Tara Melaine Ruttley (born 1975/1976) is Associate Chief Scientist for Microgravity Research at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

[7][8] At CSU, Ruttley became involved with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium and the student branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

As an undergraduate, and through her participation in student design conferences, she became more interested in the hardware aspects of maintaining optimal crew health in space.

Ruttley soon realized the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to designing hardware for crew health, so she pursued her master's degree in mechanical engineering.

[3][7][9] In 2018, Ruttley completed an MA in Anthropology/Archaeology at the University of Houston, where her research focused on spiritual practices of the pre-Civil war enslaved populations at the Jordan Plantation in Brazoria County, Tx.

She came to work for NASA in January 2001, where her first project was developing a detector for the presence of hydrazine on astronauts' space suits after EVAs from the ISS.

Ruttley lives in Virginia, with her husband Paul Colosky, the owner of Valeo Physical Therapy, and daughter Anna-Marie.

[7][9][14] In her spare time, Ruttley enjoys scuba diving, cooking, home-improvement projects, eating good food, and being with her husband and friends.