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Steve Alfery -- He Makes it Happen

Steve Alfery.
Photo Credit: JPL NASA.

Alfery is fluent in the languages of both business and engineering and moves easily between the two worlds.

Steve Alfery -- Dealing for Rover Wheeling on Mars
No banks, stock exchanges or other financial institutions are known to exist on Mars. So how does a business and economics graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara end up in a key role on a mission to the red planet?

"When I was in school, I never thought 'I'm going to be buying parts for spacecraft to go to other planets,'" said Steve Alfery of JPL. But every expedition to a new world needs someone like him -- a savvy buyer with knowledge of the marketplace to acquire the unique equipment, supplies and tools that will make the voyage possible.

It's Not Rocket Science -- It's Harder
For engineers and scientists, what Alfery does is not rocket science - it's much harder. For the Mars Exploration Rover mission, Alfery holds the purse strings and brokers the deals. His efforts allow the project's engineers and scientists to acquire all the materials, machines and services that will become the mission itself.

What does it take to design, build, test, launch, fly and drive two robotic rovers destined for Mars? Materiel, and some of it is pretty exotic. Whether it's a parachute from Windsor, Connecticut, spacecraft lander airbags from Frederica, Delaware, or a robotic arm from Altadena, California, Alfery has led the team that made the deal. A spectrometer from Germany? A remotely controlled rock grinder from New York? Alfery's checked them out and determined the best product for the right price.
(More: JPL NASA News Source)
2002 © JPL NASA.

Dan