Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian-American Swati Mohan plays key role behind NASA's Perseverance rover mission

Indian-American Swati Mohan plays key role behind NASA's Perseverance rover mission

AN Indian-American scientist has played a key role behind the historic landing of NASA's Perseverance rover on the Martian surface.

Swati Mohan, who led the guidance, navigation, and control operations of the Mars 2020 mission, erupted in cheers on Thursday(18) when the rover landed on Mars after seven months in space.


"Touchdown confirmed," said Mohan at 3:55 pm Eastern Time (2055 GMT), as mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Mohan, who emigrated from India to the US when she was just one, also confirmed that the rover had survived a particularly tricky plunge through the Martian atmosphere.

Shortly after landing, the rover sent back its first black-and-white images, revealing a rocky field at the landing site in the Jezero Crater, just north of the Red Planet's equator.

More images, video of the descent and perhaps the first sounds of Mars ever recorded by microphones are expected in the coming hours as the rover relays data to overhead satellites.

Raised in Northern Virginia and Washington DC metro area, Mohan completed her bachelor's degree from Cornell University in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and her MS and PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in aeronautics/astronautics.

She had worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn and GRAIL -- a pair of formation flown spacecraft to the Moon, and has been a mainstay with the Mars 2020 mission since its beginning in 2013.

According to the Mohan, her interest in space was peaked after watching the popular TV show Star Trek when she was 9.

"Seeing the beautiful depictions of the new regions of the universe that they were exploring, I want to do that. I want to find new and beautiful places in the universe. The vastness of space holds so much knowledge that we have only begun to learn," she said.

"I was lucky enough to have a great teacher, and everything was so understandable and easy. That was when I really considered engineering, as a way to pursue space."

On the mission, Mohan said during the cruise phase heading towards Mars, their job was to figure out how the spacecraft is oriented, and make sure it is pointed correctly in space.

"As the team's operations lead, I am the primary point of communication between the guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) subsystem and the rest of the project. I am responsible for the training of the GN&C team, scheduling the mission control staffing for GN&C, as well as the policies/procedures the GN&C uses in the mission control room," she said.

Over the coming years, Perseverance will attempt to collect 30 rock and soil samples in sealed tubes, to be eventually sent back to Earth sometime in the 2030s for lab analysis.

It will begin drilling its first samples in summer, and along the way it will deploy new instruments to scan for organic matter, map chemical composition and zap rocks with a laser to study the vapor.

Scientists believe that around 3.5 billion years ago the crater was home to a river that flowed into a deep lake, depositing sediment in a fan-shaped delta.

The rover is only the fifth ever to set its wheels down on Mars. The feat was first accomplished in 1997, and all of them have been American.

More For You

Modi arrives in Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic ties

Prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (22)

Modi arrives in Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic ties

INDIA’S prime minister Narendra Modi arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Tuesday (22) for his third visit as prime minister to the oil-rich Gulf kingdom.

The trip came a day after Modi held talks with US vice-president JD Vance in India, with New Delhi looking to seal a trade deal with Washington and stave off punishing tariffs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veterans urge nation to 'unite and remember' in VE Day letter

Samina Mahroof, a cutter at the JW Plant Flag Company works on flag orders ahead of the VE Day 80th anniversary on March 18, 2025 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Veterans urge nation to 'unite and remember' in VE Day letter

TEN surviving Second World War veterans, including three from the British Indian Army, have written an open letter urging people across the UK to come together and remember the sacrifices made during the war.

Launched on Wednesday (23) by the /Together Coalition, the letter is part of a wider campaign marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, which falls on May 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vinay Narwal

Lieutenant Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy, 26, from Haryana, was among those killed in the attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Photo: X/@indiannavy

Navy officer on honeymoon, grandfather vacationing with grandkids among 26 killed in Kashmir attack

LIEUTENANT Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy had been married just six days earlier. He was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when he was shot in the head by a terrorist while eating bhelpuri with his wife.

Manjunatha, a tourist from Karnataka, was asked if he was Hindu or Muslim before being shot dead.

Keep ReadingShow less
Who is Saifullah Kasuri, the  mastermind behind Pahalgam attack?

Saifullah Kasuri

Who is Saifullah Kasuri, the  mastermind behind Pahalgam attack?

THE tourist town of Pahalgam in India's Jammu and Kashmir witnessed one of the worst terror attacks in the region on Tuesday (22) since the abrogation of Article 370. A group of heavily armed terrorists opened fire on unsuspecting tourists at Baisaran meadow, killing 26 people and injuring many more.

The attack sent shockwaves across the country and drew condemnation from leaders both in India and abroad. Within hours, a group known as The Resistance Front (TRF), widely believed to be a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hertfordshire Police treat vandalism of Muslim graves as Islamophobic hate crime

The damage to plaques at Carpenders Park Cemetery has sparked outrage in the Muslim community

Hertfordshire Police treat vandalism of Muslim graves as Islamophobic hate crime

Grant Williams

HERTFORDSHIRE Police have said they are “confident” the desecration of Muslim graves at a cemetery in north London “was a religiously motivated act”.

The leader of the council that owns the cemetery visited the site last week to speak to grieving families following the horrific incident.

Keep ReadingShow less