Swati Mohan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Swati Mohan
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Swati Mohan
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| Education | Cornell University (B.S.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S., Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Work on the Mars 2020 mission |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Thesis | Quantitative Selection and Design of Model Generation Architectures for On-Orbit Autonomous Assembly (2010) |
| Doctoral advisor | Dave Miller |
Swati Mohan is an amazing Indian-American aerospace engineer. She was a key leader for the NASA Mars 2020 mission. This mission sent the Perseverance rover to explore Mars.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Swati Mohan was born in Bengaluru, India. She moved to the United States when she was just one year old. Her interest in space began at age 9 after watching the TV show Star Trek.
Choosing a Career Path
Originally, Swati wanted to become a pediatrician, a doctor for children. But at 16, she took a physics class that changed her mind. She realized that studying engineering was a great way to work in space exploration.
University Studies
Swati went to Cornell University to study Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Later, she earned her master's degree and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Research at MIT
At MIT, she worked in the Space Systems Laboratory. She researched how things operate in space. She worked with special testbeds like SPHERES, SWARM, and ALMOST. SPHERES stands for Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellite.
Some of her SPHERES tests were even done on the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts like Dan Tani and Greg Chamitoff helped with these tests. Swati also helped with the SPHERES Zero Robotics competition. This competition teaches middle and high school students about space engineering.
Work at NASA
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Swati Mohan works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. She was the Guidance & Controls Operations Lead for the Mars 2020 mission. She joined the Mars 2020 team in 2013.
Guiding the Mars Rover
In her role, Swati made sure the spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover stayed on course. She also ensured it landed safely on Mars. On February 18, 2021, she narrated the landing events from mission control. She announced, "Touchdown is confirmed," when the rover successfully landed. The JPL Mission Control Center then celebrated with excitement.
Smart Landing Technology
Swati explained how the Perseverance rover used a special navigation system. It was the first mission to use "Terrain-Relative Navigation." As the rover descended, it took pictures of Mars' surface. It used these images to figure out the best place to land. This new technology allowed Perseverance to land in much tougher areas than previous Mars missions.
Other NASA Missions
Before Mars 2020, Swati worked on other exciting missions. She worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn. She also worked on GRAIL, which was a pair of small spacecraft. GRAIL mapped the Moon's gravitational field.
Family Life
Swati Mohan is married to Santhosh Nadipuram. He is a doctor and research scientist. They have two daughters. One of their daughters was born after Swati started working on the Mars 2020 project in 2013.
See also
In Spanish: Swati Mohan para niños
