JIM: I'M JIM KIRCHHERR, AND I BEGAN THINKING ABOUT A QUESTION THAT YOU GET A LOT WHEN YOU'RE A KID: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

BECAUSE WE HAVE STORIES ABOUT DIFFERENT PEOPLE -- DIFFERENT AGES, DIFFERENT CAREERS, DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, DIFFERENT PATHWAYS.

WE START WITH A STORY OF A ST.

LOUISAN WHO'S NOW WORKING FOR NASA IN THE JET-PROPULSION LAB.

SHE WAS ONE OF THE NAMELESS, FACELESS MEMBERS ON THE "MARS INSIGHT" TEAM -- WAS -- UNTIL SHE INADVERTENTLY AND MOMENTARILY STEPPED TO CENTER STAGE.

WHEN SHE WAS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, THIS WAS SOMEBODY WE REALLY WANTED TO MEET.

BROOKE: THAT'S THE THING.

EVERYONE THAT KNOWS ME IN REAL LIFE KNOWS, LIKE, I DO NOT WANT THE SPOTLIGHT.

JIM: HER NAME IS BROOKE HARPER, AND IF YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE THE NAME OR THE FACE, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER HER FROM THIS VIDEO.

WOMAN: TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] WOMAN: "INSIGHT" IS ON THE SURFACE OF MARS!

JIM: WHEN THE "INSIGHT" SPACECRAFT LANDED ON MARS NOVEMBER 26th OF LAST YEAR, THE AEROSPACE ENGINEER, WHO GREW UP IN CHESTERFIELD, WENT TO PARKWAY CENTRAL WITH ENGINEERING DEGREES FROM MIZZOU AND GEORGIA TECH, CELEBRATED WITH HER COLLEAGUE AND BECAME AN INTERNET SENSATION.

BROOKE: IT'S ALL A BLUR TO ME NOW, TO BE HONEST.

IT WAS JUST SUCH A HIGH AND AN EMOTION THAT I'VE NEVER FELT IN MY LIFE.

IT WAS JUST -- "SURREAL" IS THE WORD THAT I KEEP USING.

AS A SYSTEMS ENGINEER YOU LIVE IN PARANOIA UNTIL A SPACECRAFT IS SAFELY ON THE GROUND.

JIM: YEAH, THOSE OF US WHO ARE FOLLOWING THIS, WE SORT OF ASSUME IT WILL WORK, BUT IF YOU THINK BACK, THERE HAVE BEEN PROJECTS THAT HAVE LITERALLY CRASHED AND BURNED OR DISAPPEARED OR LOST CONTACT WITH.

BROOKE: CORRECT, YEAH.

THERE WAS ABOUT A 40% SUCCESS RATE AT MARS, SO, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN HALF.

JIM: THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE, OF COURSE, WHO MADE IT HAPPEN -- THE PEOPLE WHO DESIGNED AND BUILT "INSIGHT..." [RUMBLING] MAN 1: ZERO.

JIM: ...THE TEAM IN CHARGE OF THE LAUNCH, AND THE SEPARATION TO BEGIN THE LONG JOURNEY TO MARS -- THAT WORKED, AND THEY CELEBRATED.

MAN 2: A LOT OF EXCITED PEOPLE.

JIM: "INSIGHT" WOULD TRAVEL FOR SIX MONTHS, AND IT DIDN'T HAVE TO JUST GET TO MARS.

IT HAD TO ENTER THE ATMOSPHERE AT JUST THE RIGHT ANGLE.

TOO SHALLOW AND IT BOUNCES OFF INTO SPACE.

TOO STEEP AND IT BURNS UP.

THEY GOT THE ANGLE RIGHT, AND THAT'S WHEN THE E.D.L.

BEGINS -- ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING.

BROOKE HARPER'S ON THAT TEAM, AND SO WE ASKED HER TO GIVE THE PLAY-BY-PLAY OF THE ANIMATED VERSION.

