In November 1997, Kalpana Chawla became the first woman of Indian Origin to travel in space as the mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator aboard the US space shuttle Columbia. In December 2006, Sunita Williams became the second woman of Indian Origin to venture into space when the US shuttle Discovery rose into the night sky on a 12-day repair mission to the International Space Station (ISS). And in 2018, Indian Origin Shawna Pandya may become the third woman of Indian origin to go to space.
A general physician, 32-year-old Shawna Pandya is one of the two candidates shortlisted from 3,200 people enrolled in the Citizen Science Astronaut (CSA) programme. She may fly with eight other astronauts in space missions slated to take off by 2018. Shawna, who was born in Alberta in Canada and has roots in Mumbai, is a woman of many talents. Apart from being an astronaut currently preparing for two space missions, she is a general physician....
