Dr. Kavya K. Manyapu is a NASA Space Scientist working in Flight Operations and Training for Exploration EVA (spacewalks and spacesuits!) on the Artemis Program for the moon at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Prior to NASA, Dr. Manyapu worked for over a decade on the next generation human rated spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, at the Boeing Company where she served several roles including Starliner Spacesuit Lead, Flight Test Director for Starliner’s Flight Test and Flight Crew Operations with hands-on experience with spacecraft and spacesuit operations/testing and Astronaut training. She served as a Mission Evaluation Room Manager for the International Space Station (ISS). She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Aerospace Sciences.

Dr. Kavya holds a B.S in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S in Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Sciences. She was the recipient of ASEI’s Woman Engineer of the Year Award in 2013.

Her research envelops novel, next generation spacesuit technologies for planetary missions with a focus on self-cleaning spacesuits and habitats for moon and mars missions. She holds six patents and 25 international publications. Spacesuit samples based on her research work were flown on the ISS. Dr. Kavya and her research have been featured on international platforms such as the Economist and New Scientist.

Prior to joining Boeing, Kavya worked on the Orion/Constellation program at Lockheed Martin and Mars Bio-satellite program at Georgia Tech and MIT. She served as a crewmember on NASA’s asteroid simulation mission at JSC and two Analog Mars Missions in Utah, researching technologies for long-duration human spaceflight missions.

Dr. Kavya is a 2^ndLt at the Civil Air Patrol and serves as a VFR pilot and Aerospace Officer at the Ellington Squadron in Houston. She served as a Regional Officer for Space Generation Advisory Council from 2016-2019 for North, Central America and Caribbean region and worked for international collaboration of space research.

Dr. Kavya is a private pilot, SCUBA diver, trained in aerobatics, amateur mountaineer, and an Indian classical dancer. Kavya enjoys educating and inspiring students to pursue careers in STEAM fields. She is passionate about human space exploration and translating its benefits to Earth.