority of the of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program’ in the next decade. Since then, we’ve been working hard on further developing this concept and bringing it to reality.”

Q5. What’s next for you?

“I’m looking forward to seeing how our Endurance concept turns out, and I’m involved in the early stages of a number of other concepts that could be developed and flown in the next decade. I believe we’re on the cusp of an exciting new era in space exploration and I hope to stay involved to help it succeed.”

Q6. What advice would you give to current Lorettonians?

“Explore all of the options that are out there and be alert to what stirs your interests. If you have a passion for something, even if it appears to be hard to achieve, don’t be afraid to pursue it. If you love your work it will pay off in ways that go well beyond common measures of wealth and status.”

John’s time at Loretto:

“In physics class one day, we were learning the ‘left handed motor rule’ - holding the thumb, first and second fingers of your left hand orthogonally, First finger is the direction of the electric Field, seCond finger is direction of Current, and the THumb is in the direction of THrust.

Well, I was mistakingly using my right hand and William H. Durran (Hon.), recognising the limitations of my American upbringing, kindly informed me that it was called the left handed motor rule because, in civilised countries, motors drive on the left side of the road. I have never forgotten this rule, and I’m sure it saved me once or twice during university physics tests.”

Future OL Spotlights

To be featured yourself or to nominate someone else, please get in touch at society@loretto.com.