Washington: Indian-American scientist, Swati Mohan, who leads the guidance, navigation, and control operations of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission played a pivotal role in landing the US space agency’s historic Perseverance rover on the Martian surface on Friday.
Mohan was also the first to confirm that the rover had sucessfully touched down on the Martian surface after surviving a particularly tricky plunge through the atmosphere of the Red Planet.
“Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking signs of past life,” flight controller Mohan announced, prompting her colleagues at NASA to fist-bump and break into celebrations.
Mohan, who emigrated from India to the US when she was only a year old, says the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Operations (GN&C) are “eyes and ears” of the spacecraft.
Commenting on her team’s role in the current mission, Mohan said during the cruise phase heading towards Mars, their job was to figure out how…