Vianni Ricano Cadenas serves as the Deputy Program Manager for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program within NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). In this role, she supports the strategic execution of NIAC by overseeing program operations, guiding solicitations, and enabling the development of innovative, early-stage aerospace concepts that advance the future of space exploration.

Vianni brings over a decade of experience across human exploration and Earth science missions, spanning both civil service and private industry. Prior to her role with NIAC, she served as Deputy Project Manager for the CLARREO Pathfinder mission at NASA Langley Research Center.

CLARREO Pathfinder is an Earth science mission that will operate from the International Space Station providing high-accuracy spectrally resolved measurements critical to understanding Earth’s changing system. In this role, she provided technical, programmatic, and contractual leadership, including serving as the Contracting Officer’s Representative for a major prime contract and leading mission operations and ground segment planning.

Earlier in her career, Vianni held key leadership roles supporting NASA’s Artemis campaign, including serving as a Systems Engineering and Integration Engineer for the Gateway program. She contributed to cross-program integration efforts, working with domestic and international partners to align technical requirements and enable sustained lunar exploration infrastructure. She also served as Mission Operations Software Integration Test Lead for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), where she participated in launch and maneuver simulations at NASA’s Flight Dynamics Facility and developed and implemented integration testing processes to support mission operations.

Her experience also includes mission formulation, orbit design, and systems engineering for a wide range of science missions and technology demonstrations. She has led and contributed to multiple mission concept studies within the Science Mission Directorate, including work on designated observables such as Surface Deformation and Change, Surface Biology and Geology, and Aerosols, Clouds, Convection, and Precipitation. Her technical expertise includes systems engineering, orbital mechanics, mission architecture development, and integrated program planning.

Vianni earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering, with a minor in Mathematics, from Texas A&M University. She has been recognized with several awards throughout her career, including the Silver Group Achievement Award and the Space Flight Awareness Team Award for her contributions to the Gateway Cross Program Integration Team, as well as Mission Services Division Awards from a.i. solutions for her work on the Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS) and STPSat-6 missions.

Vianni lives in the Hampton Roads area with her husband, who is also a researcher at NASA Langley Research Center. They share their home with their cat, Dahlia, and dog, Maisie, and enjoy road-tripping across the country in their free time.

Email: hq-niac@mail.nasa.gov