The click of a mouse was all it took to tell the $400 million rover Spirit to drive off its lander onto Martian soil.

And the man behind the computer, 100 million miles away, was Chris Lewicki, a former UA student.

Lewicki is the senior flight systems engineer and Mars Exploration Rover flight director at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The JPL is the mission control for both Mars rover missions.

Lewicki was just following his dreams by doing what he loved. After receiving both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering at the UA, he is now an important part of the team at the JPL.

"He's the go-to man at the JPL for the Mars missions," said Michael Drake, the director of the Lunar and Planetary Lab and professor and department head in the planetary sciences department.

While dozens of scientists are involved in the missions, Lewicki has had several duties. For the last year and a half, he has been an electrical systems engineer who helped put the rover together and made sure everything on it was safe and working properly.

As flight director, he is responsible for the rover from the time it hits Mars until the time it drives off the lander. During that period, the rover bounces at least 20 times, deflates the balloons that cushion its fall, and then unfolds and sets up its cameras and solar panels.

"The scariest time for me is the moment we know we landed but before we know it is safe. While everyone else in the control room is jumping up and down, that is when I start to worry," Lewicki said. "Once we get the first pictures, I am back to being on the top of the world."

He has only been out of school for three years, but thanks to his time at the UA, Lewicki has become a big part of the Mars exploration team.

"Chris was unique in that he was very interested in doing things, opposed to just sitting in the classroom. He was someone who realized that here at a major research university, there are opportunities for undergraduates to get involved in real world research," Drake said.

William Boynton, UA researcher and planetary sciences professor, remembers when Lewicki came up to his office to ask him to speak at the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space undergraduate club, in which Lewicki was the president.

"I didn't have to talk to him for more than 10 to 15 minutes before I was really impressed and knew that he was a really bright kid. I asked him if he was interested in working on some of my projects, and he said, ÎAre you kidding? I would love to,'" Boynton recalled.

Lewicki ended up working for Boynton for four years on various projects, namely the Mars Observer Mission.

"He is very energetic and had initiative to do things on his own. That is probably one reason he has succeeded so well, so quickly, after being graduated," Boynton said.

As an undergraduate, he blazed many trails that students are now following.

He revitalized the SEDS club on campus and became both the UA and national SEDS president.

"He basically built the (UA) SEDS program into something that for a number of years was the premier SEDS organization in the country," said Susan Brew, program manager for the Arizona Space Grant Consortium.

Lewicki took initiative and won a $42,000 equipment grant that enabled him to launch the SEDS space Internet server, seds.org. At one time, the Web site was listed by Wired Magazine as one of the top 10 educational Web sites in the nation.

Brew knew Lewicki through NASA's Space Grant Program, a national program that gives advanced undergraduates the chance to work on ongoing research projects.

When Lewicki applied for the program, he submitted a letter of recommendation Boynton had written on his behalf.

"I specifically remember that letter because Dr. Boynton suggested we give the kid an internship because it wouldn't be many years before we'd be working for him," Brew said.

In 1996, Lewicki was among the 22 students selected for the prestigious NASA Academy Program. After the 10-week summer program, he was awarded the top award for his research contributions.

As a graduate student, he was the first project manager of the Student Satellite Project, a program in which students designed, built and launched a satellite with only supervision from faculty members.

"Chris is one of my favorite students from all time. I can remember when he started dating Andrea Vicars. It must have been a match made in heaven. I saw her carry the SEDS rocket across campus for him. It was a boy and his rocket, with his girlfriend helping," Brew said.

"Of course there are many reasons I love him, but I have always admired the passion Chris has for his work," Vicars, now Lewicki's wife, said.

Time at the UA wasn't all school and work. Lewicki organized the first annual "pumpkin launch" on the Mall by putting rocket motors into squash.

With the upcoming Phoenix mission, for which the UA will be the mission control, many are hoping Lewicki will return.

"I hope he will. Last week in Pasadena, I told him I hoped he could come join us on Phoenix mission. It could happen, but it is still four years away," Boynton said.

Whether Lewicki chooses to return to the UA or not, he will always have a fan club at the UA that will pay close attention to his future.

Boynton watched the engineers on NASA television as the second rover, Opportunity, made its way to Mars last week.

"When I saw him on TV, I felt almost like a proud papa. Seeing him out there, it made me feel good to see someone come out of the UA and make such a name for himself at such an early age," Boynton said.