Podcast Ep. #48 – Engineering Complex Systems for Harsh Environments with First Mode

Aerospace Engineering Podcast

Chris Voorhees is the founder and president of First Mode, a Seattle-based company that is designing and building technology for extreme environments off and on planet Earth.

Chris has decades of experience in the implementation of robotic systems for the exploration of deep space. His notable experience includes his work as a mobility systems engineer for NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers and lead mechanical engineer for NASA’s Curiosity rover. For his efforts, Chris received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement and Exceptional Engineering Achievement medals.

Today, Chris oversees the design, development, and deployment of engineered solutions for missions around the globe and throughout the solar system. First Mode is also focusing on significant problems on Earth including the challenging issues of sustainability for the natural resources sector.

In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Chris and I talk about:

• his background in engineering, including his time at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• his past work on Mars rovers
• why we should go back to the Moon
• the space projects First Mode is currently involved with
• and First Mode’s growing engagement in the hydrogen sector

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This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

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Selected Links from the Episode

• First Mode webpage, Twitter, LinkedIn
• First Mode blog
• Curiosity rover, Spirit & Opportunity rovers
• NASA Mars Perseverance rover
• NASA Psyche mission
• NASA Artemis Moon program
• Back to the Moon
• Chris’ NPR interview
• Hydrogen-powered mining trucks