Space Scientist

His career demonstrated how far an immigrant could reach in America – literally for the stars! Read on to learn how he literally became a ‘rock’ star – though he never sang or played a musical instrument……….

FAMILY

Firouz Naderi (FN) was born in Shiraz, Iran, the youngest of three sons of a landowner and his (third) wife, whose family had been involved in Iranian politics.

CHILDHOOD

At age 4, FN’s parents divorced. His father gained full custody and banned visits between the boys and their mother. FN was placed under the care of his father’s first wife, who raised him until he was 12. 

EDUCATION

FN was sent to a Roman Catholic boarding school in Tehran, Iran, where he was a star student and math whiz. “A career in space exploration was never on my radar,” said FN. 

He left Iran at age 18 to attend Iowa State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, which he followed with a Doctorate degree in digital image processing from the University of Southern California before returning to Iran. 

FIRST ADULT JOBS ARE NEVER A BINDING CAREER COMMITMENT

FN’s first adult employment in Iran was for the Iranian government as Director of the Iran Remote Sensing Agency, which used satellite data from the American Landsat program to monitor Iran’s natural resources, until the Islamic revolution toppled the Iran monarchy in 1979.

The country’s new religious / political leaders were suspicious of anyone with ties to the U.S., so FN fled to Los Angeles, where he was hired by JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) as a telecommunications engineer and once there, developed an interest in space science. 

FN rose quickly from various technical jobs to executive positions, involved first with satellite programs and then space exploration. He was appointed to manage NASA’s Mars program and credited with retooling it after several previous failures. 

He directed at least five missions to Mars, supervising the Mars Odyssey, a spacecraft launched in 2001 which is still orbiting the planet, collecting data to find out what Mars is made of and to detect water and ice. Later, he oversaw the landings of the robots Spirit and Opportunity, which explored the planet’s surface. 

FN oversaw the launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is also looking for evidence of water. Also, he ran the Mars Sample Return program, scheduled to launch in two phases in 2027 and 2028 with the goal of returning samples collected by an earlier rover to Earth. 

Later turning his attention to a different planet on behalf of NASA, FN laid the groundwork for the plan to launch an orbiter to circle Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, to search for extra-terrestrial life. 

USING YOUR RESPECTED CAREER TO ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS

Recognized world-wide as “a visionary whose work impacted many of the space missions developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory over three decades,” the Director of JPL said that FN was a “brilliant mentor to those leading our space exploration missions today.”

In an era when news of Iran was often negative, FN was seen as a source of Iranian national pride – by those still living within Iran and fellow Iranian immigrants now living within FN’s adopted country, the United States. So, when he spoke, people listened.

FN was an outspoken advocate for human rights and democracy in Iran. During the 2022- 2023 uprising against the Iranian government, FN helped purchase and transfer about 100 Starlink satellite receivers to Iranian activists so they could log on to the internet without Iranian government restrictions. 

He served on the boards of a several nonprofit organizations focused on Iran-related issues including promoting civic engagement of Iranians and Iranian culture in the U.S., and childhood education and the treatment for pediatric cancer in Iran. 

FN mentored dozens of Iranian scientists and university students in the U.S. and in Iran, whom he referred to as the children he never had. He often said in interviews that he considered influencing young minds to be his biggest accomplishment. 

“Once you go away from the Earth into space, and you look back at the Earth, you see it as a single blue marble,” said FN. “You see no borders, no lines, separating people.”

CHALLENGE – CAREER EXPERTISE AND HELPING OTHERS WON’T PREVENT INJURY TO YOURSELF

At age 77, FN fell, seriously injuring his spinal cord, which left him paralyzed. “Life is unpredictable,” said FN, refusing to feel sorry for himself despite the seriousness of his accident, which soon led to serious medical complications and his death. 

CAREER SATISFACTION – A ROCK STAR!

FN received NASA’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, and an Ellis Island Medal of Honor for “distinguished contributions by an immigrant to American society.”

Upon his retirement, the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid after FN, at NASA’s request. The asteroid, “5515 Naderi” is a rock about six miles in diameter orbiting the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, far from the borders separating people on Earth.

If you have a rock measuring 6 miles wide named for you, surely you are a rock star!

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This career story is based on an obituary written by Farnaz Fassihi, published by The New York Times on June 25, 2023.