Mapping the Gaps in NASA’s Return to the Moon, featuring Richard Spolzino

At NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, aerospace engineer Richard Spolzino helps identify and document missing information for Moon and Mars missions. Working within the Moon Base’s mission architecture and systems interoperability effort, Spolzino focuses on defining "data gaps." These formal documents outline what the agency does not know, why it matters, and specific measurable targets for industry and international partners.

Spolzino’s team published roughly 25 data gaps last year and expects to reach 60 by the end of this year. This work helps guide decisions on space missions. For example, his team helped the lunar lander company Voyager, formerly Astrobotic, prioritize data transmission for the Griffin-1 mission. Leadership also uses these gaps to evaluate and filter proposed instruments like spectrometers and sample collection tools.

Spolzino earned a physics degree from Santa Clara University and a graduate degree combining aerospace engineering and space architecture from the University of Houston. He advises students to focus on hands-on projects and building things rather than just credentials.