Larry Toups
Adjunct Associate Professor, Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture;
Former NASA ISS Habitability Systems Lead

Mr. Toups has a Bachelors Degree in Architecture, and a Masters Degree in Space Architecture from the University of Houston, Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA). In 1988 he joined Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company at Johnson Space Center (JSC) providing technical support for JSC’s New Initiatives Office in the area of Systems Engineering of habitats and planetary systems needed for the human exploration of the moon. During this time he contributed to numerous NASA studies including the 90 Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars, First Lunar Outpost, and Access to Space. Joining NASA in February 1994 he became part of the International Space Station (ISS) Program Office at Johnson Space Center. He assumed the role of Habitability Systems Lead in the ISS Vehicle Office. and was responsible for human factors requirements, and hardware items such as Crew Quarters, Galley and Food Systems for the ISS. He returned to future exploration work in 2004 and was the lead in various NASA studies related to future habitation that will be required on the surface of the moon (and eventually Mars) to support future NASA missions. From 2013 to 2019 he was a member of the Exploration Missions Planning Office at Johnson Space Center and the lead technical monitor overseeing the NASA NextSTEP Habitation contracts, which engaged six industry participants in looking at habitation concepts beyond Low Earth Orbit. From 2012 to 2019 he held an Adjunct Professor position in the Department of Architecture at Chalmers Institute of Science and Technology, Gothenberg, Sweden linking research in sustainability for future space habitats and future homes on Earth. In 2016 he accepted an Adjunct Professor position at the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture in 2016. Mr. Toups retired from NASA in January 2020.