Mars Rovers with Keri Bean

<p>Keri Bean is a systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. She is the deputy lead Rover Planner (aka Mars rover driver) on the Curiosity Mars rover and is a Helicopter Integration Engineer for the Mars 2020 mission. She got her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Texas A&amp;M University in meteorology, with her focus on studying the weather on Mars. Her hobbies mostly center around Star Wars, as she is an active member of the R2-D2 Builder’s Club with her very own Astromech and cosplays with the Rebel Legion.</p><p>In our conversation, we talk about Mars Rovers, Star Wars, and cake decorating.</p><p><br></p><p>Show Notes (<a href="https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/keri-bean/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">link</a>)</p><p><br></p><p>[00:37] Keri's pursuit of meteorology.</p><p><br></p><p>[01:50] Astronomy as a potential path.</p><p><br></p><p>[02:12] Possible career paths in space.</p><p><br></p><p>[02:44] Her introduction to Space Weather</p><p><br></p><p>[03:35] Keri's first experiences with the rover missions.</p><p><br></p><p>[03:54] Spirit and Opportunity Rovers.</p><p><br></p><p>[04:51] Phoenix Mars Lander.</p><p><br></p><p>[05:54] Applying her meteorology studies to her rover mission experiences.</p><p><br></p><p>[06:33] Curiosity Rover.</p><p><br></p><p>[06:50] Keri's path to JPL.</p><p><br></p><p>[08:58] Dawn Mission.</p><p><br></p><p>[09:55] Filling the gaps in knowledge between her meteorology background and her work.</p><p><br></p><p>[10:36] Test beds.</p><p><br></p><p>[11:44] Building her own R2-D2.</p><p><br></p><p>[14:28] On becoming a Rover Planner.</p><p><br></p><p>[16:03] The process for certifying to be a Rover Planner.</p><p><br></p><p>[18:42] Certifying for individual Rovers.</p><p><br></p><p>[19:10] Her role as a Helicopter Integration Engineer on the Perseverance Rover drone, Ingenuity.</p><p><br></p><p>[20:11] Earth-side duplicate and testing of the drone.</p><p><br></p><p>[21:39] A day in the life of Keri.</p><p><br></p><p>[22:56] Working r