An Indian could steer 1st outing of Perseverance

MELBOURNE/MUMBAI: Around March 1, when the Perseverance rover starts rolling on Mars, an Indian who is one of the 14 perseverance drivers, might be one of the two at the console, that day. “It’s a short forward drive, followed by a turn and a backup (backward drive). We might modify it, but that’s the current plan,” Vandana “Vandi”

Verma

, chief engineer of

Mars

2020 robotic operations, told TOI. “Since this is the first drive, we will split it into segments and collect a lot of data and imaging for analysis. This is going to be a team effort.”


The daughter of an IAF fighter pilot, Verma was born at Jamnagar in

Gujarat

and kept moving — Pune, Pathankot, Halwara, among many others. “I grew up around airplanes. My dad would tell me great stories,” she said. “When I got my pilot’s licence in the US, I didn’t tell my mom initially. She wouldn’t want me to do anything dangerous. When I was growing up, the IAF would not take in women. In Pittsburgh, I flew a lot … I have also flown a plane in

France

.”

And what led to robotics? “When I was seven, I was gifted a book on space and astronomy. Then, I’d go to the library after school, pick a book about space and astronomy, climb a tree and read,” she said. “And in high school, I loved maths … I needed to be challenged. I’d go over to a family friend who was an engineer and he’d give me maths problems to solve.” She got her PhD in robotics at the Carnegie-Mellon University in 2004 and started “driving” on Mars in 2008 — Spirit,

Opportunity

, Curiosity and, now, Perseverance. “I have multiple roles, which is not uncommon, on this mission. The main ones are as chief engineer for Mars 2020 robotic operations and rover-planner,” she said.

“I was in JPL’s mission control room the day Perseverance landed though I was not part of the entry, descent and landing team. The software our team had developed was part of Perseverance’s brain. It functioned flawlessly,” she said. She remembers the exact moment of touchdown. “I said, ‘Wow’ … But also became aware that … for our team, it meant the start of the real mission.”

Between now and the first drive, they’ll take pictures and check all instruments. “A lot of surface software is written when the rover is cruising towards Mars. After we land, we make upgrades … After this, we deploy the robotic arm this week and steer our six wheels before the rover’s first drive.” Since there’s no map of the path they have to take, they “can go in different directions. We are trying to get to the Delta,” she added.

Schedules, however, are fluid. “I am staffed for the sol we are doing the first drive — a day on Mars is called a 'sol' … Everything you are doing is novel, so there might be unexpected things which might change the schedule.”

So far, only five rovers have made it to the Martian surface. “Driving a rover is a lot of fun! You have to have the mindset of an explorer, an engineer and that of a roboticist," said Verma. "You think of all obstacles it’ll encounter — like the rover slipping and not getting where it is intended to get … We don’t get second chances.”