Marcelo Bellucci
07/30/2020 - 13:03
- Clarín.com
- Society
Raúl Romero is a mechanical engineer who has worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California for 30 years. He was born in Rosario, did elementary school in Santiago del Estero and just the year the man stepped on the moon, his parents decided to travel to the United States to settle. He had just turned 14 years old. It was received at the University of California and currently controls the scientific instruments of the Mars 2020 mission .
Minutes after the successful launch, Romero - in a phone conversation with Clarín - spoke about the complexity of sending a robot to another planet, the nerves of takeoff, the preparations for each mission, but also about his dreams and the family he has in Mar del Plata and Rosario.
“At JPL there are about 6,000 experts working in different divisions. I am head of engineering and I am in charge of the instruments area, where there are about 800 people. My obligation is to supervise that all the tools that are adapted to the rover work perfectly. To do this, we do countless tests, "says Romero.
Raúl Romero is a mechanical engineer who, for 30 years, has worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
For the past year, he was taken out of his routine to speed up the times of the PIXL, which measures the chemical composition of Martian rocks on a minimal scale. This instrument can also take very close photos of minerals and soil texture. To this end, scientists hope to be able to search for signs of past microbial life on Mars .
“As I had fallen behind on the deadlines set by the agency, I was put in charge to lend a hand and deliver as soon as possible this instrument that is key to the mission . It took many hours to analyze, measure and calibrate, "he recalls.
Raúl Romero supervises each of the pieces of the robot.
Finally, the day of the launch came true and everyone stared at a piece of the sky to see the United V Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 rocket heading towards Mars , leaving a smoke slide at their feet.
“ This was one of the best pitches I can remember in years. There were no problems, delays or alarms. Everything went according to plan. The problem is that in Florida it always rains and at the slightest flash of lightning that crosses the sky, the mission is suspended upon further notice, "he explains.
The key to NASA's success is in care. “We don't take a step until we are sure it will work. For example, when the Spirit rover ran aground on a sandbar in April 2009, we took photos of the entire Martian environment and in the laboratory, we recreated the same environmental conditions . The idea was to send the most precise indications to regain mobility in the fewest number of maneuvers, "says Romero.
Rosemary, with one of the key pieces of the Perseverance robot.
After seven months of travel - because both the orbits of Mars and those of Earth are not perfectly circular and in constant motion - the spacecraft will reach its target in February 2021 . The designated site is the Jerezo crater, 45 kilometers long, which is located on the edge of the Isidis Planitia, is a giant basin just north of the Martian equator.
"Scientists come together to study the photos that are available from the surface and choose a place that offers no complications to land and is of some interest. The Jerezo crater, having an entrance and an exit, is believed to have been a huge lake 4 billion years ago . It is considered the best place to look for organic molecules and other potential signs of microbial life, "he says.
Beyond identifying biological signatures and knowing in depth the Martian past, the ultimate goal of this crusade is that, at some point, man can inhabit this hostile planet . The complication is that the main component of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide, while on Earth it is nitrogen and oxygen.
“Among the scientific instruments of the mission is MOXIE whose purpose will be to find a system to make the planet habitable . So this experiment will try to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, made up of carbon dioxide. The effort is also put into creating houses using the planet's own material, since it is very difficult to transport it from Earth, ”says Romero.
In addition to visiting relatives he has in both Rosario and Mar del Plata, Raúl Romero's motivation is to transmit his passion for aeronautics to young Argentines .
“Before the pandemic, I used to come to the country often to chat with young people. During the eclipse that took place in the last days of December 2019 I was in San Juan, in a town called Bella Vista. There the little ones who looked at me in amazement when I told them about planets, stars and space travel, told them that they can also come if they want to. My family was humble and with sacrifice, I graduated as an engineer and I achieved my dreams ”, evokes Romero.
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