Pace manages JPL’s next interplanetary mission, the 2001 Mars Odyssey, shown
here during launch preparations at the Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft
is scheduled to launch on April 7.

As a teenager, George Pace loved airplanes. But after the Soviets launched
Sputnik when he was a freshman in college, Pace’s interest went from
airplanes to aerospace. After earning his undergraduate and master of
science in engineering degrees from the University of Michigan, Pace joined
JPL to work on spacecraft.

At the beginning of his career, he provided analysis and engineering support
for JPL-managed flight projects including the Ranger, Surveyor, Mariner and
Viking series of missions. Later, he headed the guidance and control section
during the development of attitude and articulation control systems for the
Voyager and Galileo spacecraft. Pace also served as the spacecraft manager
for the Mars Observer and Mars Global Surveyor missions. In 1997, he became
the project manager of the Odyssey mission.

Earlier this year, Pace and his wife moved from Southern California to
Florida so he could work with the Odyssey team as they ready the spacecraft
for its flight to Mars.

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Q. What is the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission?

A. The Odyssey mission is the next mission to Mars. It is an orbiter and it
will do observations of the surface looking for elements and minerals. It
will also measure the radiation background at Mars, radiation that would be
harmful to humans.

Q. What do you still have to do to prepare for the April 7 launch?

A. The spacecraft is fueled and ready to go. We’ve weighed the spacecraft,
moved it to the launch pad and completed a functional test out at the pad to
make sure everything is working. The next spacecraft activity will be a
practice launch countdown [on Saturday, March 31]. Then the next time the
spacecraft comes on, it will be the afternoon of April 6 when we turn on for
launch.

Q. This must be an exciting yet stressful time for you. What do you do to
relieve that stress?

A. (Chuckles) When I have a chance on weekends, I’m going down to see the
Dodgers at Vero Beach. We also went over to see the Marlins play last
weekend and they were playing the Dodgers – so that was fun. Also, getting
down by the ocean and walking on the beach, we do a lot of walking.

Q. What’s been the most challenging aspect of this mission for you so far?

A. The most challenging aspect for me has been to keep the team focused
because this project has been through a lot of changes. We started off with
an orbiter and a lander and it got re-scoped several times. Then of course
the ’98 missions were lost and at first we were re-scoping the lander, and
then we lost the lander mission. [Due to the loss of two spacecraft in 1999,
NASA decided to forego the lander and only use an orbiter for this Mars
mission.] The project has been through several JPL organizations so the most
difficult thing for me has been keeping the team focused on getting the job
done.

Q. How did you become interested in space exploration?

A. I always loved airplanes and I went to college intending to be an
aeronautical engineer. But Sputnik was launched my freshman year and that
kind of changed my whole perspective of what I wanted to do. Instead of
airplanes, it turned out to be aerospace.

Q. What advice would you have for young people starting out today wanting to
do what you do?

A. Clearly the math and science are important, but don’t overlook the other
classes like English and things like that because communicating is very
important on jobs like this. Being able to express yourself and work with
other people, that’s as important as any technical knowledge you might bring
to the job.

Q. Why do you think the public is so fascinated with Mars in particular?

A. I think of all the planets Mars is most like Earth. It is close to Earth.
There is a possibility that water might have existed there, or might even
exist there now. It is the planet most likely to support life of some sort
–if life does exist elsewhere in the solar system–and that’s why we are
looking for the water and hopefully looking for the life. So that’s what’s
fascinating.