{"id":115667,"date":"2021-03-05T00:36:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T08:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=115667"},"modified":"2021-03-05T00:36:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T08:36:49","slug":"president-biden-in-a-call-to-congratulate-the-nasa-jpl-perseverance-team-on-the-successful-mars-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=115667","title":{"rendered":"President Biden in a Call to Congratulate the NASA JPL Perseverance Team on the Successful Mars Landing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Via Teleconference, Roosevelt Room.  5:04 P.M. EST.  DR. WATKINS:  Mr. President?  THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  DR. WATKINS:  This is Mike Watkins at JPL.  THE PRESIDENT:  Hey, Mike.  How are ya?  DR. WATKINS:  I want to thank you so much.  We are very well, especially after the \u2014 after February 18th.  THE PRESIDENT:  I tell you what: You did an incredible job.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YWKgfVrbiKs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  We thank you for that, and we appreciate that.  And it\u2019s our honor to be given these kinds of tasks; it\u2019s what we live for.<\/p>\n<p>And so you may see here I\u2019m surrounded by a few hundred of my best friends in this and a couple of other control rooms and online.  You know, these are really big team efforts, and it\u2019s important to us to get as much of the team to join with us today as we could.  And we really appreciate your time.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Appreciate it.  I\u2019m flattered you\u2019d take the time to let me talk to you.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  Well, we would love to have you out here someday.  In fact, I\u2019ve got two badges for you and the Vice President.  So when COVID winds down, I hope you come out here and have a chance to meet the team directly.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019ll be happy to do that.  I\u2019ll be happy to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Am I supposed to speak now or is Swati?<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  Thanks.  We would love it.  You know, one of the things I wanted to also note \u2014 I think \u2014 you know, you \u2014 I know you watched \u2014 I saw pictures of you watching the landing coverage.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  And, you know, that was a great opportunity, you know, for us to show, I think, the country what, you know, we can do \u2014 and the world, really \u2014 but also, you know, to bring a whole new generation of STEM, you know, into the fold.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  And I think we had a lot of people watching who didn\u2019t know that they were STEM people, but now they are \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yep.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  \u2014 after having watched that.  And it\u2019s something we \u2014 you know, it\u2019s very important to us.  It\u2019s a major part of what we do here at JPL and, of course, NASA as an agency.  And we\u2019re \u2014 it\u2019s just great to have that \u2014 you know, that bully pulpit to showcase that talent.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  It\u2019s incredible talent.<\/p>\n<p>Now, am I supposed to speak or is Swati going to say something?  I was told I was going to hear from Swati.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  So, either way \u2014 any way you\u2019d like to do it is fine.  We have Dr. Mohan here with me.  She \u2014 of course, you know her from the landing coverage.  But \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Hey, Doc.  How are you?<\/p>\n<p>DR. MOHAN:  I\u2019m doing very well, Mr. President.  Thank you for \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I just want you to know \u2014<\/p>\n<p>DR. MOHAN:  \u2014 for taking the time to speak with us.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Are you kidding me?  What an honor this is.  This is an incredible honor.  And it\u2019s amazing.  Indian \u2014 of descent \u2014 Americans are taking over the country: you; my Vice President; my speechwriter, Vinay.  I tell you what.  But thank you.  You guys are incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Did you want to say something?  I\u2019ll be quiet.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  Absolutely.  You know, tell us how you felt on landing day and, actually, what path brought you to here at the lab.<\/p>\n<p>DR. MOHAN:  Absolutely.  So my path actually started way back when I was a child, watching my first episode of Star Trek.  In addition to those fantastical scenes of space, what really captured my attention was this really close-knit team who was working together, manipulating this technological marvel with the sole purpose of exploring space and understanding new things and seeking new life. <\/p>\n<p>You know, Perseverance is my first mission at JPL where I\u2019ve gotten to work from the very beginning of formulation, all the way through operations, and it made me feel like I was part of that crew.  Being able to work with this incredibly diverse, talented team that has become like a family, spending years creating our own technological marvel has been a privilege. <\/p>\n<p>You know, those last days and weeks leading up to landing day, it was pretty smooth, but we were all still really nervous and, frankly, terrified until we got through those final seven minutes.  To be able to call \u201ctouchdown\u201d safely, to see those first images come back from Mars, to see the place where we have never been able to go to on Mars before and go there \u2014 reach there for the express purpose of seeking out new life just made it feel like I was living in a dream. <\/p>\n<p>Now that that tremendous relief has passed for the team of being able to be there safely, all that\u2019s left is the excitement and the thrill of all the scientific discoveries that are yet to come and what Perseverance can actually find \u2014 and hopefully find those signs of past life on Mars. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I tell you what, you said you feel like you\u2019re \u201cliving a dream\u201d \u2014 you\u2019ve created a dream for millions and millions of young kids, young Americans.  You talk about STEM.  