Hyderabad girl’s rocket design amazes NASA

It was a birthday gift like no other she could have dreamt of. In a remarkable achievement, city-based girl Anisha Absolom’s CanSat design amazed authorities at the NASA headquarters, on the day she completed 18 yers of age.

Anisha, who was part of the ‘University of Petroleum & Energy Studies’ (UPES), Dehradun team, where she studies, competed with teams from over 70 countries; their team stood fourth in the annual student design-build-launch ‘CanSat Competition’ for space-related topics. Consquently, it became the first in the Asia Pacific region to achieve the feat.

The competition is the annual feature of American Astronautical Society (AAS) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Anisha, who left Hyderabad, to pursue her dreams at UPES, found her dreams taking wings sooner than expected when she was selected to work as a team member for the prestigious competition in her first year itself. Making her happier was that she was entrusted the job to design the logo.

Later, she worked closely with Dr Soumyajit Ghoshal and Prof SV Sarvakar in designing the CanSat using 3D printing. Bearing a creative bent of mind since childhood, Anisha won many prizes at school competitions, including at St Andrews in both art and calligraphy.

However, it was sheer focus and determination on Anisha’s part and her parents’ belief in her abilities that made it possible for her to pursue her passion. It is paying off, sooner than later!