Women Behind Successful Arab and Western Missions to Mars

March 8 is celebrated as an international women’s day.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – This year is the starting year for exploration on the planet Mars. There are 3 recorded missions that have arrived at the Red Planet.

Three research missions made it to Mars in close proximity. On February 10, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) mission made it to Mars. Furthermore, it was the turn of the mission from China with Tianwen 1 which successfully orbited Mars on February 11.

Finally, the US Space Agency (NASA) rover Persevarance robot successfully landed on Mars on February 18. There is a female figure who is the key to the success of these missions.

One of the female figures who played an important role in NASA’s mission to Mars is Swati Mohan. He is the lead operations and control for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. He becomes the person responsible for ensuring the spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover is properly directed.

With Perseverance ready to make landfall on Thursday (18/2), Mohan may be the one with the most tension. With landings always at high risk, he provided plenty of commentary from mission control, including during descent.

Mohan was previously part of NASA’s Cassini mission. He then joined the Mars 2020 mission, which was prepared in 2013. Mohan comes from India and moved to the United States (US) when he was one year old. He tells his story as a foreigner who has a very different culture at first it feels heavy.

“I wore a bindi (mark on the forehead) during elementary school and was bullied physically because of that,” said Mohan, quoted as saying. CNET Friday (19/2).

However, Mohan now doesn’t think about it anymore. He continues to wear the bindi he likes as part of his Indian cultural identity, even while working. Mohan is seen wearing a bindi as he calmly announces every step of Perseverance’s journey in mission control. He has become a figure who is considered to inspire many people.

source: republika archive

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