Swati Mohan is an Indian-American aerospace engineer and scientist who helped NASA land the rover on Mars in 2020. She was the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead for the mission

Mohan has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and an MS and PhD in Aeronautics/Astronautics from MIT. She is the Guidance and Operations Lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Mohan shared her journey into space, her role in Mars exploration, and her thoughts on the importance of women in science

In Short. In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV, Swathi Mohan, the Guidance and Operations Lead at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shared her journey into the cosmos, her pivotal role in Mars exploration, and her thoughts on the vital presence of women in the realm of science

From a young age, Dr Swathi Mohan, Guidance and Operations Lead at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was captivated by the vastness of space, a fascination kindled by the vibrant hues of the universe depicted in “Star Trek – Next Generation.”

• Early curiosity about the unknown mechanics of the universe led her to pursue aerospace engineering
• Her illustrious career at NASA has seen her contribute to missions exploring Saturn with Cassini
• Mohan emphasised the critical yet underutilised role of women in science

Her illustrious career at Nasa has seen her contribute to missions exploring Saturn with Cassini, the Moon, and notably, the Mars Perseverance Rover mission, with her most recent endeavour focusing on exploring the asteroid belt.

On International Women’s Day, Mohan emphasised the critical yet underutilised role of women in science, particularly in fields like Math and Physics where gender equality remains elusive. She advocated for leveraging the untapped potential of women to foster innovation through diversity, which she believes is key to solving society’s most pressing challenges.

Her love for Mars

Mohan’s interest in Mars stems from its Earth-like qualities, such as similar atmospheric composition and gravity, making it an accessible and intriguing candidate for the search for extraterrestrial life

Comparing lunar and Martian landings, Mohan highlighted the unique challenges posed by Mars’ gravity and thin atmosphere, necessitating autonomous landing systems due to the significant communication delay with Earth. 

The exploration of Mars not only seeks to uncover past life but also lays the groundwork for future human colonisation through groundbreaking technologies demonstrated by missions like Perseverance, including Terrain Relative Navigation and MOXIE, which converts Mars’ carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Dr. Swati Mohan is an Indian-American aerospace engineer and NASA engineer. She was born in 1983 and is the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Operations Lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In 2021, she announced the successful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars during NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. Mohan has also worked on the Cassini Mission for Saturn, the orbiting carbon Observer observator 2, and Grail, a pair of spacecraft that mapped the gravitational field of the Moon

Dr. Swati Mohan has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and an MS and PhD in Aeronautics/Astronautics from MIT. She joined NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2004 after working as a systems engineer on Cassini during Saturn Orbit Insertion and Huygens Probe release

Here are some other Indian-American scientists at NASA:

• Bhavya Lal In February 2021, Bhavya Lal was appointed as the acting Chief of Staff of NASA. In January 2023, AC Charania replaced Lal as the chief technologist. 
• Amit Kshatriya In March 2023, Amit Kshatriya was appointed as the first head of NASA’s Moon to Mars program. Kshatriya is a decorated Indian-American software and robotics engineer who began his career in the space program in 2003

Dr. Swati Mohan is important because she’s responsible for the development of the Perseverance Rover’s attitude control and landing system. She’s also known for being the first to confirm that the rover successfully landed on Mars in 2021

Dr. Mohan has also spoken about the importance of diversity in STEM teams, especially for women and underrepresented minorities. She’s given TED talks on Women in STEM at major technology institutions in India

Dr. Swati Mohan, an Indian-American aerospace engineer, has always been interested in space since she was nine years old. She says she originally wanted to be a doctor, but her hobby of reading books and watching space movies piqued her interest in science and space

Mohan was the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead on NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. She is currently the Chief Engineer for the Mars Launch System at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dr Swati Mohan, the Indian-born NASA engineer, whose historic words, “touchdown confirmed”, announced to the world the successful landing of the Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021

Dr. Swati Mohan is a NASA scientist who has spoken about the importance of women in science, especially in fields like math and physics. She has also encouraged students, especially women, to pursue space technology as a career

Mohan has a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Cornell University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. She has also researched on-orbit operations in the Space Systems Laboratory (MIT) with Professor Dave Miller

the space program?

She had internships with NASA starting in high school. Actually, my first internship was at Goddard Space Flight Center after my junior year, and I kind of kept that up all throughout undergrad – she interned at [NASA centers] Goddard, Kennedy, and JPL.

Her Ph.D. thesis was an experiment that was on the International Space Station. It’s called SPHERES, which stands for Synchronized Position, Hold, Engage, and Reorient Experimental Satellites. Basically, it’s a set of small satellites that look sort of like the seeker droid that Luke Skywalker used to practice his lightsaber techniques on – somewhat modeled from that – it was a testbed where we would try out control algorithms in microgravity.

So yeah, it was always something she wanted to do (to work in the space program) once I realized what engineering actually was and what it could do.

On the first day of her JPL internship, I just remember the excitement of driving on campus, like being able to pass through the gates for the very first time. That was exciting.

What advice would you give to others interested in a similar career?

Find your passion and don’t give up. There’s an intersection between what you’re really passionate about and knowing yourself and what you’re good at. And if you can find the role that you’re both passionate about and you have the natural skills to succeed in, I think that’s your best bet to succeed in life, because you’ll enjoy what you do and you’ll have the natural skills to help you succeed in that field. Don’t give up. We learn just as much, if not more, from what we perceive as failures than we do from our successes.

Who inspires you?

One of my mentors that inspires me is MiMi Aung. She is the manager of the Mars Helicopter. She’s just a really cool person and technically sound. I really admire the way that she is able to focus on a problem and see the different paths, and to be able to keep marching forward on a particular path and rally the people around her to go do that. She said

What is your favorite space image and why?

The Hubble Horsehead Nebula image – because it’s so different than what you look up and see in the sky. If you just go and look outside, you see a starfield in a black sky and twinkling star lights. But the Horsehead Nebula – the images of the structure and the colors, and the context – just really captured my imagination. I think it was the first time I realized that there’s other stuff out there in different forms than just stars and planets : she said

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