LAI Exclusive
Dr. Moogega Cooper
Space Engineer, Planetary Protection Lead of Mars Rover ‘Perseverance’ Mission
- · Helped make history on NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission, protecting the Red Planet from Earth’s contaminants
- · Leads the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, advancing technologies for future space missions
- · Captivates audiences with extraordinary stories from space exploration and practical lessons in resilience, teamwork, and achieving ambitious goals
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About Moogega Cooper
Download ProfileA trailblazing engineer behind NASA’s historic Mars 2020 Perseverance mission, Dr. Moogega “Moo” Cooper has built her career tackling some of the most ambitious challenges in space exploration. Nicknamed a real-life “Guardian of the Galaxy,” she served as planetary protection lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where she was entrusted with protecting Mars from Earth’s contaminants. Now, as supervisor of JPL’s Induced Environments Group, which houses Planetary Protection, Contamination Control, and Analytical Chemistry experts, she leads efforts to develop the technologies and expertise needed to protect other worlds on future missions.
Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Cooper brings the fascinating world of space exploration down to Earth, using her experiences at NASA to illustrate the power of perseverance and effective leadership. Through humor, personal stories, and a behind-the-scenes look at NASA, she brings to life the lessons in teamwork and resilience behind her journey in space exploration, showing audiences how to approach setbacks and build stronger teams. Passionate about introducing more people to the wonders of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), Cooper also uses her platform to make space exploration accessible and encourage greater participation in these fields.
Cooper’s path to NASA began with remarkable academic achievements, graduating from high school at just 16 and earning her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering by age 24. Throughout her career, she has been committed to making science and space exploration more accessible, particularly to young people from underrepresented communities. She has appeared on Because Space and Bill Nye Saves the World and received numerous honors, including the NASA Early Career Public Achievement Medal, the Charles Elachi Award for Exceptional Early Career Achievement, and JPL Voyager Awards for Technical Leadership.
Video Gallery
NASA Engineer Dr. Moogega Cooper Discusses Humans on Mars
Dr. Moogega Cooper
NASA Engineer Dr. Moogega Cooper Discusses Humans on Mars
Dr. Moogega Cooper
Speech Topics
Download TopicsWhat does it take to accomplish something as extraordinary as landing a rover on Mars? In this awe-inspiring keynote, Cooper takes audiences behind the scenes of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to reveal the extraordinary teamwork behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in space exploration.
Through fascinating stories from the mission and her own remarkable journey, she shows audiences how to build teams capable of tackling ambitious goals. From establishing trust across highly specialized disciplines to solving problems together under immense pressure, Cooper shares practical lessons leaders can apply to strengthen collaboration and bring out the best in their people.
At NASA, years of research and testing can come down to a single moment, and even the world’s best scientists don’t always get the result they expect. Dr. Moogega “Moo” Cooper has seen how the response to those moments can determine the success of an entire mission.
Cooper brings a scientist’s approach to resilience, revealing how NASA’s teams examine what went wrong, challenge their own thinking, and use unexpected results to improve their next attempt. She shows leaders how to replace blame with productive feedback and make better decisions under pressure, helping their teams build the confidence to take risks without treating every setback as a defeat
From encouraging young students to discover the excitement of science to championing greater representation in leadership, Dr. Moogega “Moo” Cooper has seen how access to opportunity can shape careers and bring new talent into the field.
With her infectious enthusiasm and personal stories from a groundbreaking career in space exploration, Cooper shows how organizations can turn their commitment to diversity into meaningful opportunities. Her message offers leaders practical ways to expand their talent pipeline and help the next generation of innovators succeed.
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