Woman becomes first Indian citizen to operate rover on Mars, shares inspiring journey. Watch

Working at NASA is a dream come true for many people, especially those who are space enthusiasts. However, very few get to fulfil that dream and talk about their success later. Something similar happened with an Indian woman who went to the United States 13 years earlier to realise her dream of working at the American space agency. Dr Akshata Krishnamurthy shared her inspiring journey on Instagram and how she became the first Indian citizen to operate a rover on Mars and collect samples from the planet to bring back to the Earth.

Krishnamurthy, who describes herself as a rocket scientist, came to the US more than a decade ago with a dream to work at NASA. However, she faced discouragement from many people who told her that it was impossible for a foreign national on a visa to work at the space agency. But, she did not give up and earned her Ph.D from the coveted Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and eventually was hired on a full-time position in NASA.

“From getting my PhD at MIT to knocking 100s of doors to get hired full-time at NASA, nothing came easy. Today, I work on multiple cool space missions including the Perseverance rover collecting samples to bring back to Earth,” she wrote.

Krishnamurthy also delivered a motivational message through her viral post. “No dream is ever too big or crazy. Believe in yourself, keep those blinkers on and keep working! I promise, you’ll get there if you work hard,” she wrote.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr. Akshata Krishnamurthy | Rocket Scientist (@astro.akshata)

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Since being shared online, the video has garnered over seven lakh views. Instagram users congratulated the rocket scientist for her achievements in the comments section.

“Seriously- this is very impressive and commendable! Folks don’t realize how many hardworking and talented individuals are needed in every sector of our workforce to keep advancing society,” a user wrote.

Another user commented, “Women like you are an inspiration to the aspiring female youth leaders.”

“So inspiring, Dr Krishnamurthy. People like you are an absolute inspiration for the younger ones. Wish you the best of the best in the years to come. Congratulations again,” a third user remarked.

A fourth user added, “MIT and NASA? Living the dream. You go girl.”