The International Space University’s Board of Trustees appointed Mr. Gary Martin as Vice President for North American Operations in January 2020.  His principal activities include serving on ISU’s Executive Committee to help guide and further the University’s development, maintaining and enhancing ISU’s relationships and support to public and private organizations and individuals in the space community, and supporting alumni affairs and the conduct of ISU’s current programs.

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He retired from NASA after 27 years supporting space science missions, advanced technology development, technology transfer, and human spaceflight.  In 2002, he became NASA’s first Space Architect, leading strategic planning at NASA Headquarters, and his team provided the analysis used to develop the Vision for Space Exploration announced by President Bush in 2004.  For this work he was awarded NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.

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He was seconded by NASA to ISU as the Space Studies Program (SSP) Director for SSP06, SSP07, SSP12, and SSP13. In addition, he has been elected multiple times to the ISU Academic Council and continues to lecture and chair Team Projects for different ISU programs.

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In 2017, Mr. Martin became the Senior Advisor to the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy working in the area of space education and research, where he contributed to the establishment of the Luxembourg Space Agency, the development of a multidisciplinary space master degree at the University of Luxembourg and a first of its kind space resources research center - European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC).

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He has focused his career on sustainable exploration and development of space.

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Mr. Martin holds a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering/Astronautical Engineering from George Washington University, dual bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Virginia Commonwealth University and bachelor’s in Anthropology from Colorado State University.