NASA’s Mars Rover Perseverance successfully landed on the Red Planet on Friday (February 19th). It is interesting to note that the American-American Swati Mohan practically led the successful landing of Perseverance.
Swati Mohan was the first to confirm that the rover had successfully landed on the Martian surface. “The touchdown has been confirmed,” said operations leading to Dr. Swati around 3:55 p.m. Eastern Time (2055 GMT), while mission control at NASA’s Pasadena Jet Propulsion Laboratory celebrated the phase.
NASA has released a video of this moment showing Dr. Swati wearing a small band on his forehead. Soon, this caught the attention of Desi Twitterati, who absolutely loved the look of the doctor.
The parachute has been deployed! @NASAPersevere is about to complete it #CountdownToMars: pic.twitter.com/i29Wb4rYlo
– NASA (@NASA) February 18, 2021
After the photo went viral on Twitter, several users praised Dr. Swati, calling her “the lady with the bindi.” Some users shared their stories with their boyfriend Bindi.
– I like the way my Twitter feed loves winning space – Strikingly how diverse NASA is than the years of white boys in a certain age group – This is Dr. Swati Mohan, who wears a bindi no less – especially memories remain in continuation of racist / anti-immigrant “dotbusters”#Perseverance pic.twitter.com/wo3BRwHJ8w
– Tanvi Madan (@tanvi_madan) February 18, 2021
“Confirmed touchdown” announced @DrSwatiMohan, the origin of GN&C operations leads ca. @GODMOTHERS #Perseverance landed inside a crater on Mars.
Done with the Hidden Figure in Space, “Lady with Bindi” Dr. Swati made women proud and inspired to reach Mars! pic.twitter.com/AFZYZzqyrA
– Lakshmi M Puri (@lakshmiunwomen) February 19, 2021
I wore a bindi in elementary school until I was old enough to notice and feel aware of people’s comments. Of course, I still hesitate to post pictures of my childhood because of this. Swati Mohan made me smile 🙂 https://t.co/wfmeoYk0Of
– Hema Mullur (@HemaMullur) February 18, 2021
listen. I wore a bindi to primary school and I was assaulted, physically assaulted, for that. that does all sorts of things to me. swati mohan in control of the mission, thank you. # NASAPerseverance
– Anuradha Damale (ulianulikesstars) February 18, 2021
Swati Mohan came to America as a child. He spent most of his childhood in the North Virginia-Washington DC subway area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Cornell University and completed his MS and PhD at MIT in Aeronautics / Astronautics. Dr. Swati is the leader of Mars 2020 Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C) operations.