Erisa Hines
Erisa Hines
Erisa K. Hines is a Mars Mobility Systems Engineer and Rover Planner for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL -NASA) in Pasadena, CA. Her job is significantly more complicated and difficult - than simply using GPS and satellite imagery to strategically optimize routes for NASA's Mars Rovercuriosity. "Mars rovers can only transmit direct-to-Earth for at most three hours a day due to power and thermal limitations, even though Earth may be in view much longer." And since Mars rotates on its axis, Curiosity is frequently turning its back on Earth. [undefined] As the Washington Post's Marc Kaufman put it, "Too bad there’s no AAA on Mars as the Curiosity rover faces equipment trouble." Among other terrain difficulties, razor sharp rocks can threaten to entirely disable Curiosity. [undefined] This keeps Erisa very busy finding "less problematic, less dangerous, more easily surmountable terrain" routes while still keeping Curiosity on course for its intermediate and long-term destination objectives. [undefined] (2 min. video)
Curiosity Rover was launched from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC aboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012. Erisa supported flying the rover from Earth to Mars during the Cruise portion of the mission as part of the Attitude control Systems (ACS) team. [undefined] She then joined the Systems team for entry, descent and landing (EDL) on Mars. NASA uses an extensive list of Acronyms in its business and operations - which its people, astronauts, etc. must memorize. [undefined] NASA makes its work look easy; it very much is not. Federal Aviation Administrator Air traffic controllers and Airline pilots similarly use acronyms, but NASA's list is more extensive. [undefined] Abbreviations once memorized both speed and facilitate communications.
Nov 2016: Erisa has experience with and strongly endorses -** virtual reality including using HoloLens. She spectacularly, virtually walked on Mars Lunar module pilot - ** serves as primary holographic tour guide on the route. Erisa appears as hologram - describing discoveries made by NASA scientists. [undefined] Buzz and Erisa's holographic tour of Mars is available at the Kennedy Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Titusville, Florida.
Education
High School - Wheaton High School, Wheaton, MO.
(Valedictorian of her graduating class [undefined])
B.S. - Mechanical Engineering (ME) with Minor in Mathematics, U. of Miami. M.S. - Aeronautics and Astronautics and M.S. - Technology and Policy, both from MIT.
See also:
Curiosity (rover)
Curiosity (rover) timeline
Mars Outpost
When We Left Earth