BROOKE: RIGHT NOW OUR AEROSHELL, WHICH IS THE UPSIDE-DOWN, ICE-CREAM-CONE-LOOKING THING, IS GOING TO SEPARATE FROM THE CRUISE STAGE, WHICH IS WHAT JUST HAPPENED RIGHT THERE.

THAT CRUISE STAGE HAD SOLAR RAYS ON IT.

IT WAS PROVIDING US POWER AND EVERYTHING DURING THE ABOUT SIX-AND-A-HALF MONTH CRUISE.

AT THIS POINT WE ARE REACHING THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE, AND WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS OUR HEAT SHIELD, WHICH IS GLORIFIED, FANCY CORK, GET HOT AND IT REALLY INSULATES THE SPACECRAFT.

JIM: IS THIS WHERE YOU START WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER ALL THIS STUFF'S GONNA SURVIVE?

BROOKE: YEAH, THIS IS IT.

THIS IS ENTRY RIGHT NOW.

THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE THAT ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT THE EXACT, RIGHT TIME DOESN'T, AND UNFORTUNATELY, IN THE CASE OF ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING, YOU NEED ALL THOSE THINGS TO HAPPEN CORRECTLY OR YOUR MISSION IS DONE.

JIM: NOBODY'S DRIVING THIS THING ANYMORE, RIGHT?

BROOKE: CORRECT.

JIM: IT'S DRIVING ITSELF.

BROOKE: IT'S ALL DOING IT -- JIM: THIS IS ALL OF THE PROGRAMMING IS DRIVING IT.

BROOKE: IT'S ALL ON ITS OWN.

JIM: SO THERE'S NO JOYSTICKS.

THERE'S NO INSTRUCTIONS.

THERE'S NO "DO THIS, DO THAT."

BROOKE: AND, IN FACT, IT TAKES AROUND EIGHT MINUTES FOR A COMMAND TO BE SENT TO THE SPACECRAFT, AND ALL OF E.D.L.

TAKES BETWEEN FIVE-AND-A-HALF TO SEVEN-AND-A-HALF MINUTES, DEPENDING ON ATMOSPHERE AND MASS AND... JIM: IN THE BUSINESS THEY JUST CALL IT "SEVEN MINUTES OF TERROR".

BROOKE: ...AND A BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS.

JIM: SO IN THE TIME SOMETHING WENT WRONG, YOU WOULDN'T FIND OUT ABOUT IT... BROOKE: EXACTLY.

JIM: ...UNTIL IT WAS -- BROOKE: EXACTLY.

SO -- JIM: SHE'S 29 YEARS OLD.

AND BEING A WOMAN IN THE SPACE PROGRAM ISN'T ALL THAT UNUSUAL ANYMORE.

SHE SAYS THE E.D.L.

TEAM WAS ABOUT 50-50 MEN AND WOMEN.

BUT SHE ALSO KNOWS THAT VIDEO HAS MADE HER SOMETHING OF A ROLE MODEL FOR GIRLS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.

JIM: NOW WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

WHAT KIND OF KID WERE YOU?

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS FIELD?

IS IT SOMETHING YOU WERE EARLY ON INTERESTED IN OR THAT YOU PICKED IT UP LATER?

BROOKE: I KNEW I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY.

AS A KID, I WAS ALWAYS LOOKING UP AT THE STARS.

IT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN.

AND I DECIDED TO GO TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, AND THAT WAS WHERE I REALLY WANTED TO EMPHASIZE IN SOMETHING.

AND I RESEARCHED ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING, AND GEORGIA TECH ACTUALLY HAD A GREAT PROGRAM THAT WAS VERY ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING FOCUSED, AND I FORTUNATELY WAS ACCEPTED INTO THAT PROGRAM.

YEAH, I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNTIL 2012 AND, YOU KNOW, HERE I AM NOW, 2018, SIX YEARS LATER, HAVING JUST ACCOMPLISHED MY FIRST FLIGHT PROJECT, WHICH WAS A MISSION TO MARS WITH ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING.

