LONDON — With “one of the coolest jobs in the world,” Nasa rover operator Vandi Verma hopes women’s high profile in the latest Mars mission will inspire a new generation to pursue careers in a sector traditionally dominated by men.
Verma’s colleague Swati Mohan made headlines around the world when she narrated the nail-biting landing of the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet following its perilous descent through the Martian atmosphere.
“It’s definitely inspired girls everywhere. It’s opened people’s perceptions of who can be a space engineer,” Verma told the Thomson Reuters Foundation ahead of International Women’s Day on Monday.
The space roboticist is operating the Perseverance – the most advanced astrobiology lab ever sent to another world – as it roams Mars looking for signs of ancient microbial life.
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“I really think I have one of the coolest jobs in the world,” said Verma, whose interest in space – like Mohan’s – was fueled by a childhood love of the TV series Star Trek.
“When Mars is visible in the sky you look at that little dot and you think right now there’s a robot out there doing commands that I told it to do. That’s pretty wild.”
