Adam Johnson is a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Aerospace Engineer in the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) G&C section at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He has contributed to the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Mission, focusing on Mars Ascend Vehicle (MAV) GNC and simulation performance validation and verification. Currently, he is working on next-generation Mars Science Helicopter concepts, specializing in Autonomy, Guidance, and Navigation on the JPL Chopper project. Adam also serves as the EDL chair for JPL’s Team-X, contributing to multiple mission designs, formulation, and feasibility studies. Before JPL, he worked at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, developing advanced GNC concepts, guided projectiles, unmanned aerial systems, and mission planning under uncertainty. He holds a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), focusing on mission-aware planning.