SO IT'S ALL BEEN A DREAM THAT, YEAH, IF I LOOK AT EVERYTHING IN HINDSIGHT OF MY LIFE, IT'S PRETTY CRAZY.

JIM: ONE OF HER JOBS AS PART OF THE E.D.L.

TEAM WAS TO THINK UP WORSE-CASE SCENARIOS, THROW MONKEY WRENCHES INTO THE PLANS, COME UP WITH THINGS THAT COULD GO WRONG AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW "INSIGHT" WOULD HAVE TO RESPOND.

BROOKE: AND HOPEFULLY IT WOULD RESPOND IN A MANNER THAT WE COULD SURVIVE.

WE GO THROUGH WHAT WE CALL THE "HYPERSONIC PHASE" AND EVENTUALLY DEPLOY THE PARACHUTE, WHICH IS WHAT JUST HAPPENED, AT ABOUT 11 KILOMETERS FROM THE GROUND.

AFTER WE DEPLOY THE CHUTE, WE DEPLOYED OUR HEAT SHIELD AND OUR LANDING LEGS, WHICH IS WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

FOR US AS A TEAM, WE WERE VERY OPTIMISTIC, BUT, OF COURSE, THERE ARE THOSE WHAT WE CALL "UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS".

MARS MAY THROW US A BAD WEATHER DAY AND OUR DENSITY PREDICTION MAY BE COMPLETELY OFF FROM WHAT WE HAD ESTIMATED AND, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD INFLUENCE THE FLIGHT A LOT, AND, YOU KNOW, OUR RADAR COULDN'T WORK OR MAYBE ONE OF OUR PYROS DON'T ACTUALLY FIRE AND WE NEVER SEPARATE FROM THE CRUISE STAGE OR WE NEVER DEPLOY THE CHUTE OR THE CHUTE EXPLODES.

I MEAN, ALL THESE THINGS CAN HAPPEN.

JIM: AND DO HAPPEN.

IN 2016, THE "EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY" HAD A VERY SIMILAR LANDING PLANNED FOR THE "SCHIAPARELLI" SPACECRAFT, AND ONE OF MANY THINGS THAT COULD GO WRONG DID.

IT ENTERED THE ATMOSPHERE, AND THEY WAITED FOR WORD OF TOUCHDOWN, AND WAITED AND NEVER HEARD FROM IT AGAIN.

A PHOTO TAKEN BY A SATELLITE LATER SHOWED THE CRASH SITE.

DATA INDICATED THAT WHEN THE PARACHUTE OPENED, THE CRAFT STARTED SPINNING FASTER THAN ITS INDICATORS COULD MEASURE, THEN THE RADAR MISREAD THE ALTITUDE.

THE CHUTE WAS RELEASED TOO EARLY.

THE ENGINES FIRED BUT ONLY FOR A FEW SECONDS, AND IT PLUNGED TO THE MARTIAN SURFACE.

TWO YEARS LATER, NASA'S "INSIGHT" WAS BEGINNING ITS OWN ENTRY AND DESCENT.

WOMAN: "INSIGHT" SHOULD NOW BE EXPERIENCING THE PEAK HEATING RATE.

BROOKE: IN THE ROOM IT'S -- I MEAN, YOU CAN CUT EVERYTHING WITH A KNIFE.

IT'S JUST EVERYONE IS SO TENSE.

IT'S HIGH ANXIETY, HIGH STRESS.

WE'VE -- WE'RE ALL EXHAUSTED FROM OPERATIONS AND OBVIOUSLY THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT YOU'VE POURED OVER YEARS TO MAKE THIS A REALITY AND A SUCCESS.

JIM: BUT SHE AND HER COLLEAGUE AND FELLOW FOOTBALL FAN GENE BONFIGLIO WERE CONFIDENT ENOUGH THAT SIX WEEKS BEFORE "INSIGHT'S" ARRIVAL AT MARS THEY STARTED PLANNING HOW THEY WOULD CELEBRATE SUCCESS, AT LEAST, IN PART, TO BREAK THE TENSION.

