Former astronaut, geologist and current technical adviser to the United States’ Air Force National Security Space Institute, James Reilly, is set to become director of the US Geological Survey.
This was revealed by the Trump administration, with the White House announcing on Friday that it would nominate Reilly for the role.
Reilly spent 13 years at NASA during which time he participated in three spaceflight missions in which over 856 hours of spacewalks were recorded, the White House said.
Prior to his career at NASA, Reilly worked as a chief geologist at Enserch Exploration, where he studied earth structures in places such as Antarctica and the Mexican Gulf.
He also held management roles at TAEUS and Mach 25 Management, and led academic activities at the American Public University System.
Reilly is also a former U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who helped instruct personnel and develop curriculum for space operation courses under the Naval Sea Systems Command’s engineering unit.
