L'Italo-Americano

A moka pot on the stove, pressure building, coffee s l o w l y r i s i n g . F o r m a n y , i t ' s just a daily ritual, but for Dalia Raafat it's a tiny les- s o n i n a p p l i e d p h y s i c s . "When you realize that math a n d p h y s i c s a r e t h e l a n - guages the universe is writ- ten in," she says, "you start seeing everything differently. Even a simple object like a moka pot becomes fascinat- ing because there are ther- modynamic laws behind it that explain how it works." That curiosity and unique way of seeing the world have taken her far: Dalia – born in Ravenna in 1996 and raised in La Spezia – now works as a mechatronics engineer at N A S A ' s J e t P r o p u l s i o n Laboratory (JPL) in Cali- f o r n i a , o n e o f t h e w o r l d ' s leading centers for robotic space exploration. She works on testing and mechanical s y s t e m s f o r M a r s m i s - sions, including the Perse- verance rover. Her path, however, wasn't t h a t o f a " c h i l d p r o d i g y . " After high school, she doubt- ed her scientific abilities, and her first years at the Univer- sity of Pisa were challenging a n d f u l l o f d o u b t s . A f t e r deciding to start over at the University of Genoa, at the L a S p e z i a c a m p u s , D a l i a graduated with top marks in mechanical engineering and later in mechatronics engi- neering, also completing a program at the University of Genoa's Scuola Superiore. "The incredible coincidence is that the day I graduated with my bachelor's degree was the same day Persever- ance landed on Mars," Raafat recalls. H e r m o v e t o C a l i f o r n i a c a m e a l m o s t b y c h a n c e . D a l i a h a d r e a d a b o u t Michelle Easter, a JPL engi- neer who would later become her mentor; after following her on social media for some time, she found the courage to reach out. That conversa- tion led to an opportunity to do her thesis at JPL, where she arrived in 2022 as an intern. Five months later, even before defending her master's thesis, she received a full-time job offer. "One big talent I have is being persis- tent," she says with a smile, "and I think that can take you far in life. Two months after starting as an intern, I went to the office of the JPL deputy director with a Pow- erPoint presentation and told him: this is what I do, and I want to work on the Mars Sample Return pro- ject. He laughed and even c a l l e d t h e t h e n - d i r e c t o r , Laurie Leshin, saying, 'Come m e e t t h i s y o u n g t a l e n t . ' That's how I got noticed, and after five months they o f f e r e d m e a j o b , e v e n before I graduated." Today, Dalia works daily on the sys- tems that allow rovers to m o v e a c r o s s t h e M a r t i a n surface, testing in the lab how components react to the planet's extreme condi- tions. D a l i a , y o u r c a r e e r path seems like a classic example of the Ameri- can Dream. How did it feel to join NASA? When I arrived at the Jet P r o p u l s i o n L a b o r a t o r y , I immediately knew it was the right place for me. The first project I was assigned was d e s i g n i n g a s e p a r a t i o n mechanism from scratch for a Mars-related mission. At first, I was terrified: I told my supervisor I didn't feel u p t o t h e t a s k . B u t t h e y encouraged me, and step by step, I was able to carry it through. Y o u s p e c i a l i z e i n m e c h a t r o n i c s . W h a t does that involve? It's a relatively new field that combines mechanics, electronics, and computer science. I initially worked on t h e M a r s S a m p l e R e t u r n mission, which aims to bring rock samples collected on Mars back to Earth. In that context, I designed a separa- tion mechanism for one of t h e m i s s i o n ' s s y s t e m s . Today, I work on testing for the Perseverance rover. In o u r l a b , w e s i m u l a t e t h e extreme conditions on Mars to see how long certain rover components can continue functioning. In particular, we test the wheel actuators: w e r e c r e a t e v i b r a t i o n s , shocks, rough terrain, and Martian temperatures to see how many extra kilometers t h e r o v e r c o u l d t r a v e l beyond its original design. What excites you most about working at NASA? I love working alongside people who contributed to historic missions like Cassi- ni or Galileo. It's like tap- ping into a daily wealth of knowledge. Is it still unusual to be a w o m a n i n e n g i n e e r- ing? It depends. At JPL, there are many female engineers, a n d I ' v e n e v e r f e l t o u t o f place. In Italy, the situation is a bit different…When I studied in Pisa, we were very few: out of hundreds of stu- dents, maybe a dozen were w o m e n . E v e n d u r i n g m y m a s t e r ' s p r o g r a m , I w a s often the only one. D o y o u n g w o m e n reach out to you, saying they're inspired by your story? Yes, and that's one of the things that makes me happi- est. Many write to say they w e r e t h i n k i n g o f l e a v i n g their studies but decided to c o n t i n u e . M y a d v i c e i s always to first understand whether it's truly your pas- sion. If it is, it's worth perse- vering, even when it seems impossible. I've had many failures, and for years, peo- ple told me I wouldn't make it. But I learned that com- mitment and determination can compensate, even if you don't start with a natural tal- ent. What would you like t o w o r k o n i n t h e future? I've always dreamed of working on Perseverance, so that alone is incredible. I'd like to continue working on Mars missions and maybe contribute one day to the mission that will bring the samples back to Earth, prob- ably around 2033. It would be the first time in human history that material from another planet arrives on E a r t h . I n g e n e r a l , I l o v e learning new things: robot- i c s , a u t o m a t i o n , a u t o n o m o u s s y s t e m s . A t J P L , e v e r y p r o j e c t i s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x p l o r e something completely new. W h a t i s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t d i s c o v e r y y o u ' v e m a d e a b o u t Mars? Among the samples col- lected by Perseverance, one has drawn significant atten- tion from scientists. It con- tains structures and features t h a t c o u l d b e c o m p a t i b l e with signs of past biological activity. It's important to remain cautious, though: at this stage, these are only preliminary indications. To truly understand what they are, these samples will need to be returned to Earth as p a r t o f t h e M a r s S a m p l e R e t u r n m i s s i o n a n d a n a - lyzed in laboratories with far more advanced instruments. Only then can we establish their origin with certainty. S p a c e i s o f t e n p o r - t r a y e d i n H o l l y w o o d f i l m s . W h i c h i s y o u r favorite? I really liked The Martian, but probably my favorite is Interstellar. Not just for the story, but also for the astro- physicist character played b y J e s s i c a C h a s t a i n : a strong, central female role that was originally written for a man. Seeing it played by a woman really struck a chord with me. SILVIA NITTOLI The American dream of Dalia Raafat, f r o m L a S p e z i a t o N A S A s t u d y i n g missions on Mars THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano Dalia Raafat (above) is a mechatronic engineer originally from La Spezia. She has been working for NASA since 2022 (Photo: Silvia Nittoli) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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