Highlights

  • NASA is working with聽commercial and international聽partners to establish a sustained human presence near the moon鈥檚 South Pole and use the lunar surface as a proving ground for future missions to Mars.

  • As transportation office program lead engineer in NASA鈥檚 Moon Base Program,聽UCF industrial engineering graduate Teresa Kinney 鈥�11MS is helping shape the systems that will move cargo and critical capabilities to and across the lunar surface.

  • Kinney is also leading technical evaluations for the Liquid Oxygen Methane Assessment Project, a joint NASA, Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Space Force effort as the project chief engineer, examining the explosive yield and risks associated with next-generation spacecraft carrying liquid oxygen and methane.

On a clear night, Teresa Kinney 鈥�11MS can step into her backyard in Merritt Island, just a few miles from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and look toward the moon. Its illuminated gray and white surface is no longer just a distant destination 鈥� it represents the next chapter of human space exploration and her own engineering career.

The harsh terrain of the lunar south pole is the staging ground for humanity’s next great leap. In this heavily shadowed region, peaks of eternal light catch rare glints of sunshine alongside craters of absolute darkness.

As transportation office program lead engineer in NASA’s Moon Base Program, the UCF alumna plays a critical role in the agency鈥檚 phased effort to establish America鈥檚 first permanent outpost near the moon鈥檚 South Pole. Her engineering team oversees the surface transportation systems needed to deliver cargo, move equipment across the lunar surface, support deep-space and orbital missions and ensure every component works together as part of the larger lunar architecture.

Kinney evaluates whether transportation concepts and designs are technically ready to advance and how they fit into NASA鈥檚 long-term vision for building and sustaining a lunar base.

鈥淚 make sure technically that the design is worthy of moving forward to the next phase, that we鈥檙e looking at all the right thermal, dynamic and radiation environments and making sure the integration of hardware, including electronics and other parts, is coming together the proper way,鈥� Kinney says.

An artist’s concept of a lunar base bustling with rovers, habitats, solar arrays and scientific equipment.

Engineering a Moon Base

NASA鈥檚 Moon Base Program is designed to evolve from robotic and early uncrewed missions to semi-permanent infrastructure, early habitation and, eventually, a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. Every phase depends on reliable transportation systems capable of delivering the hardware and supplies needed to build, operate and maintain a base hundreds of thousands (238,855) of miles from Earth.

An illustration of a sustained colony on the Moon highlights the massive infrastructure challenge facing UCF industrial engineering graduate Teresa Kinney 鈥�11MS.

For Kinney, success depends on how every system works together. Landers must deliver the right payloads. Surface vehicles can transport equipment once it arrives. Orbital and deep-space transportation systems must support the broader mission. Each piece must perform safely on its own while also working within the overall architecture.

鈥淚 was surprised by the logistical complexity of maintaining a permanent presence on the International Space Station,鈥� Kinney says. 鈥淚 guess I shouldn鈥檛 have been 鈥� it鈥檚 like going on a month鈥檚-long camping trip when you鈥檙e used to camping for long weekends. You need a lot more for that longer duration because you can鈥檛 just make do for an extended period. You think you鈥檙e prepared, but then you realize there are things you didn鈥檛 expect to need and things you wish you had with you. I think we鈥檒l learn those same kinds of lessons from Moon Base, and I鈥檓 excited and ready to get started.鈥�

Kinney also serves as project chief engineer for the Liquid Oxygen-Methane Assessment, a joint initiative involving NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Space Force. As the project鈥檚 final technical authority, she鈥檚 helping quantify the explosive yield and risks associated with the large quantities of liquid oxygen and methane carried by next-generation rockets and spacecraft, including human landing systems, particularly during catastrophic failures or other anomalies. The data will help inform safety protocols for spacecraft, launch sites and surrounding communities.

Whether she鈥檚 assessing lunar transportation architecture or helping government agencies better understand the risks of cryogenic propellants, Kinney鈥檚 work comes down to the same challenge: understanding how complex systems behave, where they can fail and how engineers can make them safer.

A Curiosity That Started Early

That instinct to understand how the pieces fit together began early.

” … my dad slid me up under the dashboard and started handing me parts. At some point I realized, 鈥業 can do this.鈥�”

At 8, Kinney started helping her father work on cars. By 12, she was small enough to slide under the dashboard of the family鈥檚 Chevrolet station wagon and install its air-conditioning system before a summer trip to Florida.

鈥淲e were living in Alabama and were going to [Walt] Disney World [Resort] but couldn鈥檛 make the drive to Florida without air conditioning,鈥� Kinney says. 鈥淚 was small enough that my dad slid me up under the dashboard and started handing me parts, asking me to connect things. At some point I realized, 鈥業 can do this.鈥� It was the first time I had ever completed a mechanical task entirely on my own.鈥�

That experience sparked an interest in solving complex problems, shaping her career and allowing her to do what she enjoys most: putting things together.

Career Takes Off

Before becoming a NASA civil servant at Kennedy Space Center in 2005, Kinney earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering from the 海角直播 of Alabama in Huntsville and spent two decades supporting the space shuttle solid rocket booster, Spacelab and International Space Station programs as a contractor at Marshall Space Flight Center.

As a structural dynamicist at NASA, she embraced the challenges of loads analysis and modal testing of large space structures while enjoying the freedom to explore new ideas and uncover innovative solutions.

鈥淚 never had any roadblocks in front of me,鈥� Kinney says. 鈥淭hey were like, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 the work. Here鈥檚 your part of it, Teresa. If you have problems, come and talk to us.鈥� No one ever treated me in a way that wasn鈥檛 wonderful and supportive.鈥�

UCF Landing

As her career evolved, Kinney realized technical expertise alone wasn鈥檛 enough if she ever wanted to lead an interdisciplinary team. With UCF鈥檚 longstanding presence at Kennedy Space Center, she knew where to turn.

鈥淯CF has a great reputation and the proximity, but it took me years to say, 鈥極K, start doing a master鈥檚,鈥欌�� Kinney says.

While working full-time, she attended most classes at KSC through a special program, often balancing 60- to 70-hour workweeks as she earned her master鈥檚 degree in industrial engineering.

“You never know what opportunities might be waiting in front of you.”

Kinney applies that same dedication to everything she does, whether she鈥檚 building bookcases with her husband 鈥� a retired NASA engineer she met while working at NASA (MSFC) 鈥� or encouraging young people to pursue careers in space exploration. She offers the same advice she gave her daughter, Julia Kinney 鈥�19, a UCF biomedical sciences graduate who works at a cancer center, and her son, Jackson, an aerospace engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be intimidated,鈥� Kinney says. 鈥淒on鈥檛 see things as too hard 鈥� see them as challenges. You never know what opportunities might be waiting in front of you.鈥