The essay is based on a conversation with Kalind Carpenter, a 41-year-old robotic engineer from Pasadena, California. It has been edited to make it clearer.
I remember walking through the doors of NASA and seeing the building where the Moon rovers were made. I was drawn to it.
I graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in industrial and product engineering and went on to study mechanical engineering at California State University. During my master's degree, I was given the chance to be a researcher on a NASA-backed project.
I worked as an engineering intern for NASA before my master's degree. I wouldn't have had these opportunities if it weren't for the relationship with NASA. I was happy when I was accepted. I work in a NASA lab.
I have used gymnastics as a way to think about how I can make my robot balance and move. The Puffer is a robot that inflates on location and has tractor-like tires that help it roll and climb. The Ice Worm was a robot that could climb iced walls, and I helped create a robot that was designed to find life in the ocean of one of the moons of the planet.
Being able to watch missions come to life is one of the best perks of being a NASA employee. NASA attracts an amazing group of individuals from around the world, and being able to interact with people that you deeply respect is one of the perks.
The landing of the Perseverance Rover on the Red Planet was one of the most memorable parties. There were colorful hats all over the place on February 18th, 2021. The strangest thing I can remember is when my colleague and I had to give a presentation on EELS in a large auditorium later that day. We wore hats so people could see us.
The Pasadena lab works on different versions of one robot for years and tries out the most extreme environments on Earth. I've sent my robots to Antarctica, mapped out volcanic fissures in Hawaii and used them as Mars analogues.
I entered the caves of the volcano. The public is not allowed to go to parts of Mount St. Helens. Each year a small group of explorers and scientists visit the cave to look for signs of future eruptions.
We enter the cave with them and test the robot that they are researching. The network of ice caves filled with steam vents was chosen as an analogue for Enceladus. They geyser out into space to make a ring of the planets. The EELS robot looks like a string of beads and is able to adapt to the undulating terrain. It's designed to explore the ocean below the moon's surface.
We face rockslides, open crevasses, and poisonous gases when we work in Mount St. I have been a caver for a long time. Climbers were required to hike many of the peaks around Southern California for physical and environmental training. The mountain-safety team provided helicopter, rope, and ice- safety training on site.
The glacier at the top of the volcano melted under the warm weather when we camped on it. We had to dig new places to pitch the tents.
The purpose of the expedition was to see how the EELS works. We fed the robot samples from inside the caves so it could learn how to use it.
We went into the cave to test the accuracy of the maps. Water Vapors and light reflect differently than rocks and plants, making it hard to see.
Our hope is that the Orbilander flight will carry an EELS robot.
When I was eight, I asked for my bedroom to be wallpapered with pictures of the planets, and by the time I was 10, I was building Lego space bases, robots, and spaceships.
I still have dreams about the moon, but I'm also thinking about the moons in our solar system. The technologies being built will help fight climate change, produce sustainable power, and increase food safety.
I want to inspire more four-year-olds to pursue their dreams and bring a better future as a robot engineer for NASA.
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