PARIS: PIO space scientist wants to give wings to desi students’ dreams

PARIS: Priya Patel, a 25-year-old
Indian-origin space scientist who has trained and worked with space agencies
Nasa and European Space Agency (ESA) on key inter-planetary missions and
aspires to be a full-fledged astronaut in order to become the first Indian to
reach Moon and Mars, has set up an NGO in the US to “provide resources to young
Indian students from low socio-economic strata to give them exposure to space
facilities abroad”.

Priya, who did her masters in space sciences engineering from the University
College London in 2017 and is currently pursuing her PhD from the same
university in coordination with Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a
telephonic interview, told TOI that “the idea behind setting up NGO
Sharda Foundation, named after my grandmother, is to bring talented and
passionate Indian school students to a space agency facility abroad, either
Nasa or ESA, to allow students to experience the space culture in various
countries”.

“I want to ensure that such
experiences are shared with those that are truly passionate about space, but do
not have the resources to follow their passion,” the space engineer, who is
also training to become an aerobatic pilot, told TOI. Priya was born in
Gujarat’s Kadi town and did her schooling from Gandhinagar before moving to
London in 2005. Besides her space projects, she has also been “training in
Bharatanatyam for over 12 years and participated in various national and
international performances”.

The 25-year-old is currently
working on collecting atmospheric data from Nasa’s Perseverance Rover, which
landed on the Red planet on February 18 this year, to study the presence of
water on Mars.