Les Johnson, MSc
Les Johnson, MSc is the Chief Technologist at NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and a Principal Investigator for multiple solar sail propulsion missions with over 33 years of experience in space technology development. He is a renowned physicist, author, and space technologist who has pioneered advanced spacecraft propulsion systems, including solar sails, which he believes will eventually enable humanity to reach the stars.
Les serves as an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, and member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the National Space Society, and MENSA. Read A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars and The Spacetime War.
In May 2024, Les became NASA Marshall’s Chief Technologist, where he provides expert advice on technology initiatives to center leadership and leads the Marshall team on matters involving center-wide technology development. He represents Marshall on NASA’s Center Technology Council and serves as the center’s focal point for Center Innovation Fund activities.
As Principal Investigator for the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission, which launched aboard Artemis 1 in November 2022, he led the development of a 925 square foot (86 square meter) solar sail designed to propel a 6U CubeSat to rendezvous with an asteroid. He also serves as Principal Investigator for the Solar Cruiser mission, which will demonstrate the ability of an 18,000 square foot (1,600 square meter) solar sail-propelled spacecraft to perform scientific observations of the sun, potentially launching as early as 2025. Watch NASA Unfurls Largest Solar Cruiser Sail Quadrant Ever Deployed.
Les is the Author of both science fiction and popular science books, with Publisher’s Weekly noting that “The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well” when describing his 2018 novel Mission to Methone. His 2022 nonfiction book A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars was published by Princeton University Press and positively reviewed in Scientific American, Wired, and The Wall Street Journal. His book won the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Writing in the Long-Form Nonfiction Category.
In 2018, he coauthored with Joe Meany the book Graphene: The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World, which was reviewed in the journal Nature and excerpted in American Scientist. Read Mass-Producing Graphene, Stellaris: People of the Stars and Going Interstellar.
During his distinguished career at NASA, which began in 1990, Les has served in numerous leadership roles, including Manager for the Space Science Programs and Projects Office, the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project, and the Interstellar Propulsion Research Project.
From 2017 to 2024, he served as Space Propulsion Technologist and Mission Principal Investigator in the Science & Technology Office at Marshall, where he also worked as Co-Investigator for the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna (LISA-T) and DragRacer electrodynamic tether propulsion missions.
From 2014 to 2016, he served as Technical Advisor in the Advanced Concepts Office, providing technical advice and insight into multiple space projects and potential future missions. Prior to this, he held the position of Deputy Manager of the Advanced Concepts Office from 2008 to 2014, managing a team of approximately 30 engineers and scientists in the development of innovative concepts for spacecraft systems, missions, and transportation architectures.
Les has been deeply involved in the interstellar research community as a founding member and Advisor of the Interstellar Research Group (formerly the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop), where he has served as Symposia Program Chair since 2011. The organization, which was incorporated in 2014, facilitates interstellar research and exploration by hosting regular summit meetings, encouraging educational advances, and publishing technical and scientific papers.
He has chaired all six Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop symposia and continues to guide the organization in its mission to pave the way for humanity’s eventual journey to the stars. Les has stated, “How can you look at the stars, think about all the exoplanets we’re finding, and not wonder how we’re going to get there someday?” Watch From Here to the Stars Episode 14: Les Johnson.
Les has authored and coauthored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and holds three space technology patents. He has written extensively for the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society and contributed to numerous anthologies and technical publications.
As a science fiction writer for Baen Books, he has published several novels, including The Spacetime War (2021), Mission to Methone (2018), and with Travis S. Taylor, Saving Proxima (2021), On to the Asteroid, and Back to the Moon. He has also coedited anthologies including Going Interstellar with Jack McDevitt and Stellaris: People of the Stars with Robert Hampson. Watch Thinking BIG to reach the stars: Les Johnson at TEDxHuntsville.
Les earned his Master’s Degree of Science in Physics from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Physics from Transylvania University in 1984. He also completed studies at the International Space University in 1991. At Transylvania, he was inducted into the university’s Outstanding Pioneers Alumni Panel in 2024, recognizing his achievements as a NASA technologist and author.
Les has served as Book Author for multiple publishers, including Baen Publishing Enterprises (2008-present), Princeton University Press (2021-present), Prometheus Books (2016–2018), and Springer Science+Business Media (2005–2016). His popular science books include Living Off the Land in Space. Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel, Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth, and Harvesting Space for a Greener Earth. He has also served as an Author at O’Reilly Media since 2016, creating engineering courses on Deep Learning and AI topics.
Les has received numerous honors throughout his career, including being featured as the “Interstellar Explorer” in the January 2013 issue of National Geographic Magazine in their issue celebrating 125 years of exploration, with a return appearance in March 2019. He has been a frequent guest on media programs, including CNN, the Discovery Channel’s series Physics of the Impossible in the How to Build a Starship episode, and three episodes of the Science Channel’s series Exodus Earth.
He served as technical consultant for the movies Europa Report and Lost in Space, and was featured on Public Radio’s Science Friday. Read Life probably exists beyond Earth. So how do we find it? Watch Is interstellar travel possible? – with Les Johnson at the Royal Institution.
Les, a native of Ashland, Kentucky, lives in Madison, Alabama, with his wife Carol and their family. He regularly speaks to civic and community groups throughout the southeastern United States and has presented in public forums across four countries. One student at the Tec de Monterrey in Mexico told him that he was “bigger than a rock star,” something, as Les notes, “a physicist does not hear very often!” He enjoys writing AI Challenges to help people learn AI programming and has contributed to space advocacy efforts worldwide. Watch Interview with Les Johnson!, Could interstellar travel really be possible?, and SpaceBar – October 2023. Listen to Learning More About Interstellar Travel.
Read The Aliens Are Not Among Us, The Closest Extra-solar Planet to Earth: What’s Alpha Centauri Bb Like and How Can We Get There?, Evidence of Things Unseen – Why Not Dark Matter?, and Space Tethers and Elevators.
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