Jaime Dyk Works On Mars Rover Project by Jean Arthur Photo courtesy of Jamie Dyk Look skyward and MSU alum Jaime Dyk's, '00 Engr, Mars Exploration Rover project is there. Her work assured a safe landing on the red planet. Dyk, a native of Manhattan, launched her engineering career at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. She leads a team of engineers who planned and analyzed hardware such as descent engines, airbags, and other entry descent and landing equipment that allowed a successful Mars landing. "My favorite part of my job is when we hit the 'go' button and nothing explodes," Dyk says. "Gravity on Mars is one-third of what it is here on Earth. During tests, we had to compensate for all that loading, so we off-loaded the landing system. We've had airbags rupture, parachutes shred and landing units dig big craters into desert test sites." Her experiments paid off. Both Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, had successful, if not bouncy landings on Mars in January thanks to Dyk's cushy air bags that prevented the Rovers from smashing apart on the Martian soil. The crafts bounced two-dozen times on the rocky, crater-infested planet, yet landed upright. "We created a double air bag in layers of tough cloth," she says. "And we reinforced the parachute." As a test engineer on the $820 million Mars Exploration Rover project, she admits that the job has meant late nights and little free time, yet provides an opportunity to work on a master's degree in aerospace engineering. "I am focusing on dynamics and control--understanding and analyzing things that move so they will do what you want them to do. It's a bit like the cruise control in your car," she says. While Mars is a long way from her parents' potato farm, she acknowledges that it's from Manhattan, Montana and a junior high teacher that she really discovered Mars. "I was in a seventh grade science unit on astronauts and space exploration when we started talking about Mars," she says. "I had in my mind to explore Mars. It was an 11th grade math teacher who told me that I could become an engineer. He really encouraged me." And she continues the encouragement by leading group tours at the Jet Propulsion Lab. "I like to do a lot of outreach," Dyk says. "Just like my math teacher told me that engineering was something girls can do, I encourage other girls to consider engineering."