Oral History with Mary L. Cleave, 1947 – 2023

Nov 07, 2024

A veteran of two space flights, Dr. Cleave served as a mission specialist on STS-61B and STS-30.  She went on to join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and worked in the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes as the Project Manager for SeaWiFS, an ocean color sensor which is monitoring vegetation globally.  Dr. Cleave next served as Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Earth Science, NASA Headquarters, until her retirement in 2007.

• NASA Oral History, March 5, 2002
• NASA Biography
• NASA Remembers Trailblazing Astronaut, Scientist Mary Cleave
• In Memoriam: Mary Cleave

The transcripts available on this site are created from audio-recorded oral history interviews. To preserve the integrity of the audio record, the transcripts are presented with limited revisions and thus reflect the candid conversational style of the oral history format. Brackets and ellipses indicate where the text has been annotated or edited for clarity. Any personal opinions expressed in the interviews should not be considered the official views or opinions of NASA, the NASA History Office, NASA historians, or staff members.