1. Nathaniel Brewster Thompson
-Engineering Portfolio-
50 Park Ave, Sierra Madre, CA 91024
nathaniel.b.thompson@gmail.com
(818) 519-8144
Note: The images enclosed have been cleared for public release,
and are not subject to ITAR restrictions.

2. Table of Contents
■ About Me
■ Projects
■ Mars 2020
■ Cognizant Engineer, Remote Sensing Mast (RSM)
■ Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)
■ Cognizant Engineer, Inflation Aid Assembly
■ Cognizant Engineer, Parachute Design Verification Testbed
■ Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
■ Support/Testbed Engineer, Sample Handling Testbed
■ Support Engineer, Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO)
■ Cognizant Engineer, Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE)

3.
About Me
Engineering has been my passion since childhood. I
got my start by competing on my high school's FIRST
Robotics team and have never turned back.
I received my BS in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Washington (UW) and my MS in
Engineering from UCLA. The UW is where I met my
wife of 7 years, with whom I have a two year old son
and a second son on the way.
Over the last three years, my wife and I have been
lovingly restoring our 1900 Victorian home near
Pasadena, CA. We spend our free time routing
wainscoting and chasing a toddler away from power
tools. On the weekends, I often volunteer for Kids
Building Things, a local non-profit organization that
teaches underprivileged youth basic engineering
concepts.
My diverse career experience has ranged from
manufacturing engineering of medical ultrasound
equipment at Sonosite, Inc., to the many different
design engineering tasks I have been involved in at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) over the past eight
years.

4. Cognizant Engineer, Remote Sensing
Mast (RSM)
Mars 2020 Project
March, 2015 – Present
The Mars 2020 RSM is an evolution of the mast that
flew on the Curiosity Rover. It provides an articulating
platform that interfaces with eight science instruments.
The head-mounted instruments are pointed via a two-
axis gimbal.
My role involves leading a team of two support
engineers, two designers, and an analyst to design the
RSM, with an expected delivery in 2018.
I am responsible for generating requirements and
interface definitions, producing design review content,
and overseeing hardware development. I also manage
cost accounts, budget estimates, workforce plans, and
detailed schedules.
Images:
1. Curiosity Rover on Mars.
2. RSM on Curiosity Rover.
Note: The Mars 2020 RSM is currently in development, and no RSM images
have been cleared for public release. The images shown are of the MSL RSM.
1. 2.

5. Cognizant Engineer, Inflation Aid
(IA) Assembly
Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Project
October, 2013 –March, 2015
The IA is a mechanically-actuated pyrotechnic device
designed to disperse a methanol solution in to the
interior of a ballute. The device assists the inflation of
the ballute under high-altitude supersonic flight
conditions.
I designed and managed delivery of the device at
NASA TRL 7+. I prepared all analyses and design
review content, produced drawings and procedures,
managed the hardware fabrication, assembly,
qualification and V&V testing.
Images:
1. CAD Renderings of IA showing internal
components.
2. IA deployment on LDSD Supersonic Flight
Dynamic Test. A video of the test can be found
here.
Additional information on the IA can be found in my
AIAA publication here, and my NASA Tech Brief here.
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6. Cognizant Engineer, Parachute
Design Verification (PDV) Testbed
Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Project
June, 2012 –October, 2013
The PDV testbed is a new venue for load testing of
parachutes that are too large for existing wind tunnels.
The test architecture applies up to 200,000 pounds of
force to a parachute using a rocket sled at the Naval Air
Weapons Station in China Lake, CA.
I designed and managed delivery of a 300 hp high-
speed winch and 250,000 lb capacity pyrotechnic
release device. I produced analyses, drawings and
design review content, supervised fabrication,
assembly, and subsystem testing.
Images:
1. Release device CAD section view.
2. Functioning 1/5 scale prototype.
3. Hydraulic Winch Assembly.
4. Load Plate Assembly.
5. Nighttime test preparations for PDV test. A video
of the test can be found here.
Additional information on the PDV testbed can be
found in my AIAA publication here.
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7. Support/Testbed Engineer, Sample
Handling Testbed
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project
October, 2011-June, 2012
The MSL Sample Handling Testbed used material
analogs and instrument models to characterize the
behavior of martian rocks in the Rover’s sampling
instruments.
I designed instrument simulators and sampling
hardware for the testbed. I produced, tested and tuned
the hardware to match the flight and qualification design
performance.
Images:
1. CAD model of the Curiosity Rover’s turret,
highlighting the internal sieve hardware.
2. In-situ image of the sieve hardware on Mars.
3. Modal analysis of the flight sieve hardware design
determined via FEA.
4. Modal analysis of the testbed sieve hardware
used to tune the design to match the flight
hardware characteristics.
Additional information on the testbed hardware
development can be found on the NASA technical
reports server here.
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3. 4.

8. Support Engineer, Assembly, Test
and Launch Operations (ATLO)
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project
February, 2010-October, 2011
As a member of the ATLO team, I developed,
characterized, and calibrated mass properties
measurement equipment for tests on flight vehicles. I
managed metrology and calibration of the remote
sensing cameras on the Curiosity Rover, integrated
hardware, and supported environmental testing at JPL
and Kennedy Space Center.
Images:
1. Mass properties measurement of the MSL Cruise
Stage using a turnover fixture.
2. Mass properties measurement of the MSL
Descent Stage using a spin table.
3. Calibration of the Rover cameras using optical
fiducials and metrology via laser tracker.
A video of me explaining mass properties and their
measurement can be found here.
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9. Cognizant Engineer, Mechanical
Ground Support Equipment
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project
September, 2008-February, 2010
As a member of the ground support equipment team
for MSL, I designed and delivered various pieces of test
and support equipment. The hardware included a
posable rover chassis testbed, fixtures for system-level
random vibration testing, and fixtures for system-level
thermal vacuum testing.
Images:
1. MSL Spacecraft suspended in thermal-vacuum
chamber
2. MSL Descent Stage undergoing random vibration
testing.
3. MSL RSM and Robotic arm undergoing
functional testing on Rover chassis surrogate and
hexapod.
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