Okay, Phoenix people, I need your attention. I don’t care how demanding your job is, how monotonous it is, or how little sleep you’re getting. You just need to shut up and kowtow before your project scientist, Leslie Tamppari, who gave birth to her daughter, Annika, just 10 weeks ago.

Tamppari has returned to work this week just in time for the landing. Though both she and Annika are getting good sleep, she doesn’t expect that trend to continue once she goes on Mars time. The key, she says, is having good help: Her husband arrived this week, along with boxes of baby gear, and the couple has turned their little summer rental apartment into a home.

Tamppari says she’s conscious of being a role model in a business that is still male dominated. She wants women “to know that this is possible.”

I asked her which was tougher — being project scientist for a Mars lander, or giving birth for the first time. “Of course, they’re totally different. They’re both tough in their own way,” she says.

But in terms of the stress and anxiety, there are some distinctions. “You only have to worry about giving birth for nine months. You have to worry about landing on Mars for five years,” she says.