Mr. Rob Mueller is a Senior Technologist in the Exploration Research and Technology Programs, Science and Technology Projects Division, at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Co-Lead on the NASA Human Spaceflight Architecture Team (HAT). He is a co-founder of the KSC Swamp Works and Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab. Technical expertise includes Mechanical Systems Design, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), Lunar/Mars/Asteroid Outpost Construction, Surface Operations, Conceptual Systems Design, and Mission Architecture Design. He has worked on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, X-33, Atlas V, Orbital Space Plane, 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicles, Mars Exploration Studies, and Lunar Exploration programs. More recently, he has been leading the development of technologies required for mining space resources including developing the specifics of robotic excavators, 3D Additive Construction, free-flying robotic prospectors, digital in-situ material manufacturing and other Surface Support Equipment. He has worked for NASA at Johnson Space Center, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and Kennedy Space Center.

He earned his BSME in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Miami in 1988. He earned his MBA in Business Administration at the Florida Institute of Technology in 1994. He earned his MSSE in Space Systems Engineering at Technische Universiteit Delft, Netherlands in 2006.
 
Rob graduated from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in June of 1988. Three days later he was working for Bertram Yacht, Inc. off the Miami River, designing mechanical parts for Sport Fishing yachts of fiberglass construction. That was fun, but when he heard that NASA was hiring at the Cape — it was an easy choice. He left the boating industry and went to work on the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) as a Mechanical Systems Engineer. This was during the “return to flight” days after the Challenger accident, and it was an exciting area to work in as he worked hard to implement the “fix” on the Redesigned SRBs.

Since then his career interests have turned to advanced research and technology development, specifically in the areas of robotics, ISRU and advanced manufacturing using space resources. He believes that the unlimited potential of space resources will usher in a new era of prosperity for humanity, and he plans to play an active role in this exciting endeavor.

To this end, Rob and his fellow instructors have developed a short course designed to share knowledge, and create a community to promote two brand new disciplines:

Space Mining and Planetary Surface Construction