Matt Mullin
Space Laser Engineer
Hey there! My name is Matt Mullin and I am a Space Laser Engineer at NASA Goddard specializing in the design, qualification, and flight of advanced UV and IR laser systems for planetary and Earth-science missions, with a focus on novel manufacturing, compact packaging and autonomous optical instrumentation.
Building a Dual Wavelength UV/Green Laser for NASA's Raman Mass Spectrometer (RAMS)
Developed a novel laser system for a future NASA planetary exploration instrument. This was a dual wavelength (257.5 nm & 515 nm) pulsed laser operating at 10 kHz which allows the instrument to scan across a collected sample to create a chemical map.
Building the UV Laser for the Dragonfly Mission
My main project for my time at NASA has been developing the UV laser that will fly to Titan on the Dragonfly Mission to look for the building blocks of life.
Launched & Recovered 3D Printed Samples to the ISS!
We sent electroplated 3D prints to the International Space Station for long duration exposure to space... and then got them back to test!
Gallery of 3D Prints
Over my 8 years at NASA I have 3D printed thousands of parts and delivered them to a variety of missions (Dragonfly, Roman Space Telescope, LISA, Mars Sample Return, and countless R&D Projects). Typically used for 3D mockups, fixtures and prototype optical mounts.
Solid-state Laser Development for the in Situ Spectroscopic Europa Explorer Instrument
Built a high repetition (5 kHz) pulsed (1 ns) laser system at 515 nm (green) for use on a Raman Spectrometer, originally proposed for a NASA Europa Lander. Passed environmental testing and delivered to vendor in 2024.
Compact Laser Prototyping
A large part of my R&D efforts at NASA has been to advance the miniaturization of lasers to be used in Earth and space exploration.
Device that Ages Moon Rocks! Potassium Argon Laser Experiment (KARLE)
Helped design the optical system for a NASA instrument that ages collected lunar samples.
About Me
My name is Matt Mullin and I am a Space Laser Engineer at NASA – specifically the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. I am lucky enough to work on a variety of missions that will explore the solar system and different areas on Earth. My work focuses on designing, building and testing advanced laser systems – and looking for novel ways to package them for new applications.
Since starting at NASA in 2016 as an undergraduate intern, coming in with no experience, I have been able to build up an expertise in the manufacturing of solid-state lasers and assembly of optical systems. Additionally, I have extensive experience in many of the fields needed to be successful at prototyping space flight hardware including high vacuum systems, 3D printing, CAD designs, machining, soldering - and cleaning up the lab when something inevitably fails!
I am originally from Sandwich, a small town on Cape Cod, Massachusetts – once known for its thriving glass business back in the 1800s – so maybe that is what got me interested in optics!
Please reach out if you want to collaborate!
Development of a Dual Wavelength Microchip Laser for NASA's Raman Mass Spectrometer (RAMS)
Matthew W. Mullin, J. Lee, M. Fahey, A. Yu and A. Grubisic
Performance of the dragonfly mass spectrometer (DraMS) programmable UV laser source engineering test unit (ETU)
Matthew W. Mullin, D. Barry Coyle, Paul R. Stysley, Melissa G. Trainer, Michael J. Hersh, Bryan L. James, Erich A. Frese, Timothy A. Petry, Amandeep Kaur, William J. Halaburda, Draisy Friedman, Guruthisvaran Ramu, Kristen A. Washington, W. Joe Thomes, Eric I. Lyness, Juan R. Lander, M. Akif Ersahin, Pete D. Mule, Sandra Irish, Daniel G. Bae, Peter W. Barfknecht, Kevin A. Smith, Marc J. Matyseck, Jackie I. Bartel, Keith A. Kienzle, Laurie Seide, Richard F. Chuska, Christian Zincke, Raymond W. Disilvestre
Development of LISA laser system at NASA
Kenji Numata, Anthony Yu, Clifford Brambora, Jordan Camp, Molly Fahey, Ali Feizi, Kevin Heesh, Hua Jiao, Oleg Konoplev, Matthew Mullin, Scott Merritt, William Mamakos, Steve Marlow, Demetrios Poulios, Paula Pruessner, Michael Rodriguez, Aleksey Vasilyev, Stewart Wu, Xiaozhen Xu, Aaron Yevick
Technology development of a solid state 266 nm laser for NASA's Dragonfly mission
Matthew W. Mullin, D. Barry Coyle, Paul R. Stysley, Melissa G. Trainer, Michael J. Hersh, Bryan L. James, Erich A. Frese, Guruthisvaran Ramu, Kristen A. Washington, W. Joe Thomes, Eric I. Lyness, Juan R. Lander, M. Akif Ersahin, Pete D. Mule, Daniel G. Bae, Peter W. Barfknecht, Kevin A. Smith, Marc J. Matyseck, Timothy A. Petry, Amandeep Kaur, William J. Halaburda, Jackie I. Bartel, Keith A. Kienzle, Alejandro Rodriguez Perez, Jean-Marie Lauenstein, Richard F. Chuska
Solid-state Laser Development for the in Situ Spectroscopic Europa Explorer Instrument
Molly Fahey, Anthony Yu, Jane Lee, Matthew Mullin, Michael Bolleter, Pablo Sobron, Evan Eshelman, William Mamakos
Damage threshold testing of UV optics under a Titan environment for NASA's Dragonfly mission
Paul R. Stysley, D. Barry Coyle, Matthew W. Mullin, Jordan Rabinowitz, Melissa Trainer
Development of a programmable UV laser source for the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS)
D. Barry Coyle, Matthew W. Mullin, Paul R. Stysley, Michael J. Hersh, Bryan L. James, Melissa G. Trainer
Orbiting and In-Situ Lidars for Earth and Planetary Applications
Anthony W. Yu, Elisavet Troupaki, Steven X. Li, D. Barry Coyle, Paul Stysley, Kenji Numata, Molly E. Fahey, Mark A. Stephen, Matthew Mullin
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