Kobie Boykins facts for kids
Kobie Boykins is a super smart mechanical engineer who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. He helps design amazing robots that explore Mars! In 2013, he received a special award called the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for his awesome work. He helped create the power systems for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He also designed important parts for the Mars rover Curiosity. Today, he helps lead the teams that make sure Curiosity can move around and explore Mars. Kobie also loves to teach kids about science and space, traveling around the world to share his knowledge.
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Early Life and Education
Kobie Boykins grew up in Nebraska and went to Omaha Northwest High School. After high school, he moved to New York to study mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). While he was still in college, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory offered him a job, which was a fantastic opportunity!
Family Life
After joining JPL, Kobie met Hannah Kim. They got married and now have two children. When he's not busy designing Mars rovers, Kobie enjoys playing hockey at least once a week.
Designing Mars Rovers
Kobie Boykins has been working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1996, which means he's been there for over 28 years! He's been a key part of many exciting missions to Mars.
Powering the Rovers: Solar Arrays
Kobie and his team designed the special "solar array systems" for the Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity. You can think of these solar arrays as big "wings" on the rover. They collect sunlight and turn it into electricity, which is how the rovers get their power. The rovers also have rechargeable batteries that store power for when the sun isn't shining, like at night.
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed on Mars on January 25, 2004. They were only expected to work for about 90 days, but thanks to the strong design of their solar arrays, they kept working for many years longer! This was a huge success for Kobie and his team.
Helping Rovers Move: Actuators
Kobie also helped design the "actuators" for the Mars rover Curiosity. Actuators are like the muscles of the rover; they are parts that help it move its wheels, robotic arm, and other instruments. These parts are super important for Curiosity to explore the Martian surface and collect information.
Today, Kobie is the supervisor for the teams that handle Curiosity's movement and its remote sensing tools. This means he helps guide how the rover explores and gathers data from far away. He has also worked on other cool projects, like the Mars Pathfinder mission.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Kobie Boykins is not just an engineer; he's also a great teacher and role model.
Teaching About Space
In 2002, Kobie joined a program called "Marsapalooza." He traveled to different cities to teach people, especially students, about the Mars Exploration Project. He wanted to inspire young people to get excited about science and space.
In 2003, he was part of NASA's "M-Team." This team gave talks to students all over the country about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). He also gives talks internationally for National Geographic, sharing amazing stories about exploring Mars.
Kobie also joined the JASONProject Expedition, "Mysteries of Earth and Mars," in 2006. Through this program, he lectured to students and teachers around the world, sharing his deep knowledge of space exploration.
Special Recognition
For all his important work and his efforts to inspire others, Kobie Boykins was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2013. This award recognizes people who have made outstanding contributions to NASA's missions.
