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A FEMALE NASA rocket scientist has visited a little-known engineering school in Eastern Highlands last week in a low-key event to promote aviation and the role of women in aviation and space engineering.
The US Embassy in Port Moresby facilitated a trip to Aiyura for Nagin Cox, a trailblazing engineer known for her work on numerous Mars rover missions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Cox, who had an asteroid named after her in 2015 to honour her work with the US space agency, was the guest of honour at Aiyura Mechanical Engineering School’s 10th anniversary celebration where she unveiled a plaque commemorating the school’s success over the past decade.
The plaque and ceremony were arranged by founder and principal Agion Aiako, who invited Nagin and the U.S. Embassy to help draw attention to the critical role of aviation in PNG’s economy, and inspire more women and girls to pursue careers in engineering and aviation.
Cox, who had to overcome stereotypes and restrictions associated with her Muslim upbringing, used the opportunity to promote unity and break down barriers of race and gender.
“When you look at the image of the earth from space, you don’t see borders or religions or genders, you only see people. We find so many ways to divide ourselves. We make all that up,” she said in an address to students and teachers at the school.
“No one’s going to help us save our planet, and our planet is in danger of climate change. We all need to help each other. The best way to help each other is to be able to talk to each other. And to be able to pass that on. The world needs you, the world needs PNG, you matter.”
Cox talked to students and the community about her work on numerus NASA robotic program and Mars rover missions including the current Perseverance rover that is currently on Mars.
The US Embassy funded and arranged the visit to highlight the critical role of education, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as key areas necessary for PNG’s growth. Aiako, who started the school from scratch 10 years ago, said dreams can take anyone from nothing to something.
“Ten years ago, one student came to me and asked me to teach him engineering, so I began teaching him and a few others with nothing, we started with nothing but a board and a piece of chalk. And now 10 years later we are a successful school,” he said.
“Your mind is powerful. First, something seems impossible, and then it becomes possible. You first think about it, then it happens. Dream about it, go for it, and you will get it.”
While in Eastern Highlands, Cox also visited the staff, pilots, and engineers at Adventist Aviation, Mission Aviation Foundation, New Tribes Mission, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), to learn more about the role of aviation in PNG’s economy, health, and education sectors.
Who is Nagin Cox and what is NASA?
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is a United States government agency responsible for science and technology related to air and space. NASA was created in 1958 to oversee space exploration and aeronautics research for the U.S.
Nagin Cox is an engineer who works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Zainab Nagin Cox was born in 1965 in Bangalore, India and later moved to the U.S, where she studied engineering and psychology at Cornell University and earned a master’s degree in space operations systems engineering from Air Force Institute of Technology in 1990.
Cox worked for the United States Air Force as a space operations officer after school, where she worked in F-16 fighter planes’ aircrew training. She later worked as an orbital analyst at North American Aerospace Defence Command and as a spacecraft operations engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1993.
In 2015 an asteroid (Asteroid 14061 Nagincox), discovered in 1996, was named after her. She won the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the Bruce Murray award in 2014 and has won the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal twice.
“Working at NASA was my dream ever since I was a little girl. I have now been here for over 20 years, and I’ve 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,” she told a blog, Muslimgirl.com, in 2022.
– Source: Various