Adam Pender is originally from Minnesota, and has a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado, where he works for an aerospace company. He has been involved in many space exploration missions, including Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Phoenix, Mars Science Laboratory, Juno, and GRAIL. From 2006-2008, he was assigned to work on-site at JPL on the Mars Science Laboratory descent stage propulsion system. Adam deeply believes in the importance of space exploration, and in inspiring America's youth to pursue interests in science and technology.