{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F3a37553f-c995-4186-9d71-498a37f7c618","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"Mars Rovers with Keri Bean","description":"Keri Bean is a systems engineer at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. She is the deputy lead Rover Planner (aka Mars rover driver) on the Curiosity Mars rover and is a Helicopter Integration Engineer for the Mars 2020 mission. She got her bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees at Texas A&M University in meteorology, with her focus on studying the weather on Mars. Her hobbies mostly center around Star Wars, as she is an active member of the R2-D2 Builder\u2019s Club with her very own Astromech and cosplays with the Rebel Legion.\nIn our conversation, we talk about Mars Rovers, Star Wars, and cake decorating.\nShow Notes (link)\n[00:37] Keri's pursuit of meteorology.\n[01:50] Astronomy as a potential path.\n[02:12] Possible career paths in space.\n[02:44] Her introduction to Space Weather\n[03:35] Keri's first experiences with the rover missions.\n[03:54] Spirit and Opportunity Rovers.\n[04:51] Phoenix Mars Lander.\n[05:54] Applying her meteorology studies to her rover mission experiences.\n[06:33] Curiosity Rover.\n[06:50] Keri's path to JPL.\n[08:58] Dawn Mission.\n[09:55] Filling the gaps in knowledge between her meteorology background and her work.\n[10:36] Test beds.\n[11:44] Building her own R2-D2.\n[14:28] On becoming a Rover Planner.\n[16:03] The process for certifying to be a Rover Planner.\n[18:42] Certifying for individual Rovers.\n[19:10] Her role as a Helicopter Integration Engineer on the Perseverance Rover drone, Ingenuity.\n[20:11] Earth-side duplicate and testing of the drone.\n[21:39] A day in the life of Keri.\n[22:56] Working remotely.\n[26:22] Coming up next for Curiosity and Perseverance.\n[26:34] Curiosity: Wet Chemistry Experiment.\n[27:28] Perseverance: Landing Day.\n[27:59] Preparations for Landing Day.\n[29:03] Flight software transitions.\n[30:54] Handling the unexpected.\n[32:14] Bonus Question 1: What hobby or interest do you have that is most unrelated to your field of work?\n[34:07] Keri's cosplay.\n[36:46] Porgs and PORGs.\n[40:27] Bonus Question 2: Which childhood book holds the strongest memories for you?\n[42:04] Bonus Question 3: What advice you would give someone who wants to do what you do? Or what advice should they ignore?\n[43:03] Exploring other topics if they are of interest.\n[43:21] Gaining astronomy experience with the HUBBLE\n[45:38] Reaching out to Keri.\nConnect with STEAM Powered:\nWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitterPatreonKo-Fi","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/d2fae427-beea-40b3-8b03-759085c5a887/4f218729a898be6b6c5e5248b185f1d9.jpg"}