She is known as the ‘Rocket Woman of India‘, and played a lead role in missions like Mars Orbital mission (MOM), Mangalyaan, and Chandrayaan-2. She was awarded the ISRO Young Scientist Award conferred by President APJ Abdul Kalam. Beyond Rocket Boys, this inspiring story of Rocket Women of India’s space history will surely move you.
Kalpana Chawla has deliberately proved that space isn’t a dream, and Ritu Karidhal carries her legacy forward in a different segment of Astronomy.
Like any other space enthusiast, she would gaze at the open sky every night and wonder what the size of the moon might be and what lay behind the dark spaces in the sky. Growing up, she gained knowledge through newspapers and any articles she could find about NASA and ISRO.
A brilliant student with an impeccable academic record, she did her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Applied Physics and was offered admission in the M. Tech. program in Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which led her closer to her dream. In 1997 when she was close to graduating from IISc Bangalore, she received a much-awaited phone call from ISRO.
Ritu Karidhal became the Deputy Operations Director for India’s Mars Orbital Mission (MOM), Mangalyaan, and played a key role during the project. The entire project cost nearly Rs 1,000 crore and comprises a lander, rover, and satellite built under ISRO’s supervision. Mangalyaan was one of the greatest achievements of ISRO, making India the fourth country in the world to reach Mars. Breaking all stereotypes, she has also supervised Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayan-1.
For every girl who continues to be told ‘science is not for girls,’ Ritu Karidhal is a woman icon who has done it all, reaching the very top- balancing work and family with equal ease and efficiency. For her, the sky was not the limit, and she was known to be the ‘Rocket Woman of India‘.
She is the recipient of the ISRO Young Scientist Award conferred by President APJ Abdul Kalam. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Governor Anandiben Patel. Breaking the glass ceiling in the male-dominated industry and proving anything is possible with determination and hard work, Ritu is an inspiration to young girls wanting to pursue science and technology.
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