Abstract
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I'd moved from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to NASA in 2008 to take on the management of the Astrobiology Program. I already knew plenty about project and program management after 20 years with the Survey. But USGS doesn't do missions. Working on MSL would be something new for me. And it turned out to be something thrilling, moving, even inspirational as well. I'd been following MSL planning closely long before Michael extended his invitation, as I'd been a member of NASA's review panel for MSL instrument proposals. And though I'd been enthusiastic about astrobiology before I'd joined NASA, now I was deeply committed to the health and advancement of the field, not only as a program manager but also as a practicing microbiologist.
Our work during the months leading up to the launch of MSL was intense. On top of everything else, my boss, Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division, had decided to invite the entire community of astrobiologists supported by our program. I was thrilled about this decision, but it meant lots of additional planning and organizing. On November 19, NASA delayed the launch from November 25, the day after Thanksgiving, to Saturday, November 26, to enable the replacement of a flight termination system battery. Small setback, no biggie, but it meant waiting one more day for launch.
After months of anxious anticipation, finally it was time for me to head to Cape Canaveral for the launch. My extended family of NASA colleagues and astrobiologists virtually took over the beachfront Royal Mansions resort, trickling in over the few days before Thanksgiving. (If you're thinking “boondoggle,” forget it—I didn't have time to go swimming once while I was there!) In addition, I'd invited my brother and a bunch of cousins, nieces, and nephews to join me for the launch.
I arrived on Tuesday, November 22, and went straight from the Orlando airport to NASA Kennedy Space Center to participate in a press conference on “looking for signs of life in the universe,” along with my friends and colleagues Jamie Foster, Pan Conrad, Steve Benner, and Cassie Conley. It went well. We were concerned, as always, about making it clear that MSL's experiments were designed to assess habitability, not to detect life. I think everybody got the message. I spent most of the rest of that day in meetings.
Ditto for Wednesday the 23rd. On Wednesday, however, we also had to process the sad, sad news that Lynn Margulis, a pioneering member of NASA's exobiology/astrobiology community and a role model to me and many other women in science, had passed away on November 22.
Thanksgiving Day was (mostly) a day off from work. We gathered together on the lawn of the Royal Mansions that afternoon for a Thanksgiving feast, turkey and all, palm trees rustling in the background. We were all up early on Friday to get back to work. RAD Principal Investigator Don Hassler had decided we should try to see the Atlas V rocket that would launch MSL into space before it was rolled out to its launch pad. At the end of the day we drove over to the assembly building where United Launch Alliance (ULA) had put the rocket together. The guards there said we couldn't go into the building unless we were escorted by a ULA employee. We didn't know any employees.…Back out in the parking lot, Don laid on the charm with a clocked-out employee (thank you, Ronnie!) who agreed to take us in. He spent two hours walking us through the facility. It's impossible for me to describe the scale and complexity of the place. All we could say was “Wow.”
Launch day was almost too exciting to take. We were all up and standing in line before dawn to get on the buses that would take us to our launch viewing sites. Yes, it was early, but we were all keyed up. Yes, we had a T-shirt: my colleague Shawn Domagal-Goldman had a few dozen red ones made up that said: Less than 1% of the Solar System hosts over 99% of the known life #occupyEarth #astrobiology
We'd done all we could, and now we could only pray for a successful launch. As it turned out, launch day was spectacular—clear, sunny, breezy, a lovely fall Florida morning. I felt like I'd been holding my breath for hours, but at last, at 10:02 a.m. EST November 26, MSL took off. The launch was letter-perfect (and picture-perfect—the landscape of the Cape is so beautiful!). We were whooping and hollering and crying, too. The rest of the day was a time to celebrate, at a postlaunch lunch in Port Canaveral and, in the evening, a concert with musician and NASA fan will.i.am.
From launch to landing, time flew for me back at HQ. I was very, very busy with budget planning and other duties as NASA's Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, not to mention many meetings with the MSL team. Suddenly it was August 2012 and time to fly out to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to get ready for the landing. I arrived at JPL a few days in advance. Again, my brother and other family members joined me to provide moral support and share in the excitement. At JPL, the collective anxiety and anticipation was palpable. We had meeting after meeting with various engineering and science teams, making sure that we were ready. JPL's public affairs staff kept busy running briefings for the large turnout of global media representatives.
MSL's Curiosity rover landed on Mars, safe and sound and right on time, at 1:31 a.m. EDT August 6 (10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5), beginning its two-year prime mission to investigate whether Mars has ever been habitable for microbial life. It seemed like there were hundreds of people in JPL's mission control room. I was co-located with the science team for landing. The energy level there was through the roof. The Webmasters at NASA headquarters reported that traffic on
You might think that, after reaching such a lofty pinnacle, the MSL team might feel a little bit of a letdown. I can tell you firsthand, though: absolutely not. If anything, our work had just begun—especially for the science team. After years of planning, now we were going to get started on the really good stuff.
I spent much of August at JPL, working on Mars time and wondering what day it was and whether (and when) I was supposed to eat. Only half-jokingly, I begged my boss, Jim Green, to let me go back to JPL and stay. I loved being there with the team en masse, poring over the early data products. As discussions of the mission's goal of exploring habitability progressed and plans for possible targets and strategies were developed, I witnessed excited conversions from mere planetary geologist to astrobiologist in more than a few members of the MSL team! The whole experience seemed so much more satisfying than the budgetary drudgery I had to deal with back at HQ. But I know, of course, that no budget means no science, so back to DC I went.
My experience on my first planetary exploration mission has been fantastic, a personal and professional “best.” My enthusiasm for space exploration has shifted from high gear into turbo-drive. I'm excited and honored to be part of the MSL team, filling a role at the heart of NASA's first astrobiology mission to Mars since Viking. I can't wait for the science results to roll in. The privilege has been worth every lost hour of sleep, every missed meal, all the stress and the headaches. This may have been both my first and my last opportunity to work on a flagship planetary mission, and I'm grateful for it.
My colleagues and I in the Planetary Sciences Division hope that others at NASA recognize the accomplishment of launching and landing Curiosity as just the beginning of an extended opportunity to engage the public in the exciting, ongoing adventure of exploring the Solar System and looking for life.