Moogega Cooper

Last updated
Moogega Cooper
Moogega Cooper.jpg
Other namesMoogega Cooper Stricker
Alma mater Hampton University, BA (2006)
Drexel University College of Engineering, MS and PhD (2009)
Known forLead of Planetary Protection for Mars 2020 Mission
AwardsNASA Early Career Public Achievement Medal
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy, Mechanical Engineering
Institutions NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Thesis Elucidation of Levels of Bacterial Viability Post-Non-Equilibrium Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Treatment
Doctoral advisor Dr. Alexander Fridman
Website https://www.moogega.com

Moogega Cooper (born 1985) is an American astronomer, and the Lead of Planetary Protection for the Mars 2020 Mission and is involved with the InSight Mission. Dr. Cooper also takes part in programs and speaking engagements to encourage young women or and others from underrepresented communities to pursue careers in science and technology. [1]

Contents

Early life

Cooper was born in 1985 in New Jersey to a Korean mother and African-American father, and World War II veteran. [2] She received a B.A. in Physics from Hampton University in 2006, followed by a Masters degree and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in thermal fluid sciences from Drexel University College of Engineering. Cooper's dissertation focused on non-equilibrium plasma sterilization of spacecraft materials, enabling her to obtain a position with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Planetary Protection Group in 2011. [3] Cooper is the Lead of Planetary Protection for the Mars 2020 Mission and is Group Supervisor for the biotechnology and planetary protection team for InSight Mission. Planetary protection is the practice of protecting solar system bodies from contamination by Earth life and protecting Earth from possible life forms that may be returned from other solar system bodies. [4] [5]

Inspiration and Goals

In her talk at the Yakima Town Hall in October 2022, Cooper attributed her passion for exploring space to Carl Sagan's 1980s "Cosmos" series, which included a book and a TV show. [6] [7] She is a strong advocate for increasing the representation of women and minority communities in STEM fields. [6] Cooper has publicly stated her love for working with children through various K-12 student initiatives. [8]

Accomplishments

TV and media appearances

Cooper was a participant on the first season of King of the Nerds , which aired on TBS in 2013, finishing in 5th place. [10] Cooper was a panelist in "The Original Martian Invasion", a 2017 episode of the television series Bill Nye Saves the World . She also appeared in 33 episodes of How the Universe Works from 2015 to 2023. [11] She has also delivered a TEDxMarin talk titled "How to Find Life on Mars While Protecting Earth." [12]

Selected publications

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</span> Research and development center and NASA field center in California, United States

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center in Pasadena, California, United States. Founded in 1936 by Caltech researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and administered and managed by the California Institute of Technology.

<i>2001 Mars Odyssey</i> NASA orbiter for geology and hydrology

2001 Mars Odyssey is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectrometers and a thermal imager to detect evidence of past or present water and ice, as well as study the planet's geology and radiation environment. The data Odyssey obtains is intended to help answer the question of whether life once existed on Mars and create a risk-assessment of the radiation that future astronauts on Mars might experience. It also acts as a relay for communications between the Curiosity rover, and previously the Mars Exploration Rovers and Phoenix lander, to Earth. The mission was named as a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke, evoking the name of his and Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerobot</span>

An aerobot is an aerial robot, usually used in the context of an unmanned space probe or unmanned aerial vehicle.

<i>Mars Pathfinder</i> Mission including first robotic rover to operate on Mars (1997)

Mars Pathfinder is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight, 10.6 kg (23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named Sojourner, the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars Science Laboratory</span> Robotic mission that deployed the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars' habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a human mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methone (moon)</span> Moon of Saturn

Methone is a small, egg-shaped moon of Saturn that orbits out past Saturn's ring system, between the orbits of Mimas and Enceladus. It was discovered in 2004, though it wasn't until 2012 that it was imaged in detail by the Cassini spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary protection</span> Prevention of interplanetary biological contamination

Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth in the case of sample-return missions. Planetary protection reflects both the unknown nature of the space environment and the desire of the scientific community to preserve the pristine nature of celestial bodies until they can be studied in detail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jezero (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Jezero is a crater on Mars in the Syrtis Major quadrangle, about 45.0 km (28.0 mi) in diameter. Thought to have once been flooded with water, the crater contains a fan-delta deposit rich in clays. The lake in the crater was present when valley networks were forming on Mars. Besides having a delta, the crater shows point bars and inverted channels. From a study of the delta and channels, it was concluded that the lake inside the crater probably formed during a period in which there was continual surface runoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endeavour (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Endeavour is an impact crater located in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. Endeavour is about 22 kilometers (14 mi) in diameter. Using Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data, phyllosilicate-bearing outcrops have been detected along its rim. These minerals may have formed under wet conditions in a low-acidic environment during the early history of Mars. There are raised rim segments to the north, east, and southwest. The rim has become worn, rounded and degraded, with infilling of plains material in a manner similar to the Victoria crater.

Interplanetary contamination refers to biological contamination of a planetary body by a space probe or spacecraft, either deliberate or unintentional.

<i>Curiosity</i> (rover) NASA robotic rover exploring Gale crater on Mars

Curiosity is a car-sized Mars rover exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey.

<i>Sojourner</i> (rover) First NASA Mars rover on Mars Pathfinder mission

Sojourner is a robotic Mars rover that landed in the Ares Vallis channel in the Chryse Planitia region of the Oxia Palus quadrangle on July 4, 1997. Sojourner was operational on Mars for 92 sols. It was the first wheeled vehicle to rove on a planet other than Earth and formed part of the Mars Pathfinder mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europa Clipper</span> Planned NASA space mission to Jupiter

Europa Clipper is an interplanetary mission in development by NASA comprising an orbiter. Planned for launch in October 2024, the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.

The Drexel Plasma Institute, in Camden, New Jersey, is the largest university-based plasma research facility in the United States. Led by Drexel University, the members of the scientific team are from University of Illinois at Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. The primary fields of research are applications in medicine, Environmental Control, energy, and agricultural industries. The institute actively develops and researches specific types of plasma discharges such as gliding arc, dielectric barrier discharge, gliding arc tornado, reverse vortex flow, Pulsed Corona Discharge, and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa</span> Near infrared spectrometer

The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) is an imaging near infrared spectrometer on board the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. MISE will examine Europa's surface composition and relate it to the habitability of its internal water ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Y. Oh</span> American spacecraft systems engineer

David Y. Oh is an American spacecraft systems engineer and expert in electric propulsion. Dr. Oh currently works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as the NASA Psyche mission chief engineer. Prior to this role he served as the Project Systems Engineering Manager for Psyche. He was also the cross-cutting phase lead and lead flight director for the NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission and was recognized in popular media for living on Mars time with his family during the month following the landing of the Curiosity rover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Benford</span> American physicist

James Nelson Benford is an American physicist, High-Power Microwave (HPM) scientist, book author, science-fiction writer, and entrepreneur, best known for introducing novel technological concepts and conjectures related to the exploration of outer space, among these the design of laser-driven sailships, the possible use of co-orbital objects by alien probes to spy on earth, and the appraisal of technical and safety issues associated with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1941, as was his twin brother, science-fiction author Greg Benford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return</span> Proposed Mars sample return mission

The NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return is a proposed Flagship-class Mars sample return (MSR) mission to collect Martian rock and soil samples in 43 small, cylindrical, pencil-sized, titanium tubes and return them to Earth around 2033.

References

  1. "NASA/JPL's Moogega Stricker on the Mars 2020 mission and girls in STEM". SYFY Official Site. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  2. Kercher, Sophia (14 May 2014). "Moogega Cooper: The JPL's Space Engineer". LA Weekly .
  3. 1 2 "Moogega Stricker". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  4. "Mars 2020 and the Importance of Planetary Protection – Dr. Moogega Stricker". Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
  5. "NASA Planetary Protection Program". NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.
  6. 1 2 Herald-Republic, TAMMY AYER Yakima (2022-10-20). "Moogega Cooper, who was part of 2020 Mars mission, speaks at Yakima Town Hall". Yakima Herald-Republic. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  7. Jewett, Daniel (2021-06-24). "NASA Scientist Moogega Cooper Is Protecting Planets". Marin Living Magazine. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  8. "NASA/JPL's Moogega Stricker on the Mars 2020 mission and girls in STEM". SYFY Official Site. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 mars.nasa.gov. "Moogega Cooper - Planetary Protection Lead | People Profile". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  10. "Interview with Moogega Cooper". HalfKorean.com. 29 March 2013.
  11. "Moogega Cooper". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  12. Cooper, Moogega (2021-10-11), How to Find Life on Mars While Protecting Earth , retrieved 2024-02-16
  13. 1 2 3 4 planetaryprotection.jpl.nasa.gov. "Moogega Cooper, Ph.D." planetaryprotection.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  14. "The 2015 Forty under Forty" (PDF). Drexel Magazine. 25 (1): 36.