Biography:Allen Chen

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Al Chen
Allen Chen at NASA JPL
EducationS.B., S.M. in Aeronautics & Astronautics
Master of Business Administration
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
University of California Los Angeles
Spouse(s)Julie Wertz Chen
Scientific career
Thesis"Propulsion System Characterization for the SPHERES Formation Flight and Docking Testbed" (2002)
Academic advisorsDave Miller
Engineering career
DisciplineSystems Engineering
Employer(s)NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
ProjectsMars Science Laboratory
Mars 2020

Allen "Al" Chen is an American aerospace engineer. He was the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Operations Lead on the Mars Science Laboratory mission and the EDL Lead for the Mars 2020 mission.[1]

Early life and education

Chen is from Newtown, Pennsylvania,[2] and is a graduate of Lawrenceville School. He is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies teams.

He decided on the aerospace field during the spring of his freshman year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] Chen was on the varsity fencing team, competing in the sabre.[3][4] As a senior, he received the David J. Shapiro Memorial Award for building an electric-powered model aircraft with seven other students. He also received the James Means Memorial Award for Excellence in Flight Vehicle or Space Systems Engineering for his contributions to the SPHERES project in the "Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate" Capstone course.[2]

In graduate school, he was in the Space Systems Laboratory (MIT) with Professor Dave Miller. He worked on propulsion system for the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellite (SPHERES) project.

Chen received a Fully Employed Master of Business Administration (FEMBA) from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2007.[5]

Work at NASA

Allen Chen has worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California for his entire career. He joined the Mars Science Laboratory EDL team in 2002.[6] On August 5, 2012, Chen announced "Touchdown confirmed. We're safe on Mars!," after which the JPL Mission Control Center erupted in celebration; team members hugged, high fived, clapped and cried.[7][8]

He was a member of the MSL EDL team to accept the National Air and Space Museum Trophy in person.[9] He joined team members for a GQ profile.[10]

Chen joined the Mars 2020 team in 2013, shortly after the team was assembled.[11] In his EDL lead role, he was responsible for ensuring the spacecraft traveled safely from the top of the Martian atmosphere to landing in Jezero crater.[1][12] The coronavirus pandemic broke out a year before the landing, so Chen had to lead his team while keeping socially distant and maintaining COVID-19 protocols.[13][14][15]

Chen narrated the Mars 2020 landing procedures with Guidance and Controls Operations Lead Swati Mohan on February 18, 2021. Chen stated he's excited to be a part of bringing Martian samples back to Earth. He considers his Mars 2020 EDL team to be a second family to him.[1]

Selected publications

  • Nelessen, Adam; Sackier, Chloe; Clark, Ian; Brugarolas, Paul; Villar, Gregorio; Chen, Allen; Stehura, Aaron; Otero, Richard et al. (March 2019). "Mars 2020 Entry, Descent, and Landing System Overview". 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference. Big Sky, Montana, USA: IEEE (published June 20, 2019). doi:10.1109/AERO.2019.8742167. Bibcode: 2019aero.conf...84N. 

Personal life

Chen is married to NASA JPL systems engineer Julie Wertz Chen.[16] They met at MIT and were both in the SPHERES Capstone class.[17] Julie Wertz Chen was on the Mars InSight landing team[18] and sat in the same front row seat that he did for Curiosity.[1]

Chen has been active on social media since before the MSL landing.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Allen Chen Biography". NASA. December 14, 2020. https://mars.nasa.gov/people/profile/?id=9167. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stuppard, Marie (May 31, 2000). "Aeronautics/astronautics honors students, faculty". MIT Tech Talk (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). https://news.mit.edu/2000/aero-0531. 
  3. ↑ Efstathiou, Evangelos (November 17, 1998). "Fencing Squad Starts Off Season Well at the Big One Tournament". The Tech (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 118 (59). ISSN 0148-9607. http://tech.mit.edu/V118/N59/fencing.59s.html. 
  4. ↑ Jimanez, Dalia (November 21, 1997). "Fencers Foil Opponents with String Of Victories in Weekend Competition". The Tech (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 117 (60). http://tech.mit.edu/V117/N60/fencing.60s.html. 
  5. ↑ "NASA, UCLA Anderson Grads Celebrate Mars Exploration Anniversary". University of California Los Angeles. August 12, 2013. https://blogs.anderson.ucla.edu/anderson/2013/08/nasa-ucla-anderson-grads-celebrate-mars-exploration-anniversary.html. 
  6. ↑ Chu, Jennifer (October 11, 2012). "MIT alums recount their Martian experiences". MIT News (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). https://news.mit.edu/2012/curious-aeroastro-alum-event-1011. 
  7. ↑ "Sounds of Mars: Touchdown confirmed. We’re safe on Mars!". NASA/JPL. December 10, 2020. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sounds-of-mars-touchdown-confirmed-were-safe-on-mars/. 
  8. ↑ Agle, DC, ed. (August 21, 2012). "First Words of Safe Landing on Mars - Tango Delta Nominal" (Press release). NASA/JPL. 2012-253. Archived from the original on March 16, 2026. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ Cook, Jia-Rui; Webster, Guy, eds. (April 25, 2013). "Curiosity Wins National Air and Space Museum Trophy" (Press release). NASA/JPL. 2013-148. Archived from the original on March 27, 2026. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kvinta, Paul (November 26, 2012). "NASA's Mars Rover Team: Spacemen of the Year 2012". GQ. ISSN 0016-6979. https://www.gq.com/story/nasa-spacemen-of-the-year-2012. Retrieved February 21, 2021. 
  11. ↑ Webster, Guy; Brown, Dwayne; Cantillo, Laurie, eds. (July 15, 2016). "NASA's Next Mars Rover Progresses Toward 2020 Launch" (Press release). NASA/JPL. 2016-187. Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (February 22, 2021). "Watch Video From NASA's Perseverance Rover Landing on Mars". The New York Times. ProQuest 2492001112. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/science/mars-landing-nasa-video.html. 
  13. ↑ Hautaluoma, Grey; Johnson, Alana; Agle, DC, eds. (April 21, 2020). "How NASA's Perseverance Mars Team Adjusted to Work in the Time of Coronavirus" (Press release). NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on April 1, 2026. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Coronavirus and Current JPL Guidance". NASA/JPL. February 27, 2020. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/stateofthelab/. 
  15. ↑ Agle, DC; Hautaluoma, Grey; Johnson, Alana, eds. (January 27, 2021). "NASA's Perseverance Rover 22 Days From Mars Landing" (Press release). NASA/JPL. 2021-018. Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ O’Neill, Ian J.; Cook, Jia-Rui, eds. (April 30, 2020). "Meet the People Behind NASA's Perseverance Rover" (Press release). NASA/JPL. 2020-085. Archived from the original on February 26, 2026. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Julie Wertz Chen and Al Chen Love Story". Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alumni. 14 February 2019. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3k93xjXEz/. 
  18. ↑ "NASA Previews InSight Mars Landing". NASA. October 31, 2018. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/nasa-previews-insight-mars-landing/. 
  19. ↑ Morell, Nicole (October 3, 2014). "Join the Twitter Chat: MIT Alumni and the Final Frontier". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://alum.mit.edu/slice/join-twitter-chat-mit-alumni-and-final-frontier. 



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