Hey doc, how are you?” That was how US President Joe Biden’s greeted Bengaluru-born Dr Swati Mohan, who played a key role in the landing of NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars.
When Swati, the Mars 2020 Guidance & Controls Operations Lead, replied by saying, “Thank you for taking your time to speak with us,” Biden interjected and told her, “Are you kidding me? It’s such an incredible honour speaking to you. You Indian-origin Americans have taken over my country — you, my Vice President, my speechwriter —I tell you, you guys are incredible.”
Biden was speaking during a video conference call with the leadership of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) team led by Dr Michael Watkins.
Swati then went on to tell Biden how her journey in space technology began when she watched her first episode of the TV show Star Trek. “What captured my attention was how a close-knit team was working with the sole purpose of finding new life in space. And when I began working on the Mars mission, it made me feel like I was in the Star Trek team,” said Swati, who added that seeing the touchdown and watching the first images from Mars was like her dream coming alive, as Biden is seen punching his fist in the virtual interaction.
“You say your dream has come alive? You have created a dream for millions of young Americans and have given them a dose of confidence. You did it the American way, you believed in science, you believed hard work,” Biden said.
Sharing her joy of speaking to the President, Swati told her parents Jyoti Mohan and Srinivas Mohan Prabandham in Florida that the venue of her interaction was already freezing and her knees were shaking at the thought of speaking to the President of the US.
“She said she knew what to say to the President, but she had no clue what the President would ask her,” said Prabandham, who added that what was totally unexpected was the President addressing her by her first name.