Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) Systems Engineer Nagin Cox will be a speaker for the 2022 Malibu Library Speaker Series today Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Malibu Library at 7 p.m.
The free event includes a reception with a Q&A. Space is limited, so RSVPs are required. For more information or to RSVP, visit the webpage or call the Malibu Library at 310-456-6438.
In her presentation, “Dare Mighty Things: Mars Rovers Paving the Way,” Nagin will share stories of NASA’s Mars missions from the early rovers to the newest US traveler, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. Attendees will learn how robotic exploration is the first step in the longer-term vision of international exploration of Mars by humans.
Nagin was born in Bangalore, India, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nagin has held leadership and system engineering positions on interplanetary robotic missions, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Kepler exoplanet hunter, InSight, the Mars Curiosity Rover, and the 2020 Perseverance Rover. She was also involved in the MOXIE (Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment) team which is prototyping making oxygen on Mars from the Martian atmosphere. She is currently a Tactical Mission Lead on both the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover and the Mars Curiosity Rover.
Nagin has received numerous honors and awards, including having Asteroid 14061 named after her. She is a US Department of State STEM Speaker. She has spoken to audiences in the US, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, South America, the Middle East and South Asia about the stories of the people behind the missions. Her lecture on Mars Time on the TED Talk website has been viewed more than two million times.
Prior to her time at JPL, she served in the US Air Force in space operations. She holds engineering and psychology degrees from Cornell University and and engineering degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology. She is a past member of Cornell University’s President’s Council for Cornell Women and has served on the Boards of the Griffith Observatory Foundation and Impact Personal Safety: Self-Defense & Empowerment for Women. She sits on the Advisory Committee for the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and is part of the Advisory Council for the Planetary Society.