Meet Swati Mohan, Indian-American scientist who led Nasa rover’s landing on Mars

Mohan holds a BS from Cornell University and an MS and PhD from MIT in Aeronautics

NASA successfully landed its Perseverance rover on Mars early Friday, and among the scientists who were part of this historic mission, was Indian-American Dr Swati Mohan, who led the landing of the rover on the planet.

Mohan is the Mars 2020 Guidance, Navigation and Controls (GN&C) Operations Lead in NASA and led the attitude control and landing system for the Perseverance. She was communicating and coordinating between the GN&C system and the team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab near Los Angeles.

“Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking signs of past life,” Mohan was the first to announce when the rover made history on the red planet.

Mohan has been a part of this mission since its beginning, for over 7 years now.

Read | Historic touchdown! NASA Perseverance rover to hunt for ancient life in Mars

From India to the US

Swati Mohan, born in India, moved to the US when she was 1. She grew up in Northern Virginia. She was inspired to pursue the hard sciences by popular science fiction franchise ‘Star Trek’.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and an MS and PhD from MIT in Aeronautics.

Before spearheading the Mars mission, Mohan has been a part of several NASA missions, including Cassini, a mission to Saturn and GRAIL, a mission to the Moon.