Top 5 Indians In Space Till 2022

Let's take a look at a few Indians who have created a name for themselves in space.

Rakesh Sharma

By being the first and also only Indian citizen to visit space, he created history. Sharma, a former IAF pilot, was chosen in September 1982 to participate in a collaborative space programme between ISRO and the Soviet Intercosmos space programme. On April 3, 1984, he took a trip on the Soyuz T-11.

Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla, a Punjabi native, graduated from Punjab Engineering College with a degree in aeronautical engineering. In the 1980s, she moved to US.  She was chosen as an astronaut candidate in 1994 while serving for the NASA Ames Center, and she flew her maiden mission on Colombia STS-87 in 1997, becoming the first Indian woman to orbit the Earth. Unfortunately, her second voyage on Columbia STS 107 turned out to be her last, as the space shuttle broke apart and lost pressure as it descended into the atmosphere, killing everybody on board.

Ravish Malhotra 

Malhotra, a former Air Commodore of IAF, was born in Lahore, British India, in 1943. He was chosen to participate in the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program's spaceflight training in 1982. On the Soyuz T-11 mission, he supported Rakesh Sharma but never really got into space. In 1984, Malhotra received both the Kirti Chakra and the Soviet order of Friendship of Peoples.

Sunita Williams

Sunita Williams became well-known in India as the second Indian-American woman to serve as an astronaut for NASA. She previously held the record for the most spacewalks by a woman and the longest spacewalk by a woman, two accomplishments that contributed to her gaining recognition on a global scale.

Dr Swati Mohan

"Touchdown verified," a woman's voice boomed out from the NASA control centre as Perseverance, the NASA rover, touched down on the Martian surface. Dr. Swati Mohan, an Indian-American scientist, shot to fame after making the statement. She oversaw the NASA Mars 2020 mission's navigation, guidance, and control activities in her capacity as the flight controller. She was born in Bengaluru and immigrated to the US when she was just a year old. Star Trek sparked her passion in space exploration.