NASA’s Science Head on Leading Space Missions with Risk of Spectacular Failure

In 2021, the U.S. space agency NASA launched a spacecraft toward a
pair of asteroids more than 11 million kilometers away. The target?
The smaller of the two asteroids, just 170 meters wide. The success
of the $300 million, seven-year project demanded careful
coordination of scientists, engineers, and project managers across
different national space agencies. It also required strong
leadership from NASA's head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen. He shares
his path to an executive role at NASA, his management philosophies,
and how he oversees trailblazing space missions with high risk of
failure.