Bob Balaram Explained
J. "Bob" Balaram (born 28 June 1959) is an Indian-American scientist and engineer currently working for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He is the chief engineer and designer of Ingenuity (project name: Mars 2020 helicopter), the first extraterrestrial aircraft, that was attached underside of car-sized Perseverance rover that successfully landed on the Mars in February 2021.[2] [3] [4]
Early life and education
After schooling at Rishi Valley School, Balaram completed his Bachelor of Technology course from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India in 1980, and further went to receive his MS and Ph.D. in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York.[5] [6]
Work at NASA
Bob joined NASA's JPL in 1985 after finishing his doctorate. He has been working at Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the past 20 years in Mobility & Robotic Systems Department. During his time here, Bob has been actively engaged in the area of telerobotics technology development for several Mars rovers, planetary balloons, descent and landing technology, and surface mobility technology.[7] He is recipient of two NASA awards.[8] [9]
In 2012 MiMi Aung was leading then JPL director Charles Elachi on a tour of the Autonomous Systems Division. Looking at the drones demonstrating onboard navigation algorithms in one of the labs, Elachi asked, “ Hey, why don't we do that on Mars?” Engineer Bob Balaram briefed Elachi about feasibility, and a week later Elachi told him, “ Okay, I’ve got some study money for you”. By January 2015 NASA agreed to fund the development of a full-size model, which came to be known as the “risk reduction” vehicle.[10]
Scientific publications
- Mars Smart Lander Simulations for Entry, Descent, and Landing. Scott Striepe . J. Balaram . David Way . Alicia Dwyer. 2002-06-25. 2012-04-16 . 10.2514/6.2002-4412. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). 5 August 2002 - 08 August 2002 AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference and Exhibit. 2060/20030000914 . 978-1-62410-107-6 . 14905062 . en . Striepe. free.
- Rotorcrafts for Mars Exploration. J. Balaram and P. T. Tokumaru . 2014 . 2012-04-16 . 11th International Planetary Probe Workshop. 1795 . 8087 . 2014LPICo1795.8087B . https://web.archive.org/web/20210217180743/https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014LPICo1795.8087B/abstract. 2021-02-17. en . Tokumaru.
- Mars Helicopter Technology Demonstrator . J. (Bob) Balaram . . Courtney Duncan . Matt Golombek . Håvard Fjær Grip . Wayne Johnson . Justin Maki . Amelia Quon . Ryan Stern . David Zhu. 2018 . 2012-04-16 . 10.2514/6.2018-0023 . American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) . SciTech Forum Conference 8–12 January 2018 Kissimmee, Florida . 978-1-62410-525-8 . en . Balaram.
Video
See also
Status reports of Bob Balaram in the Ingenuity mission
References
- Web site: 2021-06-09. Space Foundation Selects NASA JPL Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Flight Team To Receive 2021 John L. 'Jack' Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration. 2021-06-16. Space Foundation. en.
- Web site: People: J. (Bob) Balaram . JPL Robotics. https://web.archive.org/web/20051125205059/http://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/people/J_Balaram/. dead. 2005-11-25. 2021-04-21. www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov.
- Web site: The Man Who Wanted to Fly on Mars. 2021-04-21. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). en.
- Web site: Chidanand. Rajghatta. April 19, 2021. Dr J (Bob) Balaram: The man behind the Mars helicopter. 2021-04-21. The Times of India. en.
- Web site: April 20, 2021. Aditya. Bidwai. IIT-Madras alumnus Bob Balaram, the man behind Nasa's Ingenuity Mars helicopter's historic flight. 2021-04-21. India Today. en.
- Web site: Hardaha. Rashi. 2021-04-02. Mars helicopter, designed by IIT-Madras alumnus Bob Balaram, to fly over Martian skies on April 11. 2021-04-21. www.indiatvnews.com. en.
- Web site: 2021-04-21. Meet IIT-Madras Alumnus, the Scientist behind NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter. 2021-04-21. www.firstpost.com. en.
- Web site: 2021-04-20. How An IIT Alumni-Designed NASA Helicopter Made History On Mars. 2021-04-21. IndiaTimes. en-IN.
- Web site: 2021-04-21. Meet IIT alumnus Dr J (Bob) Balaram, the man who helped design NASA's Ingenuity helicopter. 2021-04-21. Tech2.
- News: Preston Lerner . A Helicopter Dreams of Mars . April 2019 . . 16 August 2021 .
Sources
- Web site: Personal profile at NASA Science . Bob Balaram . J. (Bob) Balaram . NASA Science . 2021 . October 21, 2021 . .
External links