merelygifted:

‘Touchdown confirmed!’ Meet the Indian American scientist who led NASA’s successful rover landing

NASA’s Perseverance rover made a successful landing on Mars on Thursday. But the success of the Mars 2020 mission wasn’t the only thing people were celebrating nationwide—they were celebrating diversity. An Indian American engineer played a key role in the landing as the scientist who led the guidance, navigation, and control operations of the Mars 2020 mission.

During the descent and landing phase of the mission, Dr. Swati Mohan provided updates on the mission that were broadcast around the world as part of NASA’s livestream of the historic event. She was the “eyes and ears” for NASA’s most sophisticated spacecraft to date. In addition to that, she led the attitude control system of the mission during its nearly seven-month and 293-million mile journey as the lead systems engineer.

She was also the first to confirm the rover survived its landing on the Red Planet. “Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance is safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life,” Mohans said from mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. According to her NASA bio, as operations lead Mohan serves as the primary point of communication between the Guidance, Navigation, and Control subsystem and the rest of the project.

“The spacecraft Perseverance is currently transmitting heartbeat tones. These tones indicate that Perseverance is operating normally and has nothing significant to report,” Mohan said as she provided updates on the status of the rover. A video of the moment, shared by NASA, shows Mohan wearing a small bindi on her forehead—a Hindu symbol that was quickly noted by Twitter users worldwide.

Many took to Twitter to not only applaud Mohan’s accomplishments and coverage of the landing, but to note that her wearing the bindi was a proud moment of representation and encouragement for those who have been bullied or afraid to wear it openly in the U.S. The tiny but powerful symbol she wore gave hope to Indian Americans that the country was moving further away from xenophobia. …

…Mohan came to the U.S. as a toddler and was raised in the Washington, D.C. metro area. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and a Master of Science and doctorate degree from MIT in Aeronautics/Astronautics. According to her NASA bio, the mission to Mars was not her first—Mohan has worked on multiple NSASA projects, including Cassini and GRAIL.

“I’ve been on Perseverance longer than I’ve been at any school. I’ve been on Perseverance longer than my younger daughter is alive,” she told USA Today Network newspaper Florida Today. “It’s just taken up such a large portion of my life for so long.” …

merelygifted:

FBI and NYPD conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, late cop alleges in shocking letter

gryggs:

Disability Pride Month 07-23-20: villain?

(though a spider chair WOULD be pretty rad)

[ID: 2 digitally painted comic panels. /Image 1: Top text reads: “DISABLED PEOPLE IN MOVIES:” Panel depicts a bipedal crocodile without a left leg sitting in a robotic chair that has six spider-like legs. She grins and raises her hands in victory as she says: “I’m suffering all the time, so I’m going to make everyone else suffer! mwahahahaha” In the foreground is a bipedal dingo labeled “‘hero,’” who cries and points at the crocodile. She says: “I think different bodies are scary!” /Image 2: Top text reads: “DISABLED PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE:” Panel depicts the same characters in a different scene. The crocodile uses crutches and makes a purchase in a store. The dingo is in the background, gaping and pointing at the crocodile’s crutches. The crocodile says: “can u stop” /END ID]

workingclasshistory:

On this day, 22 February 1943, three German White Rose activists, students Christoph Probst, Hans and Sophie Scholl, were executed by guillotine for urging the overthrow of the Nazi government: just some of the many Germans who attempted to oppose fascism. As the blade fell, Hans called out “Let freedom live!”
Learn more about anti-Nazi Germany youth in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/04/04/wch4-anti-nazi-youth-movements-in-world-war-ii/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1657316714453472/?type=3

merelygifted:

President Joseph Biden immediately provided emergency assistance to Texas after the recent winter storm damages and ensuing power failure of Texas’ electrical grid.

What was Texas’ Republican Governor, Greg Abbott’s response to this almost instantaneous provision of emergency relief? Was he grateful? Was he supportive?

No. He decided to be a jackass.

As reported by USA Today:

President Joe Biden signed a major disaster declaration for Texas, the White House announced Saturday, after a winter storm left much of the state facing power and water shortages, in a move Gov. Greg Abbott characterized as only a “partial” approval of his request for federal assistance.

Abbot requested the disaster declaration Thursday, seeking individual and public assistance for all 254 counties in Texas. Though Biden approved public assistance for all those counties, his declaration provides individual assistance for 77 of them, according to a press release from Abbot’s office.

(emphasis supplied)

Just so it’s clear, this sterling representative of a Republican “personal responsibility” ethic was whining because a Democratic administration actually took the time to conduct a county-by-county analysis of need on the part of Texans in order to distribute much-needed emergency funds.

“I thank President Biden for his assistance as we respond to impacts of winter weather across our state. While this partial approval is an important first step, Texas will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure all eligible Texans have access to the relief they need,” Abbott said in the release. “The funds provided under the Major Disaster Declaration may provide crucial assistance to Texans as they begin to repair their homes and address property damage.”

Note that it wasn’t the colossal failure of the state’s power grid. It was “the impacts of winter weather.” But thanks for the “partial approval.” We’ll be looking for more from our “federal partners,” which “may provide” crucial assistance to Texans.

So hey, thanks, that “may provide” some help to us. ‘Course, we could have done it all on our own if we had to. Uh-huh. …

merelygifted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGsPDgI1QEc

georgeromeros:

Night of the Living Dead (1968) dir. George A. Romero