“Dreams do not always wear lab coats. Sometimes, they wear sarees and reach Mars.” More than a decade after India’s ‘Mars Orbiter Mission’ success stunned the world, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC honored ISRO Scientist Nandini Harinath by displaying the saree she wore during the historic mission. The recognition has sparked global curiosity about Nandini Harinath and her contribution to India’s first mission to Mars.
Who is Nandini Harinath?
Nandini Harinath is one of India’s most respected scientists and among the key brains behind ISRO’s successful Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known as Mangalyaan. She worked as Project Manager, Mission Designer, and Deputy Operations Director for the mission that elevated India’s place in global space exploration. Over the past two decades, she has worked on around 14 ISRO missions and become famous as one of the rocket women of India.
Born and educated in Tamil Nadu, Nandini grew up in a family where education is a lifeline and science is a daily staple. Her mother was a mathematics teacher, and her father worked as an engineer. Science dominated the morning news, dining table conversations, and bedtime stories at home. It naturally shaped and nurtured her curiosity about technology and space. Interestingly, Harinath has often spoken about how the science fiction series Star Trek deepened her interest in space exploration.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)is the first organization Nandini Harinath ever applied to for a job. She joined ISRO’s Satellite Centre in Bengaluru and slowly built a remarkable career over years of hard work, mission planning, and spacecraft operations. Reflecting on her journey at ISRO, Harinath once said, “It’s been 20 years at ISRO, and there is no looking back.”
During crucial phases of the Mangalyaan-1 mission, she and her team worked 12 to 14 hours a day. In the final days before the launch, Harinath barely went home as the entire team focused on ensuring smooth execution and success of the mission, since it was a matter of India’s image to the world. When her daughter was preparing for Class 12 exams, she would wake up at 4 am to check the daughter’s lessons and preparedness.
The Nandini Harinath saree – a global symbol of women power from East to West
The women scientists of ISRO, who are collectively known as India’s Rocket Women, wore sarees while leading one of the world’s most complex space programs. They made news headlines not only for the successful mission launch but also for their elegance in six yards of draping. In addition of international dailies, fashion magazines featured them as modern scientists in traditional wears. It helped break stereotypes across the world by showing that not just modern outfits define women power at workplace.
If you visit the Great American State Fair in Washington DC, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum must be on your bucket list. The museum displays scientist Nandini Harinath’s striking red saree with a blue border, which she wore on the day Mangalyaan successfully left Earth’s orbit and began its 300-day journey to Mars. The Smithsonian Institute has acknowledged that the sarees worn by the women scientists of ISRO are not just regular workday outfits; they represent India’s success and glory in space exploration.
