- NASA's Mars Perseverance mission could inspire more girls to undertake careers in this traditionally male-dominated sector.
- The US space agency, which aims to land the first woman on the moon by 2024, is on a mission to boost diversity.
- Female role models such as Vandi Verma, the space roboticist operating Perseverance, could be key to encouraging girls to study STEM subjects.
With "one of the coolest jobs in the world", NASA rover operator Vandi Verma hopes women's high profile in the latest Mars mission will inspire a new generation to pursue careers in a sector traditionally dominated by men.
Verma's colleague Swati Mohan made headlines around the world when she narrated the nail-biting landing of the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet following its perilous descent through the Martian atmosphere.
"It's definitely inspired girls everywhere. It's opened people's perceptions of who can be a space engineer," Verma told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
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