NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - American Dreaming with José Díaz-Balart: NASA engineers Elio Morillo and Roxana González Burgos

Episode Date: April 16, 2021

NASA engineers Elio Morillo and Roxana González Burgos share their interplanetary journey from Puerto Rico to Mars. They tell José Díaz-Balart about their American Dream and their hopes to inspire future Latino generations to take the lead on the forefronts of technology.

What does the American dream mean to you? What it means to me is to being able to bring up my community with me. That is part of the dream that I am building. I want to see more people like me in the forefront of technology. We build on previous knowledge. And right now, we are building knowledge for future generations. Elio Morillo, Roxana Gonzalez Burgos, it is such a pleasure to meet you and to have an opportunity to get to know you a little bit. Thanks for being with me. Well, thank you for having us.

You both are so intricately involved in the Mars rover and in our mission to Mars. And it's so fascinating because when we see what just recently Perseverance was able to accomplish, we all stand in awe. But it's difficult, I think, for us to understand just how complicated, how difficult it is to carry out this mission to Mars. And it's so wonderful to see two of the people that are so intricately involved in that mission. And Elio, let me start with you. You're born in Ecuador, raised in Puerto Rico, spent time in New York.

What is it for you that when you were growing up, space meant for you? Yeah, I'm a nomad. And now I'm even traveling between planets in a certain way. It's fantastic. The opportunities I've had come from a place of struggle, but I have been fortunate enough and have worked hard enough to be able to get to where I am. You know, Space, it has given me a glimpse into really difficult challenges. I think the interest in space is almost inherent to my story as an immigrant, where it is so difficult to go through these experiences. It is very similar to pursue difficult challenges in space. I think there are some parallels in my technical career and in my personal life in that sense.

And ever since I was a kid, I learned a lot through more than anything shows, you know, from like PBS or even watching things like, you know, Cartoon Network, what was Dexter's Laboratory. These things like instill these ideas that one day I can be one of these scientists. I can start exploring these technologies that explore other worlds. My mom has all the credit in that sense, too, because since I was very young, it was instilled in me that I would have to go pursue an education to be able, live my dream. And here I am working on a mission that's exploring another world. And I'm always having a ton of fun with it. It's interesting that you talk about that relation, right, between being an immigrant and facing unknown challenges

and realities in a new country with new idiosyncrasies, new language, new everything. And your mom actually left Ecuador for New York and really started a new life because she wanted something better for you. Yeah. And it's even difficult to put myself in her shoes at the time. You know, she had nearly 20 plus years, uh, in a career as a teacher, as an educator and to have to drop everything and start from scratch. I can just only barely imagine what that's like. Um, and all of it really just to make sure that I had a safe, secure future. And, you know, I will always be very grateful for all the sacrifices my mom has undergone and how hard she's worked and being that example for me.

Roxana, let's talk a little bit about the journey, being in Puerto Rico, not speaking English, and dreaming of the stars. It's interesting because, you know, when we think of space programs or science, technology, there is such a dire lack of women. And then Latinos, just not there for the most part. Yeah, you're definitely correct there. It always felt very distant for me to be, you know, to achieve that dream. It was my academic mentor that told me, hey, there's this opportunity at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I confess I didn't know what was it at the time. And she told me, so you got to apply for this. So I applied.

Next day, I get an interview. The following day, I get an offer. And I am like, oh, my God, I'm going to California. I'm going to California. And first, I don't feel comfortable with my English. I was very self-conscious about it, mostly because it wasn't perfect. And also because I could not speak it as fast as I speak Spanish. Does that make sense for people in the Caribbean?

Oh, yeah. I think we can all agree that when you speak two languages and one is English and one is Spanish, you're never able to get as many words out in English as you do in a second in Spanish. Exactly. I need to filter out what I needed to say. So, gladly, I had beautiful co-workers.

They were willing to help me with that thing that I thought it was a limitation. I will tell them, can you please correct me? And can you please, you know, like every time I say something that sounds crazy, just come to me, correct me. And over the years, you know, after five years of working with Rockets and really cool teams, I feel very comfortable about it. And it's no longer a limitation for me. Roxana, was there ever a time when you were thinking about, you know, computers and technology and your future that someone said,

pero eso no es para las niñas. That's not for girls. Because if you look, there are very few women in that field. I did face some challenges in working in the field and with people that will underestimate me just because I'm a woman. I promised myself never to stood out because I'm a woman, but because I'm a good engineer and because I was good at what I do. And up to this point, I think that I have kept that promise. Elio, you are so important in creating essentially a model here on Earth that is utilized so that instructions etc software issues can be dealt with on Earth before it gets to Mars.

