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J. “ Bob” Balaram
Born	(1959-06-28) June 28, 1959 (age 65)
Education	Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (MS, Ph.D.)
Known for	Chief Engineer for Ingenuity helicopter, which made the first extraterrestrial powered, controlled flight on April 19, 2021
Awards	John L. “Jack” Swigert, Jr. Award for Space Exploration from the Space Foundation.
Scientific career
Fields	Computer and Systems Engineering, space science
Institutions	NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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.

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.

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. He is recipient of two NASA awards.

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.

Scientific publications

• Scott Striepe; J. Balaram; David Way; Alicia Dwyer (2002-06-25). "Mars Smart Lander Simulations for Entry, Descent, and Landing". 5 August 2002 - 08 August 2002 AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference and Exhibit. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). doi:10.2514/6.2002-4412. hdl:2060/20030000914. ISBN 978-1-62410-107-6. S2CID 14905062. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
• J. Balaram and P. T. Tokumaru (2014). "Rotorcrafts for Mars Exploration". 11th International Planetary Probe Workshop. 1795: 8087. Bibcode:2014LPICo1795.8087B. Archived from the original on 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
• J. (Bob) Balaram; Timothy Canham; Courtney Duncan; Matt Golombek; Håvard Fjær Grip; Wayne Johnson; Justin Maki; Amelia Quon; Ryan Stern; David Zhu (2018). "Mars Helicopter Technology Demonstrator" (PDF). SciTech Forum Conference 8–12 January 2018 Kissimmee, Florida. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). doi:10.2514/6.2018-0023. ISBN 978-1-62410-525-8. Retrieved 2012-04-16.

Video

• Bob Balaram (2021-04-30). NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s Next Steps (Media Briefing). NASA – via YouTube.

See also

• Swati Mohan
• MiMi Aung

Status reports of Bob Balaram in the Ingenuity mission

• Bob Balaram (March 19, 2021). "How is the Weather on Mars?". Status #287. NASA/JPL. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
• Bob Balaram (April 2, 2021). "It's Cold on Mars". Status #288. NASA/JPL.
• Bob Balaram, Jeremy Tyler (May 10, 2021). "Keeping Our Feet Firmly on the Ground". Status #301. NASA/JPL. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
• Håvard Grip & Bob Balaram (July 2, 2021). "We're Going Big for Flight 9". Status #313. NASA/JPL. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

References

1. "Space Foundation Selects NASA JPL Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Flight Team To Receive 2021 John L. 'Jack' Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration". Space Foundation. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
2. ^ Profile at MEP 2021.
3. Status 287.
4. Status 288.
5. Status 301.
6. Status 313.
7. ^ "People: J. (Bob) Balaram". www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov. JPL Robotics. Archived from the original on 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
8. "The Man Who Wanted to Fly on Mars". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Retrieved 2021-04-21.
9. Chidanand, Rajghatta (April 19, 2021). "Dr J (Bob) Balaram: The man behind the Mars helicopter". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
10. Bidwai, Aditya (April 20, 2021). "IIT-Madras alumnus Bob Balaram, the man behind Nasa's Ingenuity Mars helicopter's historic flight". India Today. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
11. Hardaha, Rashi (2021-04-02). "Mars helicopter, designed by IIT-Madras alumnus Bob Balaram, to fly over Martian skies on April 11". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
12. NASA news 8639.
13. "Meet IIT-Madras Alumnus, the Scientist behind NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter". www.firstpost.com. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
14. "How An IIT Alumni-Designed NASA Helicopter Made History On Mars". IndiaTimes. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
15. "Meet IIT alumnus Dr J (Bob) Balaram, the man who helped design NASA's Ingenuity helicopter". Tech2. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
16. Preston Lerner (April 2019). "A Helicopter Dreams of Mars". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

Sources

• Bob Balaram (2021). "J. (Bob) Balaram". Personal profile at NASA Science. NASA Science. Retrieved October 21, 2021.

External links

• Bob Balaram's profile at NASA
• Jane Platt (March 19, 2021). "The Man Who Wanted to Fly on Mars". News #8639. NASA/JPL. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

• NASA people
• Mars 2020
• IIT Madras alumni
• American people of Indian descent
• 20th-century Indian engineers
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
• Living people
• 1961 births
• 21st-century Indian engineers