Behind the Lens: Meet NASA Johnson’s Photographers

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Behind the Lens: Meet NASA Johnson’s Photographers

NASA Johnson Space Center’s Imagery Acquisition Group poses for a group photo on Aug. 10, 2026.

Credits:

NASA/Robert Markowitz

The Imagery Acquisition Group at NASA’s Johnson Space Center poses for a group photo in Houston, Texas on Aug. 10, 2026. Back row, from left, are NASA photographers Bill Stafford, James Blair, supervisor Mark Sowa, and NASA photographers Robert Markowitz and Luna Posadas Nava. Front row, from left, are NASA photographers Morgan Gridley, Helen Arase Vargas, and former NASA photographer Josh Valcarcel.NASA/Robert Markowitz

Photographers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have documented some of the most defining moments in human spaceflight. 

From astronaut training and engineering tests to mission control operations and milestone celebrations, their images preserve the history of exploration while capturing the people and teams behind the missions shaping the next era.  

Meet the photographers behind the lens and explore the stories behind the images that have helped tell NASA’s story. 

Robert Markowitz 

NASA photographer Robert Markowitz flies aboard a T-38 aircraft during flight operations.NASA/Robert Markowitz

Being able to help tell the human spaceflight story, frame by frame, has been an incredible adventure.

Robert Markowitz

NASA Photographer

For more than three decades, NASA photographer Robert Markowitz has documented the people and milestones that have shaped NASA’s human spaceflight program. His career has spanned the space shuttle program, 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station, and Artemis II. 

“My favorite part of this job has always come down to the range of assignments we take on and the people I get to work with every day,” Markowitz said. 

One of Markowitz’s early career highlights came during the filming of “Apollo 13,” when he served as the behind-the-scenes still photographer for nearly every KC-135 zero-gravity flight. “Looking back as a 25-year-old photographer at Johnson, I don’t think I fully appreciated how unique an opportunity it was to be there documenting those moments,” he said. 

Markowitz says the job has challenged him to grow as both a photographer and a communicator. Whether photographing dozens of individual portraits in a day or coordinating a 300-person group photo, each assignment has strengthened his ability to adapt, collaborate, and connect with people. 

“This work has shaped not just my career, but my life,” he said. “Being part of a team that captures and preserves the story of human spaceflight continues to be one of the great honors of my time at Johnson.” 

NASA’s Artemis II flight control team works on console in the White Flight Control Room in the Mission Control Center in Houston during the mission’s lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.NASA/Robert Markowitz

Former Expedition 1 crewmembers Yuri Gidzenko, Bill Shepherd, and Sergei Krikalev celebrate the International Space Station’s 25th anniversary of continuous human habitation at Space Center Houston on Jan. 19, 2026. NASA/Robert Markowitz

The Counterweight-Offload Astronaut Suited Test and Evaluation Rig is displayed in Johnson’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. NASA/Robert Markowitz

NASA’s Artemis II training team gathers in front of the Orion spacecraft mockup at the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center on May 6, 2026.NASA/Robert Markowitz

Country music artist Garth Brooks performs from mission control during a live event with the Expedition 52 crew aboard the International Space Station. From left are Dina Contella, deputy manager for the International Space Station in NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program; NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson; Garth Brooks; and Norm Knight, Flight Operations Director. NASA/Robert Markowitz

Members of the Apollo 13 movie cast and crew take part in a zero-gravity flight aboard a KC-135 aircraft, owned by NASA at the time. Floating from left are actor Tom Hanks, who portrayed astronaut Jim Lovell; director Ron Howard; actor Bill Paxton, who portrayed astronaut Fred Haise; actor Kevin Bacon, who portrayed astronaut Jack Swigert; actor Gary S