Martin Lo


Martin Wen-Yu Lo is a spacecraft trajectory expert currently working at the NASA-owned Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Martin Lo is well known for discovering the Interplanetary Superhighway, also known as the Interplanetary Transport Network. The superhighway is created by combined gravitational forces of several planets that connects planets by a network of “tunnels” and is the most efficient way to navigate the solar system. This continues to be his main area of research.

Biography

Lo received his Bachelor of Science in 1975 from the California Institute of Technology in mathematics and his PhD, also in mathematics, in 1981 from Cornell University.
He has been a research scientist in the Navigation and Mission Design Section at the JPL since 1986.
In 2000, Lo, Kathleen Howell, and other scientists from the JPL developed the LTool program to calculate paths near Lagrange points. Compared with previous methods, LTool is capable of predicting orbits up to 50 times faster. They used this tool to calculate the trajectory for the Genesis mission trajectory, which took days rather than 8 weeks. The trajectory makes use of gravitational tugs of objects in the way of the spacecraft, ensuring minimal fuel use on the return journey. They called this trajectory the Interplanetary Superhighway. LTool was nominated for the Discover Innovation Award.
Lo appeared in Werner Herzog's film The Wild Blue Yonder in 2005.

Awards and Recognition

Martin was awarded the NOGLSTP LGBTQ Scientist of the Year in 2012.
Nominated for a Discover Innovation Award by Discover magazine for work on the Interplanetary Superhighway.