Konark Chopra got bit by the Moon bug in tenth grade when he was accepted as a Virginia Space Coast Scholar and worked with NASA instructors to develop missions for a future lunar outpost.
Chopra—who grew up traveling to food festivals with his restaurateur parents—began to dream of a space economy that could one day host a restaurant on the lunar surface.
A decade later, Chopra is pursuing his dreams of the Moon, but on a bigger scale—as the propulsion lead for Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander.
Chopra has been with the company for four years, and now—at just 26 years old—he leads a team of propulsion engineers and manages a vendor portfolio of more than $30M.
The Griffin lander, which was supposed to be the now-canceled VIPER rover’s ride to the Moon, is set to launch in 2025 and will be the largest CLPS lander to date, capable of transporting 490 kg to the lunar surface.
New kid on the block: Before joining Astrobotic, Chopra interned at SpaceX, SpinLaunch, and Rocket Lab—the Who’s Who of transporting things to space. Astrobotic was different; it was a young company without extensive in-house capabilities.
The scrappy startup encouraged him to roll up his sleeves, contribute to the early designs, and engage with industry to find partners.
The demands of suppliers: Chopra has proven time and time again he is willing to go the extra mile to ensure Griffin sticks its lunar landing, according to his nine nominations. He is often on the road, working directly with suppliers to ensure requirements adherence.
“I have seen Konark tackle one of the thorniest and [most] difficult supply chain issues I have dealt with in my legal tech career,” Justine Kasznica, an attorney at Babst Calland, wrote in her nomination. “He has become a trusted mediator between antagonistic suppliers and has even embedded himself within their engineering teams to help them address and in some cases solve seemingly insurmountable tech development problems.”
