Dream Jobs: NASA project manager
Dream Jobs: NASA project manager By NASA.gov, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.28.16 Word Count 796 Level 1020L
TOP: Anita Sengupta enjoying a weekend with her sport bike in the Southern California mountains. Courtesy of NASA. SECOND: Aboard the International Space Station mockup. Courtesy of NASA. THIRD: With the engineering model of the Mars Curiosity rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Courtesy of NASA. BOTTOM: Teaching children about Mars exploration at the Muktangan school in Mumbai, India. Courtesy of NASA.
Anita Sengupta is an instrument mission project manager at NASA, the U.S. space agency.
Where are you from? I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to New York when I was 3. I've been in California for the past 15 years for graduate school and to work for NASA.
Describe the first time you made a personal connection with space. When I was 6 years old, I watched "Star Trek" with my dad and the "Doctor Who" TV series. The idea of alien worlds and civilizations made me wonder what else was out there and what I could do to be a space explorer.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
1
How did you end up working in the space program? I always wanted to work in the space program, so I chose aerospace engineering as my major in college. Then I got my master's and doctorate degrees in the same field. My first job was working in the aerospace industry for Boeing. I worked on the Delta IV rocket engine, the X37, which is a reusable unmanned spacecraft, and the rocket system for the XM Radio satellite. I got hired at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) three years later. I worked on the propulsion system for the DS1/Dawn spacecraft, which visited the dwarf planet Ceres. I also worked on the parachute system for the Mars Science Laboratory, the official name of the Curiosity rover, which explored Mars. Other projects included the SAGE mission to Venus and the Mars Ascent Vehicle. I am now working at an atomic physics facility for the International Space Station (ISS), called the Cold Atom Laboratory, it studies ultra-cold gasses on the space station.
Who inspired you? Mr. Spock and Data from "Star Trek," the Doctor from "Doctor Who," my mom and dad.
What is an instrument mission project manager? I have led the design, development, production, and test of the Cold Atom Laboratory mission. I am the team leader and will be the mission manager when we send it to the ISS next year. It has experienced the most personal growth of my career as a project manager. It has also been the coolest; we are going to make the coldest spot in the universe on board the ISS.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
2
Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career. Landing the Curiosity rover on Mars. I worked for many years on developing the parachute that sent Curiosity down to Mars. I specifically studied how the parachute would behave when it enters the atmosphere of the Red Planet. I spent years testing it in wind tunnels and conducting computer simulations to make sure it would be strong enough to do the job. It was one of the highlights of my career when it landed safely on Aug. 5, 2012. We called it the "seven minutes of terror," because it was the most complicated spacecraft landing.
What advice would you give someone who wants to take the same career path as you? If you put your mind to something, it will happen. We dream about where we want our tomorrow to be. If you want to be part of the space program, you will be if you work hard, study hard and pursue your passions.
What do you do for fun? I am a pilot and fly all over the Southern California area as part of the California Institute of Technology flying club. I go to places like Big Bear, Death Valley, Mohave, Santa Barbara and Las Vegas. I ride a sport bike on weekends, so you can find me driving through the canyons on Angeles Crest Highway, the Santa Monica Mountains and down the Pacific Coast Highway. I also like to snowboard and run. I am a research professor at the University of Southern California. I teach students how to design spacecraft, and entry, descent and landing systems. I love sharing my experiences with the next generation of engineers.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
3
I love to do programs about space exploration. I think the message of space exploration is inspirational to people from all walks of life. I have been all over Southern California, the United States and several countries talking to students and the public about Mars exploration and the real Martian, the Curiosity rover. I want to make a difference and be a positive role model, encouraging girls and minority groups to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
What advice would you give a student interested in science, math or engineering? There is no better training than an engineering degree. You will learn how to solve problems and find new solutions. Take as many math and science classes as you can in high school and then study the subject degree that fascinates you most. The sky is not the limit – only the beginning.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
4
Quiz 1
Select the paragraph from the section "What do you do for fun?" that BEST explains how Sengupta helps support future NASA employees by sharing her expertise.
2
Which section MOST highlights the idea that Sengupta has worked on several different projects in her career?
3
4
(A)
"Describe the first time you made a personal connection with space."
(B)
"How did you end up working in the space program?"
(C)
"What is an instrument mission project manager?"
(D)
"Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career."
Why does the author include the section "Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career"? (A)
to detail a specific project Sengupta worked hard on
(B)
to compare Sengupta's career successes to those of her peers
(C)
to describe why Sengupta is extremely successful at her current position
(D)
to demonstrate how important teamwork is in Sengupta's profession
What is the MOST LIKELY reason for including information in the section "How did you end up working in the space program?" (A)
to entertain the reader with stories about Sengupta's work
(B)
to compare and contrast between Sengupta's work and the author's work
(C)
to demonstrate how challenging it is to enter this type of profession today
(D)
to give readers a sense of how they could pursue a similar career, and what that career might be like
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
5
TOP: Anita Sengupta enjoying a weekend with her sport bike in the Southern California mountains. Courtesy of NASA. SECOND: Aboard the International Space Station mockup. Courtesy of NASA. THIRD: With the engineering model of the Mars Curiosity rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Courtesy of NASA. BOTTOM: Teaching children about Mars exploration at the Muktangan school in Mumbai, India. Courtesy of NASA.
