bobak ferdowsi, thank you for being here. and congratulations. >> thank you so much.look you're sporting tonight has swag, as i was expecting you would have. you have more swag than almost anyone i know at nasa. my question to you, we got our first color photo from mars today, which is just a remarkable image. it looks like it's taken from a desert in california. we saw you crying in the b roll we just showed. what did it feel like when you actually pulled it off this week, something that is from what i've been reading so fantastically complex i cannot believe it actually worked. >> it was an incredible experience. obviously, the team has put years of their lives into this moment. and what you saw there was, you know, that kind of outpouring of years of hard work finally paying off. team members that are friends, families that have kind of made sacrifices to work those long hours. and then you saw us crying and hugging. and a lot of emotions coming out there. >> you tweeted today, nasa inside secret, we actually practice those really awkward high fives you see in the

this and you're 13 years old or 8 years oled and you love space, how do you become the next boba bobak ferdowsirole on this project. but i went to undergraduate and graduate for aerospace then started working there, small roles, worked my way up, did some testing. finally when operations came around, they gave me a chance to be a flight director. and yeah, it's an incredibly rewarding expeerps. i think what you've got to do is find what you love. and of course, i think the biggest part for us was the team bonding experience. so they put their faith in me, i put my faith in them. and, you know, together we were able to put a rover on

this and you're 13 years old or 8 years oled and you love space, how do you become the next boba bobak ferdowsirole on this project. but i went to undergraduate and graduate for aerospace then started working there, small roles, worked my way up, did some testing. finally when operations came around, they gave me a chance to be a flight director. and yeah, it's an incredibly rewarding expeerps. i think what you've got to do is find what you love. and of course, i think the biggest part for us was the team bonding experience. so they put their faith in me, i put my faith in them. and, you know, together we were able to put a rover on mars. >> it's really remarkable to watch. and just the sheer complexity of the project both from the technical perspective and also just the human perspective. how many people worked on this to make this happen? >> jpl alone, we had about 3,500 people. >> amazing. >> that doesn't include all the other centers and contractors and everything else. i believe i heard a number 7,000 people worked on this project. >> thanks so much. be sure to watch the very last word on

. >> bobak ferdowsi gets the last word. thanks so much. be sure to watch the very last word on the show website, thelastword.msnbc.com. "hardball's" up next. > newt gingrich. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews. in washington. let me start tonight with this romney search for a running mate. what's he really looking snore a partner to run the country with for the next eight years or four years? does anybody really believe he's out there looking for someone to share the burden and grandeur of office? is it someone to be in the room when decisions are called for? does anyone believe romney is the kind of guy to share the decision-making power of the presidency? so what does he want? someone to help win the election, obviously. someone to get him a state he's unlikely to get otherwise. that he'd pick portman perhaps of ohio or rubio of florida. they'll get him a state each. someone to complement his personality. that's to use that term loosely. someone to offset his rich guy stiffness and remoteness. then he'd pick a re