Can you explain to me what that is? I've been involved in what is called the system testbed at JPL. So we have a facility called the Mars Yard, as well as another building where we have different sets of computers that are intended to replicate different aspects of the mission. So as you have been following along with Mars 2020, we had our launch, we had our cruise through space, we had the very exciting entry, descent, and landing, and then we have the surface operations. So all those different stages of the mission, we have designed systems of computers that are specifically useful for those different stages. So if you come to JPL, we have our Mars Yard where we have the Earth version of Perseverance. And the Earth version is called

Optimism. There's basically an inside joke with the team as we do testing. Our motto is typically no optimism. So once we have optimism on the ground here, it kind of changed how we do things. But optimism is the Earth model. And what that allows us to do, and this is the Earth model of the rover in particular. At this point, we're already operating nominally on the surface of Mars, so we have this version here on Earth with the intent of using it for fully characterizing those capabilities we run into some kind of issue. That could be a hardware issue. That could be a software issue. And it's very important for us to be able to replicate that here on Earth because right now, obviously, we do not have a crew of engineers or mechanics that can go fix it on the surface of Mars. Hopefully, one day we do.

And I think soon enough, we will. But for now, we have to basically try and replicate those issues here on Earth with optimism. And along with that, debug and come up with solutions and workarounds that then we can uplink to the spacecraft on Mars. So it's very important for us to be able to have this Earth model to be able to test with and fully characterize, you know, all those hardware and software interactions so that we're prepared to operate on the surface of Mars. So Elio, the Optimism is actually life size here on Earth? That's right. So Optimism is designed to be, in terms of size and geometrically speaking, it is one-to-one scale what Perseverance is on Earth. The wheel placement is very similar to what a

Mini Cooper is, by the way. So it's a relatively big rover. Functionally, it works pretty much, by all definitions, just as Perseverance works on Mars. But of course, here on Earth, we have to design for Earth gravity. We have to design for a hot summer day in Los Angeles. So we have to run cooling pipes around it because it could get hot very quickly here. Something that we don't see on Mars. On Mars, it's the complete opposite. Mars is very cold.

And, you know, perseverance and optimism, not only the names of the rovers, but also, I think, kind of a leitmotif for your life story, right? For me, when the name, you know, perseverance was chosen, obviously that resonated because a lot of my personal story has been exactly that is just persevering through so many obstacles, so many barriers that have been thrown my way along my entire life, you know, going from poverty to working class to now middle class has been quite,

quite an entire experience in, you know, breaking the poverty cycle with, you know, with my family. And that has been a humongous aspect of, you know, becoming an engineer, becoming an engineer for NASA that I like to share because, you know, if I did it, I know that there's other kids out there that can get that motivation. So yeah, perseverance and optimism are significant personally. Roxana, explain to me a little bit because I read and I think I understand what you do. And both Elio and you, I pretty much conceptually understand what you're doing. Obviously, there is a vast space between what you guys know and what I'll never understand. But you are actually involved

in the conversation between different aspects of this mission. Correct. So basically, think of it as an interpreter. The rover speaks code and understands computer language. And we as humans, we speak English or our own native languages, right? And when we have humans, which we call operators, which is a group of scientists and engineers here at JPL, they decide what they want to do for the rover during a sol. A sol is an equivalent of a day here on Earth, but a day on Mars, which is a little bit longer than a day here on Earth. And so basically, let's say that a group of scientists say,

hey, I want to test that rock. So first, Elio will go and do all the drive and test how to take a look at that rock. And then eventually, a group of scientists will make a plan. And think of a plan as a group of Legos, a group of a lot of events that happen on the spacecraft. Then we take that plan that is very easy for us to understand and we convert that into commands and sequences. And then we send that to the rover for it to execute. So it's another completely different language,

but in the final analysis, it's trying to get something done through commands, right? So here's the thing. Like when you remove that complexity from operators, they can focus on the real science. And that's what we want to accomplish is so that they don't have to care about all those that, you know, how to write in code, taking a picture is just, hey, something will translate this for me. And I know that that activity will execute as expected. So we try to help operators and scientists to focus on the

