Edward Balaban

Dr. Edward Balaban is a research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center and is the Principal Investigator for FLUTE project. His professional interests include robotics, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and development of innovative space missions.

In addition to FLUTE, Ed is the lead for strategic mission planning on NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission and a member of VIPER’s Science and Mission Operations teams. He is also involved in planning lunar surface operations on the Artemis program and the CT-4/IM-5 mission. Ed leads the Health-Aware Decision Making Group within the Intelligent Systems Division of NASA Ames and serves as the Principal Investigator for SHERPA (System Health Enabled Realtime Planning Advisor), an artificial intelligence system for space mission planning and execution support. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from The George Washington University, a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.