Band alum helps "Spirit" communicate with earth
Theresa Debban Kowalkowski joins Mars Rover Project

Those pictures of Mars that splash impressively across TV screens on the evening news arrive on Earth with specific help from Purdue Band alumnae Theresa Debban Kowalkowski.

It's a dream job and Kowalkowski, who obtained a BS in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2000 followed by an MS in 2002, knows it.

"I never expected my first project would be this tremendous," says Kowalkowsksi who serves as Mission Planner for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Project and Lead Mission Planner for Spirit, the first of the two rovers. Her dream job started with a NASA fellowship that funded her graduate research. When she graduated, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who guided her efforts, hired her on the spot.

Initially Kowalkowski worked only part-time on MER, but after nine months she was devoting all her energy to it. Her assignment: Find out what needs to happen to maximize the Mars Odyssey obiter's chances of successfully transmitting the rover's data after it lands. Timing for this operation needed to be extremely precise. If the Odyssey flew over too soon, the rover wouldn't be ready to communicate. Too late, and Odyssey might be too low on the horizon to receive the rover's signal.

"This began a seven-month long effort working with the wonderful Mars Odyssey operations team to get that spacecraft there at the right time. When it worked just as we had hoped and planned, I couldn't have been more excited or proud," Kowalkowski says.

"Watching the first pictures come in after Spirit's landing was such an amazing moment that it brought tears to my eyes."

"Pretty intense" sums up the work atmosphere at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory these days, she says. "Sometimes it's been hard to get people to go home, especially during the Spirit anomaly resolution period because everyone cares so much about what's happening with our 'babies' on Mars."

One of her tasks is to track when Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey (two spacecraft orbiting Mars) fly over Spirit's landing site, select which overflights Spirit should communicate on, and build the "communications windows" which allow the process to happen.

MER has taken Kowalkowski way beyond the spacecraft trajectory work she focused on at Purdue. Besides the challenge and thrill of being involved in such a high-profile project, she feels her current work sharpens engineering judgment skills that will be valuable in future assignments.

The trajectory that landed Kowalkowski at MER, started in Virgina. She chose Purdue because she could play in a marching band while pursuing the degree she wanted. Along with way she won the highest academic awards the Band Department gives out, and played piccolo and/or flute in marching band, symphonic band, orchestra, concert band and both basketball bands.

Already, she's seen that involvement pay off.

"One of the most valuable experiences I got out of Purdue bands was my two years as an AAMB section leader. That position is unique in that you are responsible for your section, but you are also subordinate to the staff and drum majors. You learn to lead by example and to lead by following instructions handed down from your superiors even if you don't agree with them," she says.

"The discipline and sense of responsibility I acquired through my many years in Purdue Bands helps me every day because that same level of commitment and more is required on the Mars Exploration Rover Project.

"After all, when I work late at night and start to get grumpy, I can always think back to the Indy 500 of 1997 when the band had to stand out in the pouring rain for over an hour with no raincoats, or the Purdue-Wisconsin football game of 1995 when it was so cold I lost feeling in both of my feet. Suddenly working late doesn't seem so bad."

Working on the Mars project doesn't leave Kowalkowski much time to become involved in musical ensembles but she still gets out her flute and plays.

"I really miss the regular rehearsals and performances, but in a way that's what MER has been about. We did many Operational Readiness Tests that were effectively rehearsals for landing, driving off the lander and surface operations," she says. "Now we're in the performance phase and it's been great!"

The future seems full of possibilities. "I want to keep doing work that excites and inspires me," Kowalkowski says. "Landing and roving on Mars certainly fits those requirements! I imagine that I will continue to work in the space exploration business most of my life, but who know where it could take me!"