'When I watched Star Trek...': Karnataka scientist Swati Mohan reveals why she joined NASA

News Network
March 5, 2021

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Indian-American aerospace engineer Swati Mohan, who played a key role in the successful landing of NASA's Perseverance rover on the Martian surface, told President Joe Biden on Thursday that her path to the US space agency began when she watched the first episode of Star Trek as a child.

Mohan leads the guidance, navigation, and control operations of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. She played a pivotal role in landing the US space agency's historic Perseverance rover on the Martian surface on February 18. Mohan was also the first to confirm that the rover had successfully touched down on the Martian surface after surviving a particularly tricky plunge through the atmosphere of the Red Planet.

Mohan, who emigrated from India’s Karnataka to the US when she was only a year old, said her path actually started way back when she was a child, watching the popular TV show Star Trek.

"In addition to those fantastical scenes of space, what really captured my attention was this really close-knit team which was working together, manipulating this technological marvel with the sole purpose of exploring space and understanding new things and seeking a new life," Mohan told Biden during a virtual interaction.

President Biden on Thursday congratulated the NASA team responsible for last month's successful landing of the six-wheeled rover on Mars and for giving the country a "dose of confidence" at a moment when the nation's reputation as a scientific leader has been tattered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden speaking in a video conference call with the leadership of the space agency's jet propulsion laboratory team expressed awe over the landing of Perseverance.

Interacting with Biden, Mohan said, "You know, Perseverance is my first mission at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), where I've gotten to work from the very beginning of formulation, all the way through operations, and it made me feel like I was part of that crew. Being able to work with this incredibly diverse, talented team that has become like a family, spending years creating our own technological marvel has been a privilege."

"Those last days and weeks leading up to landing day, it was pretty smooth, but we were all still really nervous and, frankly, terrified until we got through those final seven minutes. To be able to call touchdown safely, to see those first images come back from Mars, to see the place where we have never been able to go to on Mars before and go there -- reach there for the express purpose of seeking out new life just made it feel like I was living in a dream," said the Indian-American engineer.

"Now that tremendous relief has passed for the team of being able to be there safely, all that's left is the excitement and the thrill of all the scientific discoveries that are yet to come and what Perseverance can actually find -- and hopefully find those signs of past life on Mars," Mohan said.

Biden in response praised Mohan and other NASA scientists for the landing of Perseverance on Mars.

"I tell you what, you said you feel like you're 'living a dream' -- you've created a dream for millions and millions of young kids, young Americans. You talk about STEM. You -- it was -- look, the thing that I found so exhilarating about this: You all did this -- the whole team -- the team I can see now and the entire team at JPL -- what you did: You restored a dose of confidence in the American people," Biden said.

"They were beginning to wonder about us. They were beginning to wonder: Are we still the country we always believed we were? You guys did it. You guys gave a sense of America is back.' It's -- it's astounding what you did. You should not underestimate it. You should not underestimate it," the President asserted.

"You did it the most American way: You believed in science, you believed in hard work, and you believed there wasn't a darn thing you couldn't do if you put your minds together. One of the reasons why we're such an incredible country is we're such a diverse country. We bring the best out of every single solitary culture in the world here in the United States of America, and we give people an opportunity to let their dreams run forward," Biden said.

"Everyone was so down the last years about: Is America still the -- fount of change? And are we still the country that has hopes and develops and pursues the most unlikely things to happen? And we are. And you all demonstrated it. I really mean this. It's so much bigger than landing Perseverance on Mars. It's about the American spirit, and you brought it back. You brought back in a moment we so desperately need it," he observed. 

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News Network
November 19,2024

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The Karnataka Police’s Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) achieved a major breakthrough on Monday night by eliminating Vikram Gowda, one of Karnataka’s most wanted Naxal leaders for over two decades. The encounter occurred in the dense Kabbinale forest of Udupi district, marking a significant victory against Naxal insurgency in the region.

Who Was Vikram Gowda?

Hailing from Hebri in Udupi, Vikram Gowda, 44, was a prominent figure in the Naxal movement. He went underground in 2002, initially serving as a courier and fund collector before rising to lead a breakaway Naxal group. Despite having only a fourth-grade education, he was a staunch advocate for tribal rights and a key player in the movement’s survival in Karnataka.

Bounty: ₹3 lakh from Karnataka and ₹50,000 from Kerala.

Legacy: The last major Naxal leader in Karnataka after the 2021 arrest of B G Krishnamurthy.

The Encounter

Police revealed that Gowda and his team visited Kabbinale village to collect groceries on Monday night. Acting on a tip-off, ANF ambushed the group. When the Naxals opened fire, ANF responded, leading to Gowda's death.

Escapees: Three Naxals fled, including prominent members Latha (aka Mundgaru Latha) and Raju.

Significance: This was the first Naxal casualty in Karnataka in over two decades.

