“I did not imagine one day working for NASA”: a Agenais rewarded by Joe Biden

“Excuse me for the delay, I was an appointment with Space X …” This sentence seems insane, but it is the daily life that Nacer Chahat, telecommunications engineer at NASA, lives. Originally from Agen, he was one of the 400 winners to have received, on January 14, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from Joe Biden, former president of the United States. This is the highest distinction awarded by the United States government to scientists and engineers at the start of their career.
Passed by the Théophile-de-Viauet college the Palissy high school
“Over the past four years, there are only ten people from NASA who have been elected,” said Nacer Chahat, who had already received, in 2021, the Ieee Fellow Prize for its contribution to Cubesat and Spacecraft antennas for interplanetary missions . A consecration for the one who “did not imagine one day working for NASA. »»
Passed by the Théophile-de-Viau college at the passage of Agen and then by the Lycée Bernard-Palissy in Agen, the enthusiast of mathematics is a graduate of the School of Engineers in Rennes. He then carried out a thesis at the Institute of electronics and digital technologies. It was thanks to his research director who “had contact with NASA”, that he was then able to join eleven years ago, one of the prestigious centers of the American space agency, the Jet Propulsion LABORATORY (JPL).
Since Pasadena, California, the 37 -year -old researcher has developed new technologies that allow scientists to advance space research.
He notably worked on Ingenuity, the first motorized device to have made a flight on another planet, embedded by the Rover Perseverance during the Mission March 2020. “I had to develop tools to be able to plan each flight of the helicopter And make sure that he does not get lost. This worked, since he survived more than 70 flights for two and a half years, ”explains the engineer.
Then he collaborated with the National Center for Spatial Studies (CNES) and Thalès in France as part of the Swot project, a space observation mission of the earth whose objective is to probe surface water and measure the Changes in the elevation of the surface of lakes, rivers, rivers, tanks and oceans.
With the JPL, the engineer is currently working on the development of radars to land on the surface of the moon and on Mars, in collaboration with the American company Space X, founded by Elon Musk.
A journey that forces respect, and which Nacer Chahat grants partly to Pierre Roudanès, high ranking of French judo who was his teacher at the school of Judo in the Passage-d’Agen. “It was he who taught me the mental strength. I saw him the last time I returned to Agen two years ago. It was a very strong moment. He was so happy to see me again and proud of my career. I told him it was probably thanks to him, because it was this mental force that allowed me to never give up. »»
Another figure also counted a lot for him, Doctor Firouz, one of the former DPL directors, who died in 2023. “When I received this award, it is the first person I thought of. It was one of my mentors, he helped me a lot, says the scientist. When some people doubted, he told them “Oh, don’t worry, I know Nacer well. If he says he will get there, he will get there. It helped me a lot. »»
But it is above all his parents, Algerian immigrants, that Nacer Chahat thanks above all. “They have given enormously, sacrificed so that I and my brothers and sisters succeed. »»
Proud to have arrived there today – but while showing great modesty – the engineer born in Angers wishes to encourage young people to see big. “Often, we convey the idea that people who work at NASA are geniuses. It’s a shame, because it gives young people the impression that it is not within their reach. While it’s wrong. »»
A beautiful message of hope for all the Lot-et-Garonnais who dream, like Nacer Chahat, of reaching the stars.