Kobie Boykins

Kobie Boykins is a senior mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In 2013, he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. He designed the solar array systems for the Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and designed the actuators on the Mars rover Curiosity. In 2003, he was part of NASA's M-Team, which lectured nationally to students regarding careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. He lectures internationally for National Geographic regarding exploration on Mars.

Personal life Boykins attended Omaha Northwest High School and lived in Nebraska until college. Boykins then moved to New York to attend college, at B.S Mechanical Engineering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After Graduation Boykins chose to take a position at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and started working on projects with his selected team.

The Mars rover landed on January 25, 2004 which was only supposed to last approximately 90 days but the rover system is still online and adventuring mars to this day. Boykins then had the opportunity to design the actuators on the Mars rover Curiosity. has also been involved in other projects like, projects like Mars Pathfinder mission and the Ocean Surface Topography Mission.

Awards Boykins' achievements all start in 2002. This is when Boykins joined "Marsapalooza", which is a public education tour hoping to raise awareness of the Mars Exploration Project. The project visited 5 different cities across the country and presented himself as a role model to inspire the next generation of explorers. In 2003, he was part of NASA's M-Team, which lectured nationally to students regarding careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.