The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a new manager for its Space Launch System (SLS) program, which is designed to revive America's space travel and carry astronauts to Mars.

Honeycutt has been deputy SLS manager since 2013, and will be replacing Todd May, who was named as deputy director of Marshall in August. “John is an accomplished manager, and I'm pleased he is assuming this new leadership role in the development of SLS as we continue taking great steps forward in the continuous human exploration of space and on our journey to Mars”, William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

The agency said in a statement that Honeycutt as SLS program manager will lead a nationwide workforce of more than 4,200 civil servants and contractors with an annual budget of $1.7 billion.

Honeycutt will also be responsible for all facets of the program, including planning, procurement, development, testing, evaluation, production and operation of the integrated SLS, it added.

According to the space agency, SLS will be the largest rocket ever built and is will carry astronauts for a deep space mission to the Red planet.

Honeycutt started working with NASA at Marshall in 1999 after working for nine years as a contractor in support of the Space Shuttle Program, the International Space Station and other NASA programs.

At Marshall, Honeycutt served as deputy manager and manager of the Space Shuttle External Tank Project. He has also served as deputy manager of the SLS Program Stages Office and SLS deputy chief engineer.

"NASA has benefited from John's management and leadership skills in a number of programs at Marshall over the years, and I'm pleased he'll be responsible for the continuing success of SLS, the next great vehicle to launch our human exploration space missions," Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann said in the announcement.