BROOKE: WE FOUND A VIDEO OF A TOUCHDOWN CELEBRATION THAT WE THOUGHT AS ENGINEERS WE COULD... JIM: [LAUGHS] BROOKE: ...ACTUALLY TRY AND DO.

WHEN WE TOUCHED DOWN ON MARS WE WERE READY TO GO THROUGH THIS HANDSHAKE.

WOMAN: TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] WOMAN: "INSIGHT" IS ON THE SURFACE OF MARS!

[LAUGHTER] BROOKE: IT WAS NOT PLANNED THAT WE WOULD ACTUALLY BE THE FRONT-AND-CENTER SHOT ON THE CAMERA FEED, BUT WE WERE, AND THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA PICKED UP ON, SO IT'S BEEN VERY POSITIVE REACTIONS TO IT AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST HAPPY TO HELP EXPOSE PEOPLE AND ENGAGE PEOPLE IN WHAT THE "INSIGHT" MISSION IS ALL ABOUT.

SO IT'S BEEN REALLY A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH HIM AND I. JIM: "INSIGHT" IS NOW DOING ITS WORK -- NOT JUST TAKING PICTURES.

THAT'S BEEN DONE ALREADY.

IT'S LOOKING DEEP INTO THE PLANET, NASA SAYS, TO TAKE ITS VITAL SIGNS: HEAT, SEISMOLOGY, STUDYING THE INTERIOR OF MARS, ITS GEOLOGIC HISTORY.

THE E.D.L.

TEAM IS NO LONGER INVOLVED IN THAT, BUT THEY ARE TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT ALL THE DATA THAT WAS SENT BACK, AND SO FAR IT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.

BUT YOU'RE HOOKED ON IT NOW.

BROOKE: YEAH.

YEAH.

IT'S FUN.

IT'S A LOT OF WORK BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW -- LIKE I SAID, THAT FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND SUCCESS IS SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO FEEL AGAIN, AND I FEEL LIKE DOING ANOTHER MISSION IS REALLY WHAT'S GONNA PROVIDE ME THAT.

JIM: SO MY FINAL QUESTION IS: HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT GOING TO MARS YOURSELF?

BROOKE: I HAVE.

I DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE THAT WILL VOLUNTEER FOR ONE OF THE FIRST OR SECOND OR EVEN PROBABLY A HUNDREDTH MISSION.

I WOULD WAIT UNTIL THINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY -- IT'S A FLIGHT FROM HERE TO KANSAS CITY IS WHAT I'LL WAIT FOR.

BUT I KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE EAGER TO VOLUNTEER FOR THAT FIRST MISSION TO MARS, AND NOT MYSELF.

I THINK IT'S VERY COOL.

I WOULD MAYBE DO A TRIP AROUND EARTH OR GO TO THE MOON SOMEDAY, BUT I'M NOT SURE MARS IS IN MY FUTURE FOR MYSELF.

JIM: BUT YOU WOULDN'T MIND HELPING THEM GET THERE.

BROOKE: OH, ABSOLUTELY.

ABSOLUTELY.

THAT WOULD BE A DREAM.

IF I WERE SOMEHOW ON THE MISSION THAT WOULD TAKE THE FIRST HUMANS TO MARS, THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE -- MUCH MORE TERRIFYING 'CAUSE NOW, YOU KNOW -- MONEY IS ONE THING BUT YOU'VE GOT HUMAN LIFE.

THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO PROTECT AND BE CONFIDENT THAT YOUR SYSTEM IS GOING TO WORK.

JIM: YEAH, YOU NEED A BETTER THAN 40% CHANCE AT IT.

BROOKE: YEAH, EXACTLY.

JIM: YEAH.

BROOKE: EXACTLY.

SO THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE.