From Carpenter's Daughter to Moon Mission: Andhra Teen Earns Place in Global Space Programme

Jessie is one of only 20 Indian students selected by Space Kidz India for the prestigious initiative, and her selection is being celebrated throughout her district as evidence that determination can trump any background.

Like a dream in the small town  
Jessie studies in a government school in Andhra Pradesh. Her father is a carpenter, and the family has been in financial difficulties for years. 

But teachers say that never held her back. Jessie had always been interested in space, borrowing books from the school library and watching science videos online. She was always the top of her class in science and maths. “She would ask questions that no one else asked,” said one of her teachers. “She learnt how to learn with few resources.”

Selected for ShakthiSAT mission 
Mission ShakthiSAT, led by Space Kidz India, seeks to provide young girls with hands-on experience in space research, satellite technology and careers in STEM. The programme involves training, mentoring and involvement in building payloads that will eventually be part of a mission to the Moon.

From several thousand applicants all over India, only 20 were chosen. Jessie passed the academic tests, interviews and project evaluations to make the cut.

Organisers say the goal is to get more girls interested in science and technology fields and to show them space is not unreachable.

A moment of pride for family, state  
Jessie’s family, school and community are bursting with pride at the news. "I never thought my daughter would be in a Moon mission programme," her father said. She studied by the tube light after work," he said. We did what we could to assist her.

She has also been congratulated by the school officials and local leaders who call her an inspiration to other students in rural and government schools.

Inspiring the next generation of Indian scientists: Jessie’s story is going far beyond Andhra Pradesh. “It is a message of opportunity, that talent is everywhere,” educators say. “And opportunity should be, too.

As she prepares for the programme, Jessie says she wants to be a scientist and work on real space missions one day. "If I can do it, other girls can do it, too," she said. “You have to keep on learning.”

And now her journey is a classroom lesson throughout the state of what focus and curiosity can do