Marco Castillo receives the Goddard Engineering Award for support to Mass Spectrometers

Marco Castillo receives an award from GSFC Center Director Dr. Makenzie Lystrup.

Marco Castillo, a Sr. Manufacturing Engineer for MIST II, received the prestigious Robert H. Goddard Engineering Award for exceptional engineering skill and leadership in support of Planetary Environments Laboratory (PEL) flight and development mass spectrometers on Sept. 24, 2024.

Marco distinguished himself for exceptional performance supporting multiple flight and research and development mass spectrometers; he directly sup-ported the DAVINCI Venus Mass Spectrometer as quadrupole mass spectrometer Payload Development Lead (PDL), the Dragonfly mass spectrometer (DraMS) as ion trap mass spectrometer scientist, the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) as lead testbed scientist, and the Europan Molecular Indicators of Life Instrument (EMILI) project as breadboard engineer.

His wide breadth of technical expertise is integral to the PEL’s continued success. Mr. Castillo is the PDL for the quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) subsystem on the Venus Mass Spectrometer (VMS), the heart of the key instrument for the DAVINCI mission to Venus. 

Marco’s expertise is integral to developing the next generation of PEL flight mass spectrometers. As EMILI breadboard engineer, he has had to repeatedly design, manufacture, and implement interfaces and functionality between the instrument breadboards and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, all while ensuring each instrument has sufficient laboratory space to properly function. 

His leadership, flexibility, and innovation in response to changing requirements and designs have kept these projects on schedule. Marco’s engineering skills are central to the success of a bevy of flight instruments and instrument development projects. 

His continued dedication ensures projects remain on schedule to meet key milestones and prepares the Planetary Environments Laboratory for the next generation of spacecraft mass spectrometers. 

“I am very thankful for the recognition of my work as a Mass Spectrometry Engineer/Scientist and most importantly for the opportunity to be part of a remarkable and dedicated mass spectrometry development team within NASA’s Planetary Environments Laboratory (Code 699) and Aerodyne,” said Marco.