I am Artemis: Trevor Graff

Coordinating three key aspects of human spaceflight — science, engineering, and operations — is critical to NASA’s efforts to develop a long-term presence on the Moon under Artemis. As a key member of the science team, Trevor Graff brings together a wealth of education and experience to help integrate these elements for lunar exploration. 

Graff facilitates the integration of Artemis spacewalk hardware, testing, operations, and training. He is an exploration scientist for the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science division with Jacobs Technologies at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and also serves as Jacobs’ chief scientist. 

The practical application of geology to scientific exploration, where science enables exploration and exploration enables science, is what excites him, said Graff. He is part of the team that trains astronauts, engineers, managers, and flight controllers in fundamental geology and exploration principles required for successful lunar science.  

“Every day is a little different, which makes it exciting. I have the fantastic opportunity to interface between the scientists, operations, and hardware folks,” said Graff. “My day-to-day is to interface in those areas, so we can make the best tools, conduct the best testing, and implement the best training to set us up for success on the Moon.”

While pursuing his education, Graff volunteered to serve his country, and between his freshman and sophomore years of college he participated in U.S. Army basic training. Soon after completing his undergraduate degree, he was commissioned as an Army officer and spent 16 years serving through multiple overseas deployments. Graff later received his master’s degree in geology and planetary science from Arizona State University, Tempe.

“It’s funny, while flying to deployment in 2008 to Iraq we had to make a fueling stop in Iceland — which is a geologist wonderland. We were only there for a few hours before taking off, and I only got to quickly see Iceland through a chain link fence,” Graff remembered. “Now, I find myself in my day job leading trips to Iceland where we will soon be taking the Artemis crew to help train them for exploring the lunar surface.”

Outside of work, Graff is an avid outdoorsman and wood worker and enjoys hiking, kayaking, camping, and anything outside. He also is a scuba diver and dive instructor. While he typically dives for fun, it has crossed over to his work, where he often dives for activities in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Johnson, where astronauts train underwater for spacewalks, and has as part of NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations.

Recently he helped transform a portion of the huge pool into a lunar surface analog to bring together spacewalk, lunar operations, geology, and engineering training to prepare for a human return to the Moon through Artemis.

“My advice for the Artemis Generation is to learn as much as possible from our predecessors. While we are blazing a new path for lunar exploration and beyond, there are still many lessons to be learned and applied from our history.”