Firouz Michael Naderi (Persian: فیروز نادری: Fīrouz Nāderi; March 25, 1946 – June 9, 2023)[1] was an Iranian American scientist who spent 36 years in various technical and executive positions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where he contributed to some of America's robotic space missions.

Naderi started at NASA's JPL in September 1979 as a communications system engineer,[11] and in a course of a three-decade career rose through the ranks to senior executive positions.

Naderi was named NASA's Program Manager for Mars exploration[12] in April 2000 after the agency had suffered two consecutive, very public failures in the previous year.

In the summer of 2000, he helped re-plan the Program as a chain of scientifically, technologically and operationally interrelated missions with a spacecraft launched to Mars every two years.

He led the Program for the next five years, a span of time that included the successful landing of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.

For management of the Mars Program, in 2005 he was awarded NASA's highest award, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.After the Mars Program, Naderi was appointed JPL's first associate director for Project Formulation and Strategy,[3] serving as the Laboratory's senior official providing oversight of JPL new business acquisition and senior strategic planning officer.

[2] The asteroid was discovered by the late American astronomer, Eleanor F. Helin, at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, on March 5, 1989, and is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter.

Naderi was an advocate for the Iranian-American diaspora formerly having served on the board of directors of Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA).

And how blessed I am to be rooted in ancient civilization with a rich culture, and at the same time a proud American living in this young nation that has lifted me on her shoulders, allowing me to reach for the stars.

But, he favored a democratically elected, secular government, observing full civil liberties and human rights with separation of "church" and state.

[19] Naderi and Anousheh Ansari represented Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi at the 89th Academy Awards for his winning in the Best Foreign Language Film category.