Dr Swati Mohan

Dr. Swati Mohan is an aerospace engineer who served as the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. Originally from Bengaluru, India, Dr. Mohan immigrated to the United States when she was just one year old. She has been with NASA since 2013, playing an essential role in the Mars 2020 mission.

Early Life

Born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Dr. Swati Mohan developed an early interest in space, fueled by her fascination with Star Trek at the age of 9. Initially aiming to become a pediatrician, she shifted her focus to engineering after taking a physics class at 16, realizing her passion for space exploration. Dr. Mohan completed her undergraduate studies in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Later, she pursued a master’s and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Education

While at MIT, Dr. Mohan worked at the Space Systems Laboratory, conducting research on-orbit operations under the guidance of Professor Dave Miller. She was involved in several key projects, including the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellite (SPHERES) and the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. She also participated in experiments conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA astronauts, such as Dan Tani and Greg Chamitoff.

Career

Dr. Mohan currently works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a NASA field center in Pasadena, California, where she is the lead for Guidance and Controls Operations in the Mars 2020 mission. She joined NASA’s Mars 2020 mission in 2013, soon after the team was formed. In this role, she was responsible for ensuring the proper navigation and orientation of the Perseverance rover during its journey to Mars and its successful landing on the planet’s surface.

Dr. Mohan has also contributed to several other NASA projects, including the Cassini-Huygens mission to study Saturn and its system, and the GRAIL mission, which focused on mapping the Moon’s interior.

Upcoming Projects

Dr. Mohan is set to continue her work with NASA on several upcoming projects. One of these is SPHEREx, an all-sky spectral survey mission that will study the universe’s history, the Epoch of Reionization, and ice exploration. The mission is expected to complete by June 17, 2024. Additionally, she will be involved in ASTHROS, a high-altitude balloon mission focused on astrophysical phenomena, which is expected to conclude by December 1, 2023.

Personal Life

Dr. Mohan is married and has one daughter, but little else is known about her personal life, as she keeps her private affairs away from the public eye. She remains highly focused on her career and is passionate about advancing space exploration.

Net Worth

Though the exact figure is not publicly available, experts estimate Dr. Mohan’s net worth to be around $1 million, earned through her work with NASA and her contributions to various high-profile space missions.

Trivia

• Dr. Mohan is also responsible for training the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C) team and managing mission control staffing for the GN&C.
• She developed policies and procedures for GN&C operations during missions.
• Her inspiration for pursuing a career in space came from watching Star Trek as a child, where she dreamed of exploring new places in the universe.
• As the primary point of contact for the GN&C subsystem, she ensures the spacecraft is correctly oriented in space and maneuvers it as needed for mission objectives.

Dr. Swati Mohan’s dedication and expertise have made her an integral part of NASA’s groundbreaking missions, and her future endeavors promise to continue shaping the field of space exploration.