Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has appointed Steve Squyres, a professor of physical sciences at Cornell University, to serve as chief scientist of the aerospace company, GeekWire reported Wednesday.
Squyres has served as principal investigator for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project and worked on the Magellan spacecraft's mission to Mars as a radar investigator.
He also led the space agency's advisory council for five years and took part in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations.
His research efforts include studying the use of robotic technology for planetary surface exploration, the existence of water on Mars, geophysical and tectonic features of icy satellites.
Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin recently introduced a mockup of its Blue Moon lander, a space vehicle concept designed to support manned lunar missions.