Interplanetary missions have always been about ensuring the highest degree of safety for the traveling spacecraft, but NASA’s Perseverance Rover Mission or Mars 2020 was vastly different, recalls NASA’s Dr Swati Mohan.

In her experience, working amid the deadly and devastating COVID-19 pandemic meant ensuring the utmost safety of every team member, over and above that of the Mars Probe. This is significant given that the launch of the rocket and the Mars landing which happened in July 2020 and February 2021 respectively happened during peak pandemic spread in the USA.&nbsp;

Speaking at an event organised by the US Consulate General in India, Dr.&nbsp;Swati Mohan, Guidance, Navigation, and Control Systems Engineering Group Supervisor, NASA’s Jet&nbsp;Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) touched upon her Indian roots, family, and her foray into Aerospace Engineering.

She made headlines around the world for her pivotal role in landing the US&nbsp;space agency’s historic Perseverance rover on the Martian surface on February 18, this year.

Born in Karnataka, India, Swati moved to the US at a very young age and aspired to be a doctor. Growing up, she was fascinated by Star Trek, reading books on space, Big Bang, and the pictures from the Hubble Space telescope. However, all of it remained a hobby and not a serious career choice.&nbsp;

Her time at High school proved crucial in helping her realize that she was good at physics and that biology as a subject, didn’t come naturally to her. “I couldn’t stand the smell of dissections or have stable hands to perform it” she recalls.

Eventually, her passion and aptitude for Physics led her to Internships at multiple American Space facilities and also a degree at Cornell University.

Making a mention of her family, she spoke about her Indian roots and her parents’ who also worked in Science and Engineering related jobs and remained a huge support. On the crucial Mars 2020 Mission, she recollects that her husband, a doctor, equally shared the responsibility back at home.

“Both of us have demanding careers and shift work. Amid the pandemic, he headed for the COVID ward and I headed for the NASA Mission Control” she said, adding that here in-laws too were very supportive.&nbsp;

Regarding the challenges faced during the mission, she touched upon how there was an earthquake at their Control Center at NASA JPL, just 15 minutes prior to the spacecraft launch.

“We are flying a critical mission, but still the safety of our spacecraft was not solely the number one priority. We had to balance the risk level and protect the people who are working with us(during a pandemic). It meant having less people in Mission control” she replied to a query.

Regarding her encounters with racism in the US, she said that some comments by people who didn’t try to understand Indian culture caused her difficulty. She added that, though her organization(JPL) was very diverse, she faced challenges as a woman in a male-dominated STEM(Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) field.

According to Dr. Swati, an unexpected development at the time of Mars landing was that the spacecraft had not selected the safest of the four prospective landing spots. Instead, it had selected the one that was a grade above in terms of risk. Despite what she described as the “7 minutes of terror”(the Mars landing), their craft made a successful landing, after slowing down from nearly&nbsp;5.4Km/sec to 80m/s.

All of this and the successful landing and further Mars exploration was made possible, thanks to the reduction of landing speed caused by the heat-shield, supersonic parachute and on-board engines, she explains.&nbsp;

Dr. Swati who was recently congratulated by US President Joseph Biden, encouraged students and budding aerospace engineers to “Actively do your best, Create the opportunity, perform additional research, take up internships, network with people and use each opportunity to figure out the next”.&nbsp;

Interplanetary missions have always been about ensuring the highest degree of safety for the traveling spacecraft, but NASA’s Perseverance Rover Mission or Mars 2020 was vastly different, recalls NASA’s Dr Swati Mohan.

Interplanetary missions have always been about ensuring the highest degree of safety for the traveling spacecraft, but NASA’s Perseverance Rover Mission or Mars 2020 was vastly different, recalls NASA’s Dr Swati Mohan. In her experience, working amid the deadly and devastating COVID-19 pandemic meant ensuring the utmost safety of every team member, over and above that of the Mars Probe. This is significant given that the launch of the rocket and the Mars landing which happened in July 2020 and February 2021 respectively happened during peak pandemic spread in the USA. Speaking at an event organised by the US Consulate General in India, Dr. Swati Mohan, Guidance, Navigation, and Control Systems Engineering Group Supervisor, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) touched upon her Indian roots, family, and her foray into Aerospace Engineering. She made headlines around the world for her pivotal role in landing the US space agency’s historic Perseverance rover on the Martian surface on February 18, this year. Born in Karnataka, India, Swati moved to the US at a very young age and aspired to be a doctor. Growing up, she was fascinated by Star Trek, reading books on space, Big Bang, and the pictures from the Hubble Space telescope. However, all of it remained a hobby and not a serious career choice. Her time at High school proved crucial in helping her realize that she was good at physics and that biology as a subject, didn’t come naturally to her. “I couldn’t stand the smell of dissections or have stable hands to perform it” she recalls. Eventually, her passion and aptitude for Physics led her to Internships at multiple American Space facilities and also a degree at Cornell University. Making a mention of her family, she spoke about her Indian roots and her parents’ who also worked in Science and Engineering related jobs and remained a huge support. On the crucial Mars 2020 Mission, she recollects that her husband, a doctor, equally shared the responsibility back at home. “Both of us have demanding careers and shift work. Amid the pandemic, he headed for the COVID ward and I headed for the NASA Mission Control” she said, adding that here in-laws too were very supportive. Regarding the challenges faced during the mission, she touched upon how there was an earthquake at their Control Center at NASA JPL, just 15 minutes prior to the spacecraft launch. “We are flying a critical mission, but still the safety of our spacecraft was not solely the number one priority. We had to balance the risk level and protect the people who are working with us(during a pandemic). It meant having less people in Mission control” she replied to a query. Regarding her encounters with racism in the US, she said that some comments by people who didn’t try to understand Indian culture caused her difficulty. She added that, though her organization(JPL) was very diverse, she faced challenges as a woman in a male-dominated STEM(Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) field. According to Dr. Swati, an unexpected development at the time of Mars landing was that the spacecraft had not selected the safest of the four prospective landing spots. Instead, it had selected the one that was a grade above in terms of risk. Despite what she described as the “7 minutes of terror”(the Mars landing), their craft made a successful landing, after slowing down from nearly 5.4Km/sec to 80m/s. All of this and the successful landing and further Mars exploration was made possible, thanks to the reduction of landing speed caused by the heat-shield, supersonic parachute and on-board engines, she explains. Dr. Swati who was recently congratulated by US President Joseph Biden, encouraged students and budding aerospace engineers to “Actively do your best, Create the opportunity, perform additional research, take up internships, network with people and use each opportunity to figure out the next”.

