Farah Alibay

Farah Alibay is a Canadian Systems Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Mars InSight mission.

Farah Alibay

PhD
Mechanical engineer Joel Steinkraus and systems engineer Farah Alibay (right) from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory hold a full scale mockup of Mars Cube One
Born
Montreal, Quebec
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationSystems Engineer
OrganizationNASA

Early life and education

Alibay was born in Montreal, Quebec, and grew up in Manchester, England.[1] She went to the University of Cambridge where she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering in 2010.[2]

She earned her PhD in Space Systems Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2014,[2] and it was while at MIT that she interned at JPL.[3] Her PhD research focused on the use of spatially and temporally distributed multi-vehicle systems for the exploration of planetary bodies in the solar system.[4]

In 2013 Alibay was awarded the AeroAstro Graduate Teaching Assistantship Award at MIT, for her outstanding work as a teaching assistant implementing Concurrent Design Facility software into the curriculum.[5]

Career
The Mars InSight lander

Alibay is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and is a Payload Systems Engineer on the InSight mission,[1] a robotic lander spacecraft designed to study the interior of the planet Mars which lifted off to Mars in May 2018. Before the launch, Alibay was responsible for the proper integration and testing of all the instruments on the spacecraft. While the mission waited for the spacecraft to land on the surface of Mars, Alibay helped the teams prepare for operations[3] and tested the detector equipment.[6] To celebrate the landing on Mars in November 2018, she had her hair dyed red to match Mars and the InSight logo.[7]

From 2014-2016 Alibay was the systems engineer on the Mars Cube One CubeSats mission, a companion mission to InSight.[1][8]

After her Master's degree, Alibay participated in the NASA Academy internship at Goddard Space Flight Center, through which she was introduced to the many NASA centers and activities. It was here she discovered her passion for robotic planetary exploration.[1]

Alibay has spoken to the value of good mentors when she was an intern, and mentors women interns herself as a result of this positive experience.[3]

Her favourite moon is Saturn's Enceladus.[3] She enjoys outdoor activities including hiking, camping, biking, and skiing, and also enjoys weight lifting. She is also a Big Sister as part of the Big Brother/Big Sisters of America program.[1]

References
  1. "Farah Alibay | Systems Engineer – Solar System Exploration: NASA Science". Solar System Exploration: NASA Science. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  2. "ISSC About". www.intersmallsatconference.com. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  3. Halton, Mary (2018-08-17). "When flying to Mars is your day job". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  4. Alibay, Farah (2014). "Evaluation of multi-vehicle architectures for the exploration of planetary bodies in the Solar System". Jeffrey A. Hoffman., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. hdl:1721.1/87476. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. "Seniors lauded at recognition dinner". MIT AeroAstro News. July 2013. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  6. "照看洞察號　科學家又悶又擔心". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  7. Ryann Blackshere Vargas (November 26, 2018). "Women make their mark on InSight Mars landing". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  8. Halton, Mary (2018-08-17). "When flying to Mars is your day job". Retrieved 2019-03-12.
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