You \u2014 it was \u2014 look, the thing that I found so exhilarating about this: You all did this \u2014 the whole team \u2014 the team I can see now and the entire team at JPL \u2014 what you did: You restored a dose of confidence in the American people. <\/p>\n<p>They were beginning to wonder about us.  They were beginning to wonder: Are we still the country we always believed we were?  You guys did it.  You guys gave a sense of \u201cAmerica is back.\u201d  It\u2018s \u2014 it\u2019s astounding what you did.  You should not underestimate it.  You should not underestimate it.<\/p>\n<p>You know, you did it the most American way: You believed in science, you believed in hard work, and you believed there wasn\u2019t a darn thing you couldn\u2019t do if you put your minds together.<\/p>\n<p>One of the reasons why we\u2019re such an incredible country is we\u2019re such a diverse country.  We bring the best out of every single solitary culture in the world here in the United States of America, and we give people an opportunity to let their \u2014 let their dreams run forward. <\/p>\n<p>And you just \u2014 I can\u2019t tell you how much \u2014 you know, everyone was so down the last years about: Is America still the \u2014 the, you know, the fount of change?  And are we still the country that has hopes and develops and pursues the most unlikely things to happen?  And we are.  And you all demonstrated it. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not being \u2014 look, I\u2019m not \u2014 I really mean this.  It\u2019s so much bigger than landing Perseverance on Mars.  It\u2019s about the American spirit, and you brought it back.  You brought back in a moment we so desperately need it.<\/p>\n<p>I was reaching \u2014 I was talking to a head of state who was calling me about thanking me \u2014 or not thanking me \u2014 congratulating me on becoming President.  And then I later heard from another head of state, saying, \u201cAmerica has changed so much.  They \u2014 they used to be so competent to do great things, and here they can\u2019t even deal with a coronavirus.  Look how badly organized they are.\u201d  That was said by a head of state. <\/p>\n<p>And America\u2019s image in the world \u2014 and it matters.  It matters because democracies have to demonstrate they can run as efficiently and more efficiently than autocracies.  There\u2019s a big battle going on.  Your kids are going to be studying about when democracy once again reestablished it could do anything, as opposed to autocracies that can just command things.<\/p>\n<p>I just \u2014 I just can\u2019t tell you how much I believe historians are going to write about what you did at the moment you all did it \u2014 at the moment you all did it.  You should take such great pride \u2014 such great pride in what you did. <\/p>\n<p>We can land a rover on Mars.  We can beat a pandemic.  And with science, hope, and vision, there\u2019s not a damn thing we can\u2019t do as a country.  We have never, ever, ever failed to meet a goal.  We\u2019ve set our mind to it, and we\u2019ve done it together.  And that\u2019s what you all showed.  So it goes way beyond \u2014 way beyond the whole notion of what you just recently did. <\/p>\n<p>And God only knows what is going to come from this.  God only knows what\u2019s going to happen.  But you all are incredible.  All of the dreams you\u2019ve created in other people\u2019s minds \u2014 other young kids. <\/p>\n<p>I tell you what: I just wanted to thank you and tell you, you know, you \u2014 it just seems that, you know, we\u2019re on the side of the angels.  Just at the moment when things look like they\u2019re really dark in America over our history, something has come along.  Something has come along.  And you guys came along and you did this. <\/p>\n<p>And so I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and tell you how presumptuous of me to say I\u2019m proud of you, but I am so proud of you.  And \u2014 and, Mike, the teamwork that still exists there, the importance of it, the consequence of what you\u2019re doing \u2014 and it\u2019s only just the start. <\/p>\n<p>I had a group of folks in my office not too long ago \u2014 House and Senate members \u2014 I mean, House members \u2014 Democrats, and Republicans \u2014 talking about infrastructure.  And I have in the \u2014 on the shelf in my Oval Office, a moon rock.  And they walked over and said, \u201cThis is actually a moon rock from the moon?\u201d  And I jokingly said, \u201cYou ain\u2019t seen nothing yet.  Wait until see what comes home from Mars.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>So, anyway, folks, thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  You\u2019re great Americans, and you\u2019ve demonstrated it again: There\u2019s not a thing we cannot do when we set our mind to it. <\/p>\n<p>God bless you all.  Thank you.  Thanks, Mike.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  Thank you very much, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And by the way, I\u2019m like a poor relative, Mike.  When I\u2019m invited, I show up.  So be careful.  You know, the poor relatives, they show up even \u2014<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  We will \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  They stay longer than they\u2019re supposed to.  I\u2019m one of those kind of guys.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  Well, we will be more than happy to have you, and stay as long as you want.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m looking forward to seeing you all in person.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  We\u2019ll get you an office here. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  Appreciate it.  Bye bye.  Godspeed.<\/p>\n<p>DR. WATKINS:  Thank you, sir.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>5:14 P.M. EST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Via Teleconference, Roosevelt Room. 5:04 P.M. EST. DR. WATKINS: Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT: Yes. DR. WATKINS: This is Mike Watkins at JPL. THE PRESIDENT: Hey, Mike. How are ya? DR. WATKINS: I want to thank you so much. We are very well, especially after the \u2014 after February 18th. THE PRESIDENT: I tell you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-352021-123137-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/115668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}