Anita Sengupta is an instrument mission project manager at NASA, the U.S. space agency.
Where are you from? I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to New York when I was 3. I've been in California for the past 15 years for graduate school and to work for NASA.
Describe the first time you made a personal connection with space. When I was 6 years old, I watched "Star Trek" with my dad and the "Doctor Who" TV series. The idea of alien worlds and civilizations made me wonder what else was out there and what I could do to be a space explorer.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
1
How did you end up working in the space program? I always wanted to work in the space program, so I chose aerospace engineering as my major in college. Then I got my master's and doctorate degrees in the same field. My first job was working in the aerospace industry for Boeing. I worked on the Delta IV rocket engine, the X37, which is a reusable unmanned spacecraft, and the rocket system for the XM Radio satellite. I got hired at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) three years later. I worked on the propulsion system for the DS1/Dawn spacecraft, which visited the dwarf planet Ceres. I also worked on the parachute system for the Mars Science Laboratory, the official name of the Curiosity rover, which explored Mars. Other projects included the SAGE mission to Venus and the Mars Ascent Vehicle. I am now working at an atomic physics facility for the International Space Station (ISS), called the Cold Atom Laboratory, it studies ultra-cold gasses on the space station.
Who inspired you? Mr. Spock and Data from "Star Trek," the Doctor from "Doctor Who," my mom and dad.
What is an instrument mission project manager? I have led the design, development, production, and test of the Cold Atom Laboratory mission. I am the team leader and will be the mission manager when we send it to the ISS next year. It has experienced the most personal growth of my career as a project manager. It has also been the coolest; we are going to make the coldest spot in the universe on board the ISS.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
2
Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career. Landing the Curiosity rover on Mars. I worked for many years on developing the parachute that sent Curiosity down to Mars. I specifically studied how the parachute would behave when it enters the atmosphere of the Red Planet. I spent years testing it in wind tunnels and conducting computer simulations to make sure it would be strong enough to do the job. It was one of the highlights of my career when it landed safely on Aug. 5, 2012. We called it the "seven minutes of terror," because it was the most complicated spacecraft landing.
What advice would you give someone who wants to take the same career path as you? If you put your mind to something, it will happen. We dream about where we want our tomorrow to be. If you want to be part of the space program, you will be if you work hard, study hard and pursue your passions.
What do you do for fun? I am a pilot and fly all over the Southern California area as part of the California Institute of Technology flying club. I go to places like Big Bear, Death Valley, Mohave, Santa Barbara and Las Vegas. I ride a sport bike on weekends, so you can find me driving through the canyons on Angeles Crest Highway, the Santa Monica Mountains and down the Pacific Coast Highway. I also like to snowboard and run. I am a research professor at the University of Southern California. I teach students how to design spacecraft, and entry, descent and landing systems. I love sharing my experiences with the next generation of engineers.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
3
I love to do programs about space exploration. I think the message of space exploration is inspirational to people from all walks of life. I have been all over Southern California, the United States and several countries talking to students and the public about Mars exploration and the real Martian, the Curiosity rover. I want to make a difference and be a positive role model, encouraging girls and minority groups to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
What advice would you give a student interested in science, math or engineering? There is no better training than an engineering degree. You will learn how to solve problems and find new solutions. Take as many math and science classes as you can in high school and then study the subject degree that fascinates you most. The sky is not the limit – only the beginning.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
4
Quiz 1
Select the paragraph from the section "What do you do for fun?" that BEST explains how Sengupta helps support future NASA employees by sharing her expertise.
2
Which section MOST highlights the idea that Sengupta has worked on several different projects in her career?
3
4
(A)
"Describe the first time you made a personal connection with space."
(B)
"How did you end up working in the space program?"
(C)
"What is an instrument mission project manager?"
(D)
"Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career."
Why does the author include the section "Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career"? (A)
to detail a specific project Sengupta worked hard on
(B)
to compare Sengupta's career successes to those of her peers
(C)
to describe why Sengupta is extremely successful at her current position
(D)
to demonstrate how important teamwork is in Sengupta's profession
What is the MOST LIKELY reason for including information in the section "How did you end up working in the space program?" (A)
to entertain the reader with stories about Sengupta's work
(B)
to compare and contrast between Sengupta's work and the author's work
(C)
to demonstrate how challenging it is to enter this type of profession today
(D)
to give readers a sense of how they could pursue a similar career, and what that career might be like
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
5
