Megan McArthur Speaking Fee:

Megan McArthur, Ph.D., is an oceanographer, aerospace engineer, pilot, and retired NASA astronaut whose career spans shipboard research, Hubble servicing operations, and long-duration spaceflight. She earned a B.S. in aerospace engineering at UCLA and a Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where her graduate research focused on underwater acoustics and digital signal processing. McArthur joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2000 and built a career around robotics, crew systems, and mission operations. McArthur was a mission specialist and robotic-arm operator on STS-125, the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, where she operated Atlantis's remote manipulator—the last astronaut to “touch” Hubble. She later served as pilot of SpaceX Crew-2, flying to the International Space Station and working as a flight engineer during Expeditions 65 and 66. Across her two spaceflights she logged about 213 days in orbit and contributed to research in human health, materials science, robotics, and microbial tracking. At NASA she worked in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, served as CAPCOM, supported Expedition crew operations, and was deputy chief of the Astronaut Office. Since stepping away from NASA in August 2025, McArthur has focused on public-facing science communication and education. She served as chief science officer at Space Center Houston, supporting exhibits, strategic planning, and STEM engagement, and regularly appears in talks, TED programming, university events, and student outreach to translate the operational realities of exploration into lessons about teamwork, preparation, and scientific curiosity. Her background—combining oceanographic fieldwork, engineering, piloting, and robotic operations—gives audiences a distinct view of how disciplined training and interdisciplinary problem solving make ambitious missions possible. McArthur lives in Houston with her husband, former NASA astronaut Bob Behnken, and their son, Theo. An avid scuba diver, backpacker, and pilot, she often draws on those pursuits when framing stories about exploration and resilience.