James F. Bell III (born July 23, 1965) is a professor of Astronomy at Arizona State University, specializing in the study of planetary geology, geochemistry and mineralogy using data obtained from telescopes and from various spacecraft missions.

[3] He has served as the lead scientist in charge of the Panoramic camera (Pancam) color imaging system[4] on Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

As a professional scientist, he has published over 30 first-authored and 140 co-authored scientific research papers and over 400 short abstracts and conference presentations.

He is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy and science magazines, has made a number of television appearances on major network and cable channels, and gives free public lectures.

[6] In July 2014, Bell was selected to be the principal investigator overseeing the Mastcam-Z imaging system for the upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission.