India has successfully launched satellites into space, put an orbiter around the Moon and Mars. That too with a frugality even the developed nations admire.
But behind the scenes, away from the public eye, quiet, unassuming and positively brilliant women spearhead many important missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation. These women have not only broken the glass ceilings but have not even thought of the sky as their limit – quite literally.
They are passionate, strong and independent women of science that look like our neighborhood aunties, but pack a scientific punch that would impress the likes of Tony Stark and Elon Musk. Today, let’s take a look at the women in ISRO.
1. Ritu Karidhal, mother of two worked on most weekends, brainstorming with ISRO engineers
As a kid, Mrs. Ritu Karidhal used to wonder why the moon becomes bigger and smaller. She also wondered what lay in the dark side of the moon.
And decades later, she became the Deputy Operations Director of the Mars Orbiter Mission. After reading each and everything related to space science as a kid, she now heads one of the most well-known missions of ISRO.
2. Moumita Dutta – read about the Chandrayaan mission as a student, now works as a Project Manager for the Mars Mission
She is the project manager for payloads for the Mars Mission. She completed her M. Tech in Applied Physics from the University of Kolkata.
Today, she leads a team to make indigenous progress in optical sciences as a part of ‘Make in India’ initiative.
3. Nandini Harinath – her first job was at ISRO and 20 years later there is no looking back
She became inspired to study science after she saw the Star Trek series. Coming from a family of teachers and engineers, she was naturally drawn to science and technology.
Today as a Deputy Director, she feels proud to see the Mars Orbiter Mission on the new 2000 rupee notes. She works extremely hard, and despite having children, she did not go home for days just before the launch.
That’s called commitment.