Home Minister G. Parameshwara confirmed the operation, stating, “Gowda was elusive for 20 years, escaping multiple encounters. His death is a critical step in dismantling Naxal operations in the region.”

The Decline of Naxal Activity in Karnataka

Karnataka's Naxal movement has been dwindling, with members seeking refuge in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The group’s strength had reduced to just 19 members by 2018, but recent sightings indicate attempts at revival:

2023 Activity: Reports of Gowda-led movements in the Kodagu and Hassan districts reignited concerns.

Political Heat: The BJP criticised the Congress government, alleging it created a “safe haven” for Naxals.

A Glimpse into Gowda’s Past

Personal Life: Gowda’s ex-wife, Savitri (alias Rajita), was arrested in 2021. She was a senior Naxal commander involved in insurgency since 2004.
Rehabilitation Efforts: Since 2013, Karnataka’s rehabilitation policy has seen 14 Naxals surrender and reintegrate into mainstream society.

A Milestone in Karnataka’s Fight Against Insurgency

The operation signifies a decisive blow to Naxal resurgence in the Western Ghats. While the ANF continues its search for escapees, the Karnataka government reaffirmed its commitment to offering rehabilitation to those willing to surrender.

As Karnataka celebrates this triumph, the message is clear: there is no room for insurgency in the state.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported.

It is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India.

There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the appointment that came.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has announced the appointment of Kamil as the acting consul in Mumbai, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

"He is currently in Mumbai, where he is fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the Islamic Emirate," it said.

The appointment is part of Kabul's efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad, the media outlet said

Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as the deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry, it said.

He is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India, the report added.

Kamil's appointment comes days after the external affairs ministry's point-person for Afghanistan held talks with the Taliban's acting defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, in Kabul.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, also posted on X about Kamil's appointment.

The appointment of Kamil is seen as part of efforts to facilitate consular services to the Afghan population in Mumbai.

There has been almost negligible presence of diplomatic staff at the Afghan missions in India.

Most of the diplomats appointed by the Ashraf Ghani government have already left India.

In May, Zakia Wardak, the seniormost Afghan diplomat in India, resigned from her position after reports emerged that she was caught at the Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore from Dubai.

Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi late last year, after working as the Afghan consul general in Mumbai for more than two years.

She took charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi last November, after the mission helmed by then ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its closure.

Mamundzay, who was an appointee of the Ghani government, had moved to the United Kingdom.

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News Network
November 10,2024

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The media office in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli regime has been waging a genocidal war since last October, says as many as 188 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the onset of the brutal military onslaught.

The office provided the figure on Saturday, naming four journalists as the most recent victims of the onslaught.

It identified the foursome as Zahraa Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Ahmad Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Mustafa Khadr Bahar, and Abdel Rahman Khadr Bahar.

The office said it “strongly condemns the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation and holds it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.”

“We call on the international community, international organizations, and those involved in journalistic work worldwide to take action against the occupation, pursue it in international courts for its ongoing crimes, and pressure it to halt the genocide and the targeted killings of Palestinian journalists,” it said.

Earlier in the day, the office said the Israeli regime had bombed the tents sheltering journalists and displaced persons at the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the ninth consecutive time.

The atrocity that claimed the lives of two people and injured 26 others came as part of “the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against hospitals, civilians, and displaced persons,” it said.

The media office held the regime and the United States, its biggest ally, as well as other countries aiding the genocide fully responsible for such systematic crimes.

At least 43,552 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 102,765 others wounded since the launch of the war that followed a retaliatory operation by Gaza’s resistance groups.

The fatalities include 44 people, who were killed across the coastal sliver, in the most recent phase of the military onslaught.

As many as 24 of the victims were killed in the northern part of the territory, where the regime has markedly intensified its deadly attacks for weeks.

They included an eight-year-old child and a five-year-old one, who lost their lives after Israeli warplanes targeted a group of minors filling up jerry cans with water alongside their mother at the Jabalia Refugee camp.

Gaza’s heath ministry, meanwhile, said a number of victims remained under the rubble and in the streets following Israeli airstrikes, saying ambulances and civil defense teams could not reach them due to the sheer extent of the destruction caused by the raids and obstruction caused by the regime.

Also on Saturday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, a United Nations-backed assessment, warned that famine was looming in northern Gaza amid escalated Israeli aggression and the regime’s near-total siege of the targeted areas.

The alert from the Famine Review Committee warned of "an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip."

On October 17, the body projected that the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophic" food insecurity between November and April 2025 would reach 345,000, or 16 percent of the population.

The IPC report classified that figure as Phase 5 -- a situation when "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident."

The Israeli military, however, questioned the report's credibility.

"To date, all assessments by the IPC have proven incorrect and inconsistent with the situation on the ground," the army said in a statement, denouncing "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

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