Cassandra Smith

Mechatronics Engineer @NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA, US

Mars Sample Return (MSR) Engineer:March 2023 - current: Sample Recovery Helicopter Mechatronics Engineer- Mass Properties Engineer- Developed MATLAB and Excel programs to read in Moments of Inertia and determine z-axis offset - Developed full mass-model to study impact of geometric and design changes - Meet with Chief Engineers and SRH team weekly - Antenna Cognizant Engineer- Responsible for the design, analysis, testing, and build of the SRH Antennas (on the helicopter and lander)- Use MAC and Modal MAC to estimate structural environment of antenna designs - Work with RF and solar array teams to develop design and alternate solutions- Solar Panel Mechanical Cognizant Engineer- Developed new Solar Array layering technique with primary vendor - Moved new technology and design forward, created 3x test coupons - Designed various solar array solutions, aspect ratios, shadowing, and packing factors with different requirements and goals- Mechanical Support - Delivered Camera FOVs for sensor location and orientation - Designing camera mounting structures and tolerance stackups - Developing repeatable camera mounting design - Designing and delivering helicopter travel suitcasesFebruary 2021 - March 2023: Capture, Containment and Return System (CCRS) Support Engineer- Primary Containment Vessel Support Engineer- Designed and tested various designs for brazing, heat-shrink fit, and leak checking concepts - Ran testing with vacuum chamber, leak testing devices, drop towers, and thermocouples - Worked with titanium components: drawings, heat-treating, inspection, and testing - Designed components and hardware for flight and prototyping - Heater Cognizant Engineer- Responsible for the delivery of the 3x flight heaters - Worked with vendors, support engineers, and manufacturing specialists to design, deliver, and test heater prototypes