by Kathleen Castner
Women’s History Month: A series celebrating women from all walks of life. It is The Helix’s tribute to Women’s History Month.
On February 18th, 2021, NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) control room erupted in cheers—all because their Perseverance Rover had finally landed on Mars. Perseverance left Earth’s atmosphere in July 2020 and will traverse the Jezero Crater on Mars for 687 Earth days (one Mars year). Specifically, the Jezero Crater is a river delta that possesses rocks and minerals only established in water. There, Perseverance will hunt for microbial life dwelling in the crevices of these formations. Moreover, the samples collected will help NASA prepare for future manned missions to Mars. Hopefully, this knowledge will culminate in the conclusion of whether or not the “Red Planet” can sustain human life. Decades ago, NASA initiated its automated exploration of Mars with the Viking 1 space probe in 1971 [4]. Women have been at the forefront of these missions since the beginning which is not the case in many other aspects of scientific research. As such, it is time to celebrate the women who made these feats possible
Setting a Precedent
Dona Shirley grew up in Oklahoma and joined NASA’s Engineering Mechanics Division in 1966. At NASA, she worked as an aerospace engineer who played a vital role in developing several space technologies. Most notably, she pioneered a 1979 study of Saturn which led to the Cassini flight project, an international mission to Saturn which landed a spacecraft on Saturn’s moon, Titan. In August 1994, the Mars Exploration Program was spearheaded. Without hesitation, Shirley was named manager of the program and oversaw the planning of NASA’s robotic exploration of Mars henceforth. Through her position, her team constructed the Sojourner Rover as part of the 1979 Mars Pathfinder mission. Sojourner—named after Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women's activist—was the first wheeled vehicle to rove another planet. It snapped innumerable photographs with eternal applications. Additionally, Sojourner carried a spectrophotometer that analyzed the composition of rocks and minerals that it encountered. Because of its amazing durability, it functioned twelve times longer than anticipated. Shortly thereafter, Shirley retired from NASA. She went on to pen two books and worked at the college which she attended. Undoubtedly, Shirley paved the way for female leaders in future Mars missions [3].
Current Role Models
Dr. Swati Mohan, the flight controller of the 2021 Mars Perseverance rover, had the privilege of announcing to the entire NASA control team “Touchdown confirmed!” Mohan garnered interest in space since she was a young girl in India. After immigrating to the United States, she attended Cornell University and earned a B.S. Then, Dr. Mohan earned an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Interestingly, her initial work at NASA placed her working under Dona Shirley on the Cassini mission. In 2013, she became the lead engineer on the 2020 Mars project, the comprehensive title of the project that Perseverance is a part of. Specifically, Dr. Mohan was concerned with the orientation of the spacecraft as it was heading towards Mars and landing on Mars. This is called the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls subsystem. To put it simply, Dr. Mohan is the captain of the rover [2].
The flight director of Perseverance is also a notable woman. Dianna Trujillo, now an aerospace engineer, left her hometown in Columbia as an ambitious teenager. She worked housekeeping jobs to finance her studies at the University of Maryland. In 2007, she became the first Hispanic immigrant woman to attend the NASA academy. Before Perseverance, Trujillo was the deputy chief engineer of the 2012 Curiosity rover, NASA’s most advanced rover to ever land on Mars. Regarding Perseverance, Trujillo engineered the robotic arm that the rover utilizes to collect rock samples. On top of that, she is also a proponent of human space flight and hopes to someday visit space herself. In addition to her job, Trujillo is a fervent advocate for women and Hispanics in STEM. At the end of February, she gave NASA’s first-ever Spanish language broadcast about the whereabouts of Perseverance. In an interview with CBS News, Trujillo stated, “The abuelas, the moms or dads, the uncles, los primos, like everyone has to see this . . . And they have to see a woman in there, too. So, that they can turn around to the younger generation and say she can do it, you can do it” [1].
The Future Generation
Nineteen-year-old Alyssa Carson considers herself part of the “Mars generation.” She has attended all of NASA’s space camps and is the youngest graduate from the Advanced Space Academy. She attributes the conception of her space passions to hearing stories of other woman astronauts. Her goal: become the first person to fly to Mars. As for now, she is attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as an undergraduate student. She also shares her passion across various social media platforms. She posts science experiments on her TikTok account “NASA Blueberry” [5]. There is no doubt that Carson’s impenetrable passion for space exploration will one day land her on Mars.
This synopsis of women who have assisted in Mars exploration is a non-inclusive list. Upon reflection during Women's History Month, we realize the imperative role that women have and have continued to play in the entire space field. The critically acclaimed 2016 film, Hidden Figures, chronicled the life of three colored women who worked for NASA during segregation. Despite the inadequate resources allocated to them, these women ended up being the brains behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. In a fiery speech to her male counterpart, one of the main characters, Katherine Johnson, blurts out, “And it's not because we wear skirts. It's because we wear glasses.” Women in STEM’s challenges are twofold: they have to be successful and simultaneously challenge societal norms. Not surprisingly, they are accomplishing both of these aspects.
Sources
1. Brito, C. (2021, March 1). She came to the U.S. with only $300 and worked housekeeping jobs to pay for school. Now she's a flight director for NASA's Mars Perseverance. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/diana-trujillo-nasa-mars-rover-perseverance/
2. Kaur, H. (2021, February 19). The face of the Perseverance landing was an Indian American woman. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/19/world/swati-mohan-nasa-perseverance-landing-scn-trnd/index.html
3. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (1998, August 20). Mars Exploration Program Manager Donna Shirley to Retire. NASA. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/mars-exploration-program-manager-donna-shirley-to-retire
4. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2021, February 18). Mars 2020 Mission Perseverance Rover. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
5. Secon, H. (2020, July 12). A 19-year-old aspiring astronaut is the only person who's attended every NASA space camp. She's already positioning herself for a mission to Mars. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-inspires-new-generation-of-astronauts-alyssa-carson-2020-7