Meet Swati Mohan, The Indian-origin Scientist Who Landed NASA’s Mars Rover on Red Planet
The world witnessed the historic landing of NASA’s Perseverance Rover streaked through the Martian atmosphere on Thursday as it landed safely on the floor of a vast crater, its first stop on a search for traces of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.
Among the scientists who are part of this historic mission, Indian American Dr Swati Mohan spearheaded the development of attitude control and the landing system for the rover.
« Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance is safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life, » exclaimed NASA’s Indian-born engineer, Dr Swati Mohan who emigrated from India to the US when she was only one year old.
She says the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Operations (GN&C) « are eyes and ears of the spacecraft ».