Space Center Houston Experts

Chief Science Officer, Space Center Houston
Manned Space Flight Education Foundation

Megan McArthur, Ph.D, serves as Space Center Houston’s first chief science officer. Dr. McArthur is a scientist, oceanographer, engineer and NASA astronaut. In this new role, she supports strategic planning, education programs, exhibits and the guest experience.

McArthur brings more than two decades of NASA experience with a new mission to develop authentic science and space exploration learning experiences for students and the general public. In addition to supporting the center’s overall strategic science initiatives, McArthur forges new alliances to create partnerships within the local, national and global communities. With her extensive expertise in science and human spaceflight, she informs new educational programs leveraging the latest tools and resources dedicated to empowering people of all ages in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Most recently, she served as pilot of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, during NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission which landed November 8, 2021. It was the second commercial crew rotation mission aboard the International Space Station and the third crewed flight for that spacecraft. She also served as Flight Engineer of Expedition 65/66 on the International Space Station. McArthur was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 and served as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-125, the final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The successful mission improved the telescope’s capabilities and extended its life.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of California, San Diego where she performed research activities at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.