Date: Monday, November 20, 2023 | Time: 3 pm | Location: Frank Dawson Adams, Room 5
The McGill Institute for Aerospace Engineering invites you to an afternoon with Mimi Aung, an Aerial Explorer of Mars. After receiving a Doctor of Science, honoris causa earlier in the day, Mimi will join us for a seminar where she will share her experience and expertise.
MiMi Aung is a pioneering space engineer. While working for the NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Aung led the creation and flight of the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. On April 19, 2021, “Ingenuity” took off in the thin Martian atmosphere and stayed aloft for 39 seconds. In comparison, the first Wright brothers flight lasted 12 seconds within Earth’s known atmosphere. In the last couple of years, “Ingenuity” has flown over 60 successful missions.
Before leaving the JPL, Aung also worked on the Psyche asteroid mission. Its goal is a rendez-vous between a spacecraft and an asteroid, six years from now. Psyche’s closest point to Earth’s orbit will be some 150 million miles away.
In July 2021, Aung closed her 30 years at JPL and became director of technical program management for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The initiative seeks to increase broadband internet access through an array of satellites in low Earth orbit.
