Laurie Leshin stepping down as director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab

NASA's main center for planetary exploration will soon come under new leadership.

Laurie Leshin announced today (May 7) that she'll step down from her role as director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California in June, after more than three years in charge. She'll be replaced by David Gallagher, JPL's current associate director for strategic integration.

In an email to JPL employees, which was obtained by Space.com, Leshin said she intends to focus on re-launching her research program at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages JPL for NASA, and also on her family, which is still experiencing the impacts of the Eaton fire. "This event is still deeply impacting my daily life, as I know it is for so many of you," she wrote to JPL staff.

Leshin will continue her role as a Caltech faculty member — specifically, Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science, according to a JPL statement that was released today.

Leshin has seen JPL through a number of high-profile successes during her time in the director's chair.

"I am proud of the many things JPL has accomplished over the past three years," Leshin said in the JPL statement. The EMIT, SWOT, Psyche, PREFIRE, Europa Clipper and SPHEREx missions all launched during her tenure, and NISAR, which she also helped oversee, is scheduled to launch next month.

“In addition to the long list of missions that have launched or moved toward launch during that time, we saved Voyager more than once and flew into history on Mars with Ingenuity. We have made more amazing scientific discoveries than I can name, including finding potential ancient Martian biomarkers with Perseverance," she added. "And we’ve driven the forefront of technology on Earth and in space. I know those achievements will continue under Dave’s capable leadership."

Gallagher has been at JPL for 36 years and has held numerous positions at the NASA lab. He has served as manager for JPL’s Advanced Optical Systems Program Office, for example, as well as deputy director for Astronomy, Physics and Space Technology.

"Laurie has made a significant impact on energizing and focusing the lab, guiding it back on track after the Covid-19 pandemic. I wish her great success in this next chapter of her career, and I look forward to a very smooth transition at the lab," Gallagher said in the JPL statement.

Leshin described Gallagher as "the right leader at the right time for the Lab" in her message to employees. Near the end of that message, she said that "leading JPL has been the honor of a lifetime."