Go after your dreams even if society does not intend you for those you cherish, even if you do not embody the stereotype of the majority, even if the competition is fierce, even if you will have to face many refusals before reach them. This sums up the journey of Farah Alibay, this young Quebecer who piloted the Perseverance rover and her small Ingenuity helicopter which landed on Mars in February 2021, and who achieved an unprecedented technological feat: that of making flying a small craft on this planet for the first time.
This is also an important aspect of the book My Martian Year that she wrote at the end of her contribution to the Mars 2020 Mission, which represented, for her, the fulfillment of a dream. “This book was an opportunity to tell my story in my own words, to talk about my origins, my journey, my passions, my failures, the difficulties I experienced as a teenager and as a young adult and which are probably the same as other young people are experiencing. These are things I wish I had known when I was between 10 and 25 years old. I would have liked someone to tell me: You had a failure, it doesn’t matter, you can get up, ”she confided to us when we met her last week.
It is amazing to hear this beautiful, fulfilled young woman who has risen to the top NASA teams, to whom everything seems to succeed, admit that everything was not so simple, that she had to wipe out ” a dozen no’s, maybe more, for every yes’. “I think that’s kind of it for everyone. It’s normal when you want to take your place in a very competitive field. I wanted to show [dans mon livre] It’s okay to be told no, but the important thing is to get up and try again. I often hear people say: “you are smart, you succeed all the time”. No, that’s not true, it’s just that the media only report success stories. In the book, I show that it’s never a straight line,” she says.
Coming from a family of Indian origin who lived for several generations in Madagascar before emigrating to Quebec in the late 1980s, Farah Alibay was born in Montreal, then spent her childhood in Lanaudière, near Joliette, where people of color were still extremely rare. When she finished secondary 2, her family moved to Manchester, England.
Because of her dark skin and her first name of Persian origin, which refers to her family’s Muslim faith, Farah feels “other” in these two countries. Following the attack of September 11, 2001, this feeling is accentuated. “It was then that I discovered that as an immigrant of color I would have to work harder than others to prove myself in society and to be among the best, if I wanted to have a chance to succeed,” she wrote.
Determined, she completed a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at Cambridge University in engineering, then embarked on a doctorate in aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. In these fields historically dominated by men, Farah feels all the more in the minority because she is “not only a woman, but a racialized woman and the daughter of immigrants,” she says.
After many steps and having knocked on all doors, she was finally hired at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In this NASA center specializing in robotic exploration of the solar system, in the suburbs of Los Angeles, she worked on various projects before realizing her dream of participating in a mission to Mars.
It was in November 2019 that he was entrusted with the management of the navigation system of the rover Perseverance and the small Ingenuity helicopter which will be stowed on board. Her contribution to this mission will last 687 days, the length of a Martian year, during which she will put the two robots through their paces in the JPL laboratories before Perseverance is launched on July 30, 2020 and then lands on Mars. , February 18, 2021. The Martian year culminates with Ingenuity’s first successful Mars flight that Farah pilots on April 19, 2021. fly on Mars, whose atmosphere is extremely thin, since it corresponds to only 1% of that of the Earth’s atmosphere. Even if we made more complex flights afterwards, even if we were able to demonstrate many more possibilities, the first flight is the one we will always remember, just as we remember “the moment when our child made his first not,” she said.
Her contribution to this mission ends on September 27, 2021. During the next few months of leave, Farah embarks on the writing of her book in which she also shares her knowledge of space and explains in clear terms the scientific questions that motivate the space missions in which it has participated. Through these passages shine through his passion, his wonder and his joy in learning and understanding.
Despite being “a woman, racialized and immigrant” which made her path more difficult, Farah Alibay says she nevertheless had assets that helped her achieve her goals. First, a family where gender stereotypes did not exist and which always encouraged her to pursue her interests, whatever they may be. “In my little family cocoon, I could be whatever I wanted while the outside told me something different. My family gave me confidence in myself,” she says.
Also, teachers who fed her thirst for learning by giving her more exercises, more reading than was requested, and who encouraged her to apply to the greatest institutions. And friends who surrounded her when she doubted herself.
Imposing itself in this field monopolized until recently by men was not easy? “The situation has improved since the beginning of my career, but I cannot say that it is now perfect. There are only 20 to 25% women in my field. Sexist microaggressions still exist. There is only one racialized woman in management at my job. There is still a lot of work to be done to have a more inclusive environment,” she says.
What qualities do you think are most important to achieving your dreams? “I think it’s perseverance, but also curiosity and passion. The important thing is to find the field that excites us and then to dive into it head first,” she advises young people who aspire to follow in her footsteps. “Nos taught me perseverance, the importance of not losing hope and getting up when you fall. » […] “We are not defined by our successes, but by our strength in the face of failure and our ability to pick ourselves up, learn and move forward,” she writes.
Farah Alibay is now working for the SPHEREx telescope mission which will be launched in 2025. This telescope will scan the sky in infrared and will allow us to study the very beginnings of the expansion of the Universe and the formation of galaxies. “It’s a smaller mission, but I have a bigger technical role in it,” she says.
And his next dream? “I hope to get bigger and bigger roles in space robotics missions. As long as I continue to learn, that I continue to satisfy my curiosity, I’m happy. My work aims to explore the solar system with robots, whether to Mars or elsewhere, we will see. »