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Lori Mooney – Cleanliness Is Next to Space Readiness – Part 2 of 2

Lori Mooney

Name: Lori L. Mooney
Title: Contamination Control Technician
Organization: Code 540.5, Contamination Control

NASA Goddard’s Martha Stewart, contamination control technician Lori Mooney ensures that cleanliness makes for successful launches.

How do you keep the clean rooms clean?

Once or twice a week as requested by the project, the Contamination Control team wipes down the clean rooms to the specification set forth by the project. We wipe all horizontal surfaces and cages followed by a vacuuming of the floor. We start from the filter wall, which is the cleanest area, and work our way to the return wall side. We then mop with deionized water and isopropyl alcohol. The isopropyl alcohol is added in an effort to decontaminate and to help the floors dry faster. Sometimes we have to clean while the project is still working in the clean room. Two or three members of the CC team can clean the SSDIF clean room in about half a day.

Why did you become a contamination control technician?

Before coming to Goddard, I worked as a dental assistant for 15 years. I had to keep the dental instruments sterile and the room clean. So, I already understood the importance of cleanliness. Becoming a contamination control technician seemed to fit what I already knew how to do and liked doing.

How did you come to work at Goddard?

Like a lot of others, my husband, George Mooney, works at Goddard as a mechanical tech for the James Webb Space Telescope project. About six years ago, my husband was talking to someone at Goddard who knew about a job opening in the CC department and suggested that I apply. So I did and was hired. I’ve been here ever since!

What makes you stay at Goddard?

Everything! The people, what we do and how we’re treated. The compensation and benefits package is great. Goddard is such a wonderful place to work. Sometimes I even get to meet my husband for lunch, which is a real treat.

Who is the most amazing person you have met at Goddard? What makes this person so amazing?

Someone I think is truly amazing is Drew Uhl. He used to be a CC tech like myself. While he and his wife were raising a family, he went back to college at night and became a CC engineer. He treats people very well. He’s been where we are in his career. He is always willing to jump in and help do whatever it takes to get the job done. He will put on a bunny suit and pick up a mop to clean alongside us. He is open to any questions we may have and tries to answer us immediately. He wants to mentor us in all aspects of contamination control. He taught me a lot by example as well. He is a good friend and a true humanitarian.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love meeting all the interesting and very dedicated people here. Everyone is so compassionate about their jobs, yet they also have lives outside of Goddard. We’re all good friends. If you possess a good attitude, you’ll make a lot of friends.

What is the coolest thing you’ve ever done as part of your job at Goddard?

Right now, I’m working on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission. There were lots of pre-launch activities going on inside the clean room until the spacecraft were transported recently to a special processing facility in Florida. I feel privileged working on a mission as complex as this one where engineers and scientists built and tested not one, but four identical spacecraft that will help us learn more about magnetic reconnection.

I recently spent two months at Cape Canaveral in Florida helping get MMS ready for launch in March 2015. I was there with others from the CC group to ensure MMS remained contamination free. Our team wiped down the clean room, the tools, the instruments and the spacecraft every day.

I will return to the Cape to pack up our gear and to view the launch. We shipped down a lot of supplies, including tables, cages and tool boxes, so we’ll load our gear onto a truck and ship it back to Goddard following the MMS launch.

I love working with the MMS project! They are so professional and optimistic. Everyone wants the project to work and finds a way to solve problems graciously. We all share the same goal – a successful launch! It’s all about the project and everyone pitches in to make things work. We are a big, happy family.

What lessons or words of wisdom would you pass along to somebody just starting their career at Goddard?

Treat everyone as you want to be treated. Try to maintain an optimistic attitude. Be respectful and helpful.

What is your “six-word memoir”? 

Dependable, helpful, happy, upbeat, friendly, hard-working.

How clean is your house?

It’s very clean! And organized!

Read Part One of Lori Mooney’s interview

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