The desire to become an astronaut increased when she began attending classes at Astra, an astronomical society in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital city
Athira Preetha Rani, originally from Kerala, was always interested in space and astronauts. While in school, she read and increased her knowledge about space and astronauts. The desire to become an astronaut increased when she began attending classes at Astra, an astronomical society in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital city.
According to onmanorama.com, she secured admission with a scholarship at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada where she studied robotics. Her dream, however, was also to become a pilot. So, when she heard that one did not need to join the airforce to become a pilot, she saved money for training. She also completed her robotics course with good grades.
Once Athira completes her training, she will be the third Indian woman after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams to go to space
This was the time she got married. Later, she and her husband began a startup in Canada for research related to space studies. They then started the Exo Geo Aerospace company too.
She was then selected for the astronaut training programme conducted by the International Institute of Astronautical Science. The training programme is jointly run by NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and the National Research Council of Canada. She went through various stages including medical tests. She is one of the few selected from various parts of the world for the programme that lasts for three to five years.
Once Athira completes her training, she will be the third Indian woman after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams to go to space.
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