Rego Park Man On Team Behind NASA's Latest Mars Rover: Report

REGO PARK, QUEENS — NASA's Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars on Thursday, after a months-long journey through space. Now, it begins its work searching for signs of past life — and a Rego Park native played a key role in making that possible, according to a news report.

Vishnu Sridhar, 27, was the lead systems engineer for the rover's SuperCam, a microscopic-level camera that can scan rocks and minerals as far as 20 feet away and take high-resolution images, Gothamist reported.

Geologists will use those images to look for biosignatures — in other words, substances that provide scientific evidence of past life.

"When I say we're looking for life on Mars, we're certainly not looking for little green men or Martians or aliens," Sridhar told Gothamist. "We're looking for substances or chemical patterns that only life based-processes can create."

Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021

Sridhar developed an early fascination with airplanes living near LaGuardia and JFK Airports, he told Gothamist, and decided to pursue aerospace engineering.

He spent the last three years developing the SuperCam, which was integrated with the Perseverance rover in summer 2019, he told Gothamist.

"That's something I will cherish for the rest of my life," he said, "to have touched and worked on a piece of hardware that's on its way to Mars."

Read the full story in Gothamist.