NASA names Nicola Fox as new associate administrator of Science Mission Directorate

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- NASA has found its new associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate in Heliophysics Director Nicola Fox.

Fox will replace acting administrator Sandra Connelly atop the Science Mission Directorate effective immediately, according to a press release from NASA.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson made the announcement on Monday, lauding Fox for the work she has done as director of the Heliophysics Division since she started in 2018.

"As the director of our Heliophysics Division, Nicky was instrumental in expanding the impacts and awareness of NASA's solar exploration missions and I look forward to working with her as she brings her talents, expertise, and passion to her new role," Nelson said.

"We're all grateful for the interim leadership of Sandra Connelly, who has done an incredible job keeping the mission moving forward over the last couple months."

The Science Mission Directorate is responsible for planning and managing NASA's many scientific research programs that help the agency better understand the solar system and the broader universe. It aims to answer questions such as how the universe works.

Fox will be charged with overseeing more than 100 missions, according to the agency. Some of the research done under her watch in the Heliophysics Division has included studies of the sun and how solar wind affects the Earth and other planets. She was awarded the 2021 American Astronautical Society's Carl Sagan Memorial Award for her work in the division and received NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2020, SpaceRef reports.

Connelly has served as associate administrator since Thomas Zurbuchen left NASA in 2022. She has been a deputy associate administrator since 2020.