Anthony Navarro is an aspiring astronaut with a love for problem solving and learning. He began his professional career in the US Army as an enlisted Infantryman with a combat deployment to Iraq. Following his tour of duty, he was selected for a scholarship by the Army to attend school where he completed three degrees in five years, including a Master’s of Science in Computer Engineering which focused on robotics. Out of college, he split his career training as an Army aviation officer with experience piloting the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter while beginning his civilian career with Lockheed Martin Space Systems where he supported an active Air Force satellite constellation as a ground systems engineer. While at Lockheed Martin, he was selected for their mid-career Advanced Technical Leadership Program. Having a passion for technology and hard problems, he joined the Lockheed Martin Autonomous Systems R&D group as a Senior Software Engineer. His work attracted the attention of Silicon Valley and he was recruited to Udacity, an online education startup started by Google X founder Sebastian Thrun. This opportunity allowed him to diversify his professional skill set as the Product Lead for multiple autonomous systems courses teaching advanced skills in robotics and self-driving cars. He continues to provide value in both technical and business development areas and has worked for Phantom Auto, a teleoperations company, designing and integrating systems followed by PolySync, as a Solutions Engineer working with customers to ensure their success in controlling autonomous vehicles.

Outside of normal job requirements, he pursues additional opportunities that can grow his experience. He has led a team of international engineers to participate in a self-driving car race, volunteered to teach robotics at a local school, mentored engineering graduate students, consulted for a state funded autonomous vehicle project, published multiple papers, been a guest on multiple podcasts, and spoken at multiple conferences around the world.

Anthony is actively training to become an astronaut and his research has led him to hold a skydiving license, scuba diving license, become a licensed Emergency Medical Technician, and earning his pilot’s license. He believes that long duration space missions require a unique set of physiological, psychological, and intellectual demands and he strives to research and meet those standards.