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This interview is part of our last interview. Women and Leadership special reportIt highlights the women who have made significant contributions to the great stories unfolding in the world today. Speech edited and shortened.

Marcia J. Rieke, 70, is the research group leader for the near infrared camera, or NIRCam. James Webb Space TelescopeA $10 billion effort to explore the far reaches of the universe.

As principal investigator, you were responsible for designing and building NIRCam, and now it’s your job to make sure it will operate almost a million miles from Earth. How annoying is this?

Being in charge of an instrument like the NIRCam is like a repetitive roller coaster ride. The peak is when you have the joy of seeing things work out as you hoped. There is a low point, especially early on, when something breaks and the design needs to be changed. And then it awaits the next ride like launch. Of course, the highest scores will be when great data is collected, great articles are written about discoveries, and the young people on the team get great work.

How did you feel when the satellite was safely launched? How was it to learn that its mirrors, heat shields, and other components open and lock in place without a hitch?

Watching a rocket launch on Christmas morning was a fairly new experience. It was sweet to learn that the launch was excellent in terms of direction, speed and fuel consumption. However, the fact that all deployments went so smoothly after many doubted that it could be done justified my faith and trust in the amazing Webb team.

NIRCam has the potential to capture light that was emitted just after the Big Bang, about 14 billion years ago, and only now reaches our galaxy. now you have i saw some pictures. How did it feel?

We received the first images and we are very happy. The entire Webb team is ecstatic about how well the first steps of taking the image and aligning the telescope are going.

How did you overcome the engineering and operational hurdles to design and build NIRCam?

I had a lot of help drafting the first design we submitted with our original proposal. And then the engineers at Lockheed were very good at finding a way to mount the NIRCam at room temperature, but ensure that it satisfies all the stringent requirements when it’s cold.

When did the astronomy bug bite you?

As a child I read astronomy and science fiction books from the public library and was fascinated by the idea of ​​visiting other planets. When I was in middle school, I worked as a babysitter and saved up to buy myself a telescope.

Is that what got you from Midland to MIT, Mich.

When I went to MIT, I thought I was going to be an astronaut. So I started to specialize in aerospace engineering. But engineering wasn’t all that exciting, at least as pictured in my freshman year.

So you changed fields and continued your PhD at MIT?

I was originally a physics student, but that’s one of the roots of astronomy.

This was in the late 1960s. What was it like being a woman in your field back then?

My class was one of the first when MIT put a huge push to get more women admitted. In my class, there were 73 women out of 1000 students who came. It’s not a huge number, but it was a much larger number than had come before.

Did the faculty and other students exclude or accept?

They were generally happy because the institute was making an effort to get more women. We were pretty well received. The only MIT class I was the only woman in was a class of Western civilization, and sometimes I got angry with the professor because he urged me to explain women’s worldviews. I am one person, not all women.

Do you think women bring a different set of perceptions to astronomy?

Over the years I’ve felt that different people take different paths to reach conclusions, and that’s a good reason to have diversity.

What advice has been most helpful in your career?

People should do something they love to do. Find your passion and go for it.

Another thing?

In the scientific field right now, the competition is really fierce if you apply for time with a telescope or write an offer to get funding. I try to encourage young people not to give up. Keep trying; You will go there.

What advice would you give to young women today who want to pursue a career like yours?

Almost all research institutions granting PhD have programs to encourage women in the STEM field; If you’re nervous or hesitant, seek advice and support. I was a pretty independent character, but I know some people aren’t too sure of my abilities. If you don’t feel confident, find women to talk to. This will make you feel better and keep you going.