NASA's Ike Theriot Leads Lunar Surface Testing and Astronaut Training for Artemis

Ike Theriot serves as the Flight Operations Surface Testing lead within NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Activity Operations Branch, integrating test requirements for the Artemis lunar program. He designs and runs simulated moonwalks at Johnson Space Center and remote locations, and helped create the Lunar Grid Reference System now embedded in flight control software. Theriot manages testing in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, and the ARGOS gravity-offload system, supporting both NASA and Axiom Space spacesuit prototypes.

He also conducts field training at Kamestastin Crater in Labrador, Canada, alongside Artemis II astronauts. After a career that began in the Army and progressed through an engineering degree and a Johnson Space Center internship, he is moving from testing to mission development, astronaut training, and serving as a capsule communicator for future missions.