Females Have a Place in Space, NASA Engineer Says

Flushed with excitement over the Pathfinder mission to Mars, Linda Robek Furman took a break from her job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on Wednesday to talk about the historic mission with an all-female classroom of 10th and 11th graders and encourage them to pursue careers in science and mathematics.

“It never occurred to me that I could be part of the space program,” Furman told the group, whose members are enrolled in an intensive summer mathematics program at Cal State Fullerton. “But [in college] I realized I could do this. I could be part of NASA.

“You might be the first person who steps foot on Mars, if that’s what interests you. What you’re doing now can really lead to something very exciting in the future.”

Furman, 33, a NASA mechanical engineer, told the group that the July 4 arrival of the Pathfinder on Mars “was a big happening in the space business,” allowing millions an unprecedented view of Earth’s neighboring planet. She likened the joy of the experience to “one big party every day,” with the excitement level high and the workload heavy.

“It’s close to a 24-hour job,” she said. “It’s very rewarding after all the work that we did over long, long days and long, long nights. The best part is to see how much the world is enjoying the work that we did.”

Furman is involved with the design, assembly and operations of robotic spacecraft and helped build the Mars Pathfinder Lander.

Many students said they came away from the meeting confident that they could be a part of it all too.

“It was exciting talking to someone who is actually working on the project,” said 15-year-old Brenda De La Cruz. “Usually you only see guys--older guys--working on things like that. She inspired me.”

Than Phan, 16, said she was so impressed that she is rethinking her current career goal of practicing medicine.

“I was thinking about being a doctor and now I’m thinking of working with the astronauts,” she said.

Elida Arzola said she had been interested in space before the mission to Mars. But she said meeting Furman gives her bragging rights among her friends.

The Pathfinder mission “has been like all over the news, and to be able to actually talk to someone involved in it is pretty impressive,” the 15-year-old said. “Now I can say that I talked to someone who worked on a spaceship, then say, ‘So what did you do this summer?’ ”

Instructor Cherie Crenshaw said speakers are brought in each day to teach the students about careers and offer them guidance.

She said that in essays written earlier this summer, a majority of the class said they wanted to be the first person on Mars.

Furman said she hasn’t given up on that possibility herself.

“If someone offered me a ride,” she said, “I wouldn’t turn it down.”