Page 17 - MidWeek - Apr 7, 2021

APRIL 7, 2021 MIDWEEK 17
Pong: From Punahou To Perseverance
FROM PAGE 12
In describing his childhood, Pong says, “My brother and I would explore the neighborhood, race down our cul-de-sac in our wooden go-kart, or swing down the zip line from our tree house. I played soccer and was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout. It was a very hap- py time in my life.”
Pong also possesses an artistic side. In high school, he created beautiful works of art, such as a nice painting of Humphrey Bog- art, pottery, glasswork and more, Akamine recalls.
and Perseverance taking its first samples.
Within the home, education was stressed by their parents. Whenev- er they would ask for a toy, their mom would respond with a simple question: “What’s the toy’s educa- tional value?”
However, she concludes that his love of rockets and science ul- timately prevailed. He had, after all, expressed a desire to become a physicist even before turning 8.
Pong is currently working as the guidance and control systems engi- neering lead on the proposed Sam- ple Retrieval Lander, which will deposit both a Sample Fetch Rov- er and Mars Ascent Vehicle near Jezero Crater. The rover will pick up the samples that Perseverance will soon collect and bring them back to the rocket to be launched from Mars. Another mission —
“Besides being a physicist, he also wanted to be an astronaut and explore space,” she says.
“Needless to say, that often stopped that conversation,” Pong declares. “But we did get pretty cool toys like K’NEX, Capsela or LEGO Mindstorms, which led to model rockets and building elec- tronics like a radio and robot.”
And space is certainly on Pong’s mind a lot these days. He explains that his role on the Perseverance Mars project is largely over since he’s not directly involved with the operation of “Percy” — what the rover’s name has been shortened to — as it explores Mars.
(Left) Members of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover team watch in mission control as the first images arrive moments after the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars Feb. 18 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
(Above) Pong and other team members react in mission control after receiving confirmation of the spacecraft’s landing. PHOTOS COURTESY BILL INGALLS/NASA
Despite Pong possessing a sharp mind at an early age (his mother notes that her “very observant” son would soak up “knowledge and skills just by watching others”), he also has humility.
“I am just analyzing telemetry that was recorded during cruise and just before entry, descent and landing so that we can learn from what happened and apply that knowledge to future missions,” he shares.
the proposed Earth Return Orbiter constructed by the European Space Agency — will grab the samples from orbit around Mars and send them back to Earth.
to Scripps College, which is right next to Harvey Mudd College. Af- ter we graduated, we both moved to Boston for graduate school. She went to Boston University while I went to MIT,” Pong explains.
“This is something that I keep in mind to this day and I believe it’s why some of the most knowledge- able people that I work with are so willing to sit down and answer questions from junior engineers,” he concludes.
“When he was in middle school, I recall seeing his name in the Puna- hou bulletin. He had placed third in a national math competition. I asked him about it and he said it wasn’t a big deal and I responded, ‘Of course it’s a big deal! I’m so proud of you,’” Akamine explains.
He adds that he is excited to see all the images that are downlinked every day showing the Martian landscape, close-up views of rocks and the various instruments on the rover being deployed.
The engineer from Oʻahu has worked on the project for more than four years and says it has been a thoroughly amazing expe- rience.
“For a couple years, we lived together with my brother and his wife. We now live in South Pas- adena, where my wife runs an in-home daycare with six kids, including our two,” he adds.
He also recalls one fun thing that just happened to him a few weeks ago when he participated in a Zoom chat question-and-answer session about Perseverance, orga- nized by Art and Rene Kimura, who started Future Flight Hawai‘i. Three of the participants were his favorite teachers from Punahou (Christine David, Susan Field and Michael Gearen), who he hadn’t seen since he graduated almost 17 years ago.
In addition, Pong looks for- ward to the small robot helicopter
“It’s very cool to be working alongside senior engineers, some of whom appear in documenta- ries that I watched when I was just dreaming about working at a place like JPL. Everyone comes from such diverse backgrounds and shares a passion for space,” he sums up.
Pong shares that his experience as a student at Punahou School certainly set him up for success in his career.
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When he’s not working, Pong enjoys spending time with his wife, Julia, and their two children, 5-year-old Oakley and 3-year-old August.
“One thing that started at Puna- hou, for me, was learning through teaching,” he emphasizes. “In my AP Calculus BC class, I was given the opportunity to teach a lesson or two to my fellow classmates. In AP Physics C, we were always split up into small groups and we’d have to work through problems together as a team. This taught me that being able to explain a concept to someone else requires a much more deep under- standing of the material.
“It was awesome to reconnect with them (briefly) after all of these years!” Pong declares excitedly.
(Left) The future NASA employee dons a spacesuit as a child. (Above) A family photo of Julia, August, Oakley and Christopher Pong. PHOTOS COURTESY CHRISTOPHER PONG
“We love traveling interna- tionally, but due to the pandem- ic, we’ ve recently been camping in places around California. My wife and I met in college. She went
Although many questions re- main to be answered about the na- ture of the enigmatic planet Mars, one thing is certain. Pong has defi- nitely had a “blast” in taking part in its exploration.