mission and the science we're creating. Roxana, in a way also a representation of your life story, right? Exactly. And Elio, when you on earth are dealing with a problem, either hardware or software, on optimism, how long does it take to get that information that Roxana has been working on as far as the language? How far does it, how long does it take to get to Perseverance? Is it almost immediate? Depending where we are on orbit, communication with Mars can range between 7 and 20 minutes. And there are times in the year where Mars is on the other side of the sun and Earth is on the other side of the sun. We can't actually talk to Mars or the rover is left on its own. So we have that challenge of one way.

Lighttime is what it's called. One way communication time that takes, you know, between seven, 20 minutes. And then similarly, it takes, you know, seven to 20 minutes for that data to come back. And not only do we have that time difference, but we can only extract as much information as long as the orbiters that are on Mars pass by the rover. So we extract packets at a time. We may not necessarily get full pictures of information in a single communication pass from an orbiter. So throughout a day here on Earth, we are listening for these orbiter passes on Mars, which we have several orbiters, several satellites on Mars, grabbing information from the rover and beaming it back to earth throughout the day. What that allows us to do is then be able to put together the story of what happened, right? Because what Rosanna was describing is that, you know, we only send instructions.

Then after we send instructions, the rover does it all on its own. There's nobody, as we say, in the loop. There's no one really, you know, behind a remote control, working on this rover, the rover goes and acts on its own. And then after the activities are done, all that information has to be grabbed and sent back to Earth. And that's where we start grabbing these packets of information, depending how important they may be, and start putting together a story. So that's actually one of my roles as an operator is, you know, once we start grabbing, getting all that data down here on earth, we start putting together all these pieces of information that ultimately tells the story of what happened that day, that things work as expected, things go wrong. And now, of course,

if something does go wrong, it's like, okay, hey, somebody in the team reacts, hey, this right here didn't go as expected. And then we'll get together as a team and start thinking, okay, why didn't it go as expected? Is this a real problem? Was this bad instructions from us? Did the rover see some kind of bug or some kind of fault that we weren't expecting? If that's the case, then what we try and do is, okay, here were the initial conditions that led to this problem. Can we use these initial conditions on optimism and replicate the problem? Once we understand that an issue can be replicated, we can act around it and work around it. That's how most issues go. And the challenge with what Rosanna was talking about, where we have this difference in our Martian day, right?

A day on Mars, by the way, is about 24 hours and 40 minutes. So here on Earth, obviously, our day is 24 hours. So to make that distinction, like Rosanna was saying, we use the term Sol. So a Martian Sol is a Martian day. And what happens here on Earth, especially for those first 90 Sols after we touched down, many of us are living on what we call Mars time. What that means is that our day to day is shifting by 40 minutes. Are you living on Mars time right now? That's right. I'm living on Mars time. And it just so happens that this week, Mars time is aligned with Pacific time here at JPL. So I'm awake during the sunlight here in California. But a few weeks ago, and even last week, I was working overnight, because that's what aligned with that Martian afternoon where we were receiving data. So I'm living in this, in a way,

constant jet lag, because I'm trying to be awake and focused, while Percy, right, Perseverance is working hard on Mars. So what do you think being a Latina has given you? We like to work hard. I saw that in my grandma, in my mother, and all the women in my family. They're really hard workers. And I think that being on this mission, like that we need to work hard.

I think that being a Latina has given me that force. Just keep going. So I think that's something that I got out of like being a Latina is one of those things, just being like able to work hard and also represent. I want other Latinas to see, wow, she got there. I can get there too. And that is important as well. Elio, para ti ser latino ha representado muchos regalos. Being a Latino has given you many gifts. What were some of those? Yeah, I, you know, what Rosana is saying is true. As an example, I always had my mom, right? So I had the Latina at home working really hard. And that was my example growing up. And that is exactly how I, you know, drive myself every single day. I want to make sure that the mission succeeds. I want to make sure that my team succeeds. I'm always looking out for my peers. I help wherever I can. I make sure what I need to do gets done and excel at it as well. And I think all that comes from the level of care I was always shown, that level of empathy that we have in our culture that makes us care for each other. I think it's really important.

And that is why we have been able to succeed even through the pandemic, right? I think it's been very inspiring to see how all of us, the entire world has been so challenged, of course, with the last year now. And despite these challenges, we have a spacecraft that traveled through space, right? It went interplanetary, got to another planet and landed safely and is now starting to do science. I am very proud to bring my Latino culture to the table and have a voice at the table. And there are people before us, right?

We have great examples. And many of you have heard of Diana D'Amiglio, who has been working with us. I get the pleasure of working with her all the time. She is one of my leads. And I see her as a mentor and as a guide. Roxana, there's a saying, shoot for the stars and you'll land on the moon, but you've landed on Mars already.

Do you feel you've reached your American dream? Have you fulfilled your American dream? Like Elliot mentioned, we build on previous knowledge and right now we are building knowledge for future generations. And we are showing to the world that there's really good talent coming out of Puerto Rico. And I think that is important to show people back in the island that we are capable, that we are good at what we do, that when we put our heart into something, we can achieve it.

And showing that to people in the island, I think is very important. Whether I have achieved that or not, I'm trying to make as much noise as I can so that people hear me back there. So that people get to know my story. So that they get to know, hey, she struggled with English. She made it. And the people that thought that that was a limitation, that they have a little hope. Elio, what does the American dream mean to you? What it means to me is to being able to bring up my community with me. I have been involved

for many years with an organization called the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. And, you know, one of our big, big goals is to, you know, achieve parity for our community, right? Achieve equity. And what we're seeing is that, you know, there are so many opportunities in STEM. There's a lot of development happening in technology. And we want to make sure that our trajente, right, come along the ride because there's a lot to contribute. There's a lot of development to come that is going to directly affect how we continue to succeed in the country and in the world. And I think one of the cool things about being in NASA is that, I heard a lead say this recently, is that we are in the business of inspiration. And in being part of this is exactly what Rosanna has been saying, is trying to communicate to students and to younger folks and their parents and their respective families, you know, we're here.

We've worked very hard. We have achieved these, you know, incredible feats of engineering. And we want more Latinos to be part of this, right? Like that is important. We want our people to come along. Sometimes it's lonely. I'm not going to lie. It's not perfect. We can still, we need more representation. And in sharing these stories, I think I hope to inspire our future generations to come along for this incredible ride. And that is part of the dream that I am building. I want to see more people like me in the forefront of technology. On a personal level, and just each one of you can tell me, and I'd like to start with you, Elliot, when you're sitting there in Mars time, do you ever, to quote the Grateful Dead, think, what a long, strange, and I would add, wonderful,

extraordinary trip this has been? And do you ever think about the vicissitudes and difficulties and fears that your mom no doubt had along the way and now she sees you where you are on mars time do you ever just sit back and go, this is really out of this world? Yeah, I mean, it literally is. In sharing the stories, yes, I get to think of all the sacrifices of the people before me, the sacrifices my mom made. And having this platform to be able to share this with people and have people tag along. I think one of the coolest things I've seen over the last few months with NASA in particular, for the first time, a program had coverage in Spanish from NASA officially, right? What was entry, descent and landing and that whole activity. We had the main, you know,

the English program, that's the traditional one. And then we also had the Spanish program and being able to share my story through there and have people follow along, inspire people, show them what we're doing and how day to keep working really hard and continue pushing through Mars time, even though my body is not so happy with me. Making sure that perseverance is doing incredible science and ultimately help us understand, right, whether or not we're alone in the universe. I think that's fundamentally what we're trying to go after here. Roxana, tú piensas a menudo en de dónde vienes y la responsabilidad que tienes por ser quien eres. Do you, Roxana, often think about where you come from and the responsibility that you have precisely because of where you come from. Absolutely. I usually remind people that were on my path,

I'm here because of you. Whether it was my parents, my mentors, colleagues, teachers, so many people. And now it's my job to help others to get where I am. Once you set something as a goal and you really work hard for it, you get there. And I feel that every single day is a challenge. There's something new. And I try to look my way and keep working hard to demonstrate it is possible. So like Elia said, just sharing the story, whether it's in your platform, whether it is talking in a school or any other opportunity, it is very important.

I don't know your parents, but through each one of you, I have learned to admire them because you are a digna representacion. You are an extraordinary representation of the work, passion, and compassion of your family. Thank you for your time. Thanks to you so much for inviting us. Thank you for having us.