If you’re patient, that’s half the battle won
Meet the women behind Mangalyaan mission
Canada Goose Outlet Some 30 years ago, Ritu Karidhal was a little girl, looking up at the stars twinkling in the Lucknow sky, and wondering why the moon changed its shape and size every night. Canada Goose Outlet
canada goose In her teens, she began following the activities of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the newspapers, cutting and collecting clippings. canada goose
Scientist Ritu Karidhal in the library of the Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad.
Around the same time, Moumita Dutta was reading about India’s first lunar probe, Chandrayaan 1, in the canada goose stockists uk Anandabazar Patrika in her hometown of Kolkata, and canada goose outlet usa thinking ‘How lucky those people canada goose outlet online are to have the opportunity to be part of this.’
canada goose uk black friday Flash forward to 2015, and both women are top ISRO scientists, part of a team that worked on India’s acclaimed Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), aka Mangalyaan. canada goose uk black friday
Canada Goose Coats On Sale Unless you’ve been hiding in a crater, you know that Mangalyaan catapulted India’s space programme to international stardom. Canada Goose Coats On Sale
canada goose store Scientist Moumita Dutta was a project manager on MOM. canada goose store
In an astonishing 15 months from the day it was announced (by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a speech on August 15, 2012), the team at ISRO conceptualised, planned and canada goose outlet store uk implemented the canada goose outlet hong kong mission, successfully sending off the autorickshaw sized satellite out of Earth’s orbit and into Mars’, a journey of 660 million km and 300 days.
canada goose factory sale Armed with five payloads, including a methane sensor and tri colour Mars Colour Camera, the satellite cost a total of US$70 million only. (For perspective, a similar NASA mission cost US$671 million; and the Sandra Bullock film, Gravity, cost US$100 million.) canada goose factory sale
The amazing success of the mission brought worldwide attention and not a small canada goose outlet ottawa dose of national pride and glory. If canada goose outlet online uk geeks are now canada goose outlet online store review the cool kids, ISRO scientists like Dutta and Karidhal are worthy of prom queen status.
canadian goose jacket Scientist Nandini Harinath at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. canadian goose jacket
buy canada goose jacket cheap “I’ve worked canada goose outlet 2015 on 14 missions over my 20 years at ISRO,” says Nandini Harinath, who served as deputy canada goose outlet real operations director on MOM, “and cheap canada goose each one you work on feels like it’s the most important. But Mangalyaan was special https://www.canadagoosepark.com because of the number of people watching us. And it feels great to be recognised for your expertise and competence. canada goose outlet uk The PM shook hands with us. NASA congratulated us; they’re now collaborating with us. But it’s not just the industry, it’s the wider public, institutions, schools they’re all so interested! They’re canada goose outlet in uk even following it on social media.” buy canada goose jacket cheap
What we didn’t follow were the demanding schedules, intense pressure and tireless effort along the way: consecutive 20 hour days of endless permutations and combinations and rigorous testing, and many heart in your mouth moments.
The scientists are quick to dismiss it all, (“When you are working for a mission, for your country, whatever sacrifices you make seem worth it,” says Dutta), but equally so to credit their cooperative colleagues, supportive husbands, encouraging parents (who never let them believe that girls were any different than boys, and continue to pitch in) canada goose outlet us and in laws for pitching in to help with their kids.
Canada Goose Parka Nandini’s mother, for instance, would move from canada goose outlet official Andhra Pradesh to Bengaluru for canada goose outlet london uk a month at a time during satellite launches to help with Nandini’s two daughters. Canada Goose Parka
Canada Goose Jackets In fact, her elder daughter was studying for her 12th standard exams while Nandini worked on MOM. “I’d only get home around midnight, but I’d wake up at 4am so we could study together. Luckily, we were both too busy to stress each other out!” Canada Goose Jackets
Scientist Minal Rohit in the Clean Room at SAC Ahmedabad.
Minal Rohit, a spunky 38 year old project manager on MOM and mother of a six year old boy, has a unique approach to balancing work and family life.
“We think canada goose outlet nyc of our satellites and payloads as our babies, too,” she says.
“To us, they have lives. So the rules for office and home are common: Patience, Procedures, Priorities. If you’re patient, that’s half the battle won. Don’t allow for single point failure; have backup plans in your mind all the time to avoid chaos. And you can’t be everywhere canada goose outlet boston at once; so assign your priorities. The mind and heart have to be in sync. You must canada goose outlet germany always be true to yourself.”
uk canada goose Still, all the scientists are clear that ISRO (whether in Bengaluru or Ahmedabad) is a brilliant work environment. “Nobody cares if you’re a man or woman here,” says the softspoken Karidhal. uk canada goose
canada goose uk shop “It’s talent and good ideas that matter. There’s equal opportunity.” canada goose uk shop
Women constitute only 20 percent of ISRO’s 16,000 strong workforce, but female engineers are increasingly joining in. “There’s greater awareness and education among young women now,” says Nandini.
“Parents are being supportive of their daughters pursuing careers.
canada goose clearance The problem is that many highly educated women drop out before reaching leadership positions. canada goose clearance
canada goose coats on sale That’s the mindset we need to change. Women have to realise that they can manage having careers and families. It’s possible! You can do it if you want to.” canada goose coats on sale.