Janet Petro became the first woman to lead NASA on Jan. 20, after U.S. President Donald Trump appointed her to be acting administrator on his first day back in office. Here's what we know about the new head of the space agency.
This appointment came as something of a surprise to many. Often, as a new administration takes office, the incumbent NASA administrator stands down to make way. Ordinarily, the job goes to the top civil servant in the agency, namely the associate administrator, who is currently Jim Free, as Space Policy Online observed. However, Trump's appointment of Petro means she takes the role instead of Free.