Focussed on spacecraft and human safety amid COVID-19, recalls NASA’s Dr. Swati Mohan of Mars Mission

US President Joe <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/first-ever-summit-of-quad-leaders-set-to-take-place-368123">Biden</a> while congratulating the team of NASA scientists over a virtual interaction said that Indian-Americans are taking over the United States.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-honeymoon-over-for-joe-biden-367796/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The US president made the remark while speaking to Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan who had led the guidance, navigation and control operations of NASA's Mars 2020 mission.

During the interaction, Swati Mohan told&nbsp;Biden: "I'm doing very well, Mr&nbsp;President thank you for taking the time to speak with us," to which the US president responded: "Are you kidding me? what an honour this is. This is an incredible honour&nbsp;and it's amazing. Indian-Americans are taking over the country: you, my vice president, my speechwriter Vinay [White House director of speechwriting Vinay Reddy], I tell you what&nbsp;but thank you, you guys are incredible."

Biden also referred to a large number of people from the Indian-American community getting a place in his administration.&nbsp;

Biden has appointed at least 55 Indian-Americans to key leadership positions in his administration with nearly half of them women and a sizable number of them working in the White House.

US President Joe Biden while congratulating the team of NASA scientists over a virtual interaction said that Indian-Americans are taking over the United States. Watch: The US president made the remark while speaking to Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan who had led the guidance, navigation and control operations of NASA's Mars 2020 mission.

US President Joe Biden while congratulating the team of NASA scientists over a virtual interaction said that Indian-Americans are taking over the United States. Watch: The US president made the remark while speaking to Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan who had led the guidance, navigation and control operations of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. During the interaction, Swati Mohan told Biden: "I'm doing very well, Mr President thank you for taking the time to speak with us," to which the US president responded: "Are you kidding me? what an honour this is. This is an incredible honour and it's amazing. Indian-Americans are taking over the country: you, my vice president, my speechwriter Vinay [White House director of speechwriting Vinay Reddy], I tell you what but thank you, you guys are incredible." Biden also referred to a large number of people from the Indian-American community getting a place in his administration. Biden has appointed at least 55 Indian-Americans to key leadership positions in his administration with nearly half of them women and a sizable number of them working in the White House.

Indian-Americans taking over the country, Biden jokes with NASA's Swati Mohan

As NASA's perseverance rover landed on Mars on Thursday, it was Indian-American scientist Dr Swati Mohan who confirmed the mission success. WION brings you more.

WION Fineprint: Indian-American scientist behind NASA's perseverance rover

An Indian-American scientist, Swati Mohan, played a pivotal role in landing NASA's historic Perseverance Rover on the Martian surface on Friday. She leads the guidance, navigation, and control operations of the US space agency's Mars 2020 mission.

Video: Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan played key role in NASA Mars rover landing

The Environment and Forest ministry today roped in the National Geographic group to raise awareness over the single-use plastic and its harmful effects on the environment.

As part of the partnership, Environment minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled the first ever plastic free edition of the magazine, said a statement from the prominent environment based channel and magazine.&nbsp;

"National Geographic and the Ministry of Environment joined forces to support each other's initiatives aimed at addressing the perils of single-use plastic," it said.

In a country where more than 40 per cent of plastic waste remains uncollected, it is critical to understand just how severe the continued use of single-use plastic could become for the sustainability of the ecosystem," said Swati Mohan, Business Head, National Geographic and Fox Networks Group India.

As part of the partnership, Environment minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled the first ever plastic free edition of the magazine

The Environment and Forest ministry today roped in the National Geographic group to raise awareness over the single-use plastic and its harmful effects on the environment. As part of the partnership, Environment minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled the first ever plastic free edition of the magazine, said a statement from the prominent environment based channel and magazine. "National Geographic and the Ministry of Environment joined forces to support each other's initiatives aimed at addressing the perils of single-use plastic," it said. In a country where more than 40 per cent of plastic waste remains uncollected, it is critical to understand just how severe the continued use of single-use plastic could become for the sustainability of the ecosystem," said Swati Mohan, Business Head, National Geographic and Fox Networks Group India.

World Environment Day:  Environment ministry partners with Nat Geo to create awareness over single-use plastic

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Focussed on spacecraft and human safety amid COVID-19, recalls NASA’s Dr. Swati Mohan of Mars Mission

Indian-Americans taking over the country, Biden jokes with NASA's Swati Mohan

WION Fineprint: Indian-American scientist behind NASA's perseverance rover

Video: Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan played key role in NASA Mars rover landing

World Environment Day: Environment ministry partners with Nat Geo to create awareness over single-use plastic