In a first, NASA to name a woman as its science chief: Report

For the first time, the US space agency NASA will name a woman as its 'science chief.' Nicola Fox, who heads the agency's heliophysics division will be designated as the chief this week, an official familiar with the announcement said.

Fox will be named as NASA's associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. She will lead NASA'sscience directorate, a unit with almost $7 billion as its annual budget, and will be looking at some of the agency's best-known programmes from the robotic hunts for past life on planet Mars to exploring distant galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope, Reuters reported.

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Before this, Fox earlier worked as the top scientist on the Parker Solar probe mission that studies the sun in depth.

Bill Nelson, NASA's Administrator made the announcement in an email to the agency workers on Monday, lauded Fox's past mission on Sun to better understand the sun and how the solar wind affects satellites and planets.

"She has been instrumental in making this complex area accessible to the public. Her work already spans so many areas of importance to the agency."

She will also oversee a NASA study group, formed in 2022, to help the US military detect and characterise UFOs, or what we call Unidentified Aerial Phenomena- mysterious objects that US White House and Pentagon officials claim to be a threat to the country's airspace.

Fox will succeed Thomas Zurbuchen, a Swiss-Amercian astrophysicist who had the directorate since 2016 until his retirement in December 2022. Since then, Sandra Connelly, formerly Zurbuchen's deputy has been leading the directorate in an acting capacity.

(with inputs from agencies)

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