(This story was first published on 14 January 2017. It is being reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark the historic launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission, six years ago.)
The year 2013 put Indians on the global space map when ISRO launched the Mars Orbiter Mission aka Mangalyaan successfully. India, in its first interplanetary mission, became the first Asian nation to reach the Mars orbit and also the first one to do in its first attempt.
Amidst all the celebrations and smiles, three women scientists played crucial roles in the mission. Despite the unequal sex ratio in the country, women continue to appear as winners across the multiple male-dominated professions. The Mars Orbiter Mission is just another example of this.
Snapshots from Afar , a short film by Breakthrough, is a film about the women behind the Mars mission. The film features Seetha Somasundaram, the Program Director of the ISRO Space Science Program Office, Nandini Harinath, Project Manager, Mission Design, and Deputy Operations Director, Mars Orbiter Mission, and Minal Rohit, Scientist and Engineer, Project Manager, Methane Sensor for Mars.
You can watch it here:
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)