Farah Alibay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Farah Alibay
|
|
|---|---|
Systems engineer Farah Alibay
|
|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Organization | Engineering career |
| Discipline | Systems Engineering |
| Employer(s) | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Projects | InSight Mars Cube One Mars 2020 |
Farah Alibay is a Canadian engineer who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has helped with exciting missions to Mars, like the InSight lander, the Mars Cube One tiny satellites, and the Mars 2020 mission which includes the Perseverance rover.
Early Life and Learning
Farah Alibay was born in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Her parents moved there from Madagascar. She grew up in Saint-Charles-Borromée, Quebec. Later, her family moved to Manchester, England for her high school years. Her first language is French.
When Farah was in middle school, she was inspired by Canadian astronaut Julie Payette. Julie Payette was also from Quebec, so Farah saw her as a great role model. Farah went to the University of Cambridge in England. In 2010, she earned two degrees there: a bachelor's and a master's in aerospace and aerothermal engineering.
She continued her studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2014, she earned her PhD in aeronautics and astronautics engineering. For her PhD, she studied how multiple space vehicles could work together to explore planets in our Solar System.
In 2013, Farah received an award at MIT. It was for her excellent work helping students as a teaching assistant. She helped bring special software into the engineering lessons.
Working at NASA
After getting her master's degree, Farah joined a special internship program called the NASA Academy. This program showed her all the different things NASA does. It was there that she discovered her love for exploring planets using robots. While she was working on her PhD, she also interned at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
After finishing her PhD in 2014, Farah was hired full-time at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her first big project was the Mars Cube One mission. This mission involved small satellites called CubeSats. They traveled with the InSight lander to Mars.
In 2016, she became a Payload Systems Engineer for the InSight mission. InSight was a robotic spacecraft designed to study the inside of Mars. It launched on May 5, 2018. Before the launch, Farah made sure all the spacecraft's instruments were put together and tested correctly. While the team waited for InSight to land on Mars, Farah helped them get ready for operations. She also tested the equipment that would detect things on Mars. When InSight successfully landed on Mars on November 26, 2018, Farah dyed her hair red to celebrate! The color matched Mars and the InSight logo.
In 2019, Farah joined the Mars 2020 mission team. This mission included the Perseverance rover. Her job was to help make sure the rover wouldn't get lost on Mars. After the rover landed on February 18, 2021, Farah helped lead the daily operations. She was a link between the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter. On April 19, 2021, Farah was part of the team that made history. They successfully flew Ingenuity, the first aircraft to fly on another planet!
Farah also speaks at events to encourage students to get involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She wants to help build a future workforce for STEM fields. She works to make sure everyone feels welcome in STEM careers. She wants to prevent others from facing challenges she experienced.
Personal Life
Farah believes that having good mentors is very important. She had positive experiences with mentors when she was an intern. Now, she mentors young women who are interns. She remembers a time when a guidance counselor tried to tell her not to go into engineering. The counselor said it was mostly a male job.
Her favorite moon in our solar system is Enceladus, which orbits Saturn. Farah loves being outdoors. She enjoys activities like rock climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, and hiking. She also likes to volunteer and help her community. She volunteers with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. She also helps children in Los Angeles as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). Farah often gives talks, mentors students, and teaches at space camps.
See also
In Spanish: Farah Alibay para niños
