15-yr-old Andhra girl selected for NASA’s International Air and Space Program

A resident of Nidadavolu in East Godavari, Kyvalya will become the youngest Indian woman (15 years) to complete IASP

By Sri Lakshmi Muttevi  Published on  22 May 2023 10:32 AM GMT
15-yr-old Andhra girl Kyvalya Reddy selected for NASA’s International Air and Space Program.

Kakinada: A student from East Godavari, Kunchala Kyvalya Reddy, has been selected for NASA’s prestigious International Air and Space Program (IASP) 2023. Kyvalya is one among 60 students selected worldwide between the age of 15–25 years.

A resident of Nidadavolu in East Godavari, Kyvalya will become the youngest Indian woman (15 years) to complete IASP.

Previously, 21-year-old Jahnavi Dangeti from Palakollu in West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh was the first Indian to complete the program.

Students who are selected for this program will first have online classes for six months and then undergo astronaut training in Huntsville, Alabama, USA in November.

During the program, students will be divided into teams and given the opportunity to work with experienced NASA scientists. They will experience neutral buoyancy while scuba diving in the Underwater Astronaut Trainer. The students can complete their own piloting experience and learn about aircraft operations.



Discovered main-belt asteroid

Kyvalya, who completed her SSC, had earlier bagged a certificate for identifying Main-Belt Asteroid 2021 CM 37 from International Asteroid Search Collaboration (IASC), a partner with NASA worldwide.

She analysed photographs clicked through the PAN STARRS telescope and discovered the asteroid’s main belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. For her achievement, she was rewarded Rs. 1 lakh by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Kyvalya was trained by the founder head of Spaceport India Foundation Sameer Sachdeva. She participated in an Asteroid Search Campaign in October 2021 as Spaceport India Gamma, and received a provisional discovery certificate.

She also received a silver honour certificate in an International Astronomy and Astrophysics competition in Germany.

Kyvalya created a world record with the fastest arrangement of a long form of the periodic table within 1.38 minutes and entered the International Wonder Book of Records.

She created world records with different types of paintings and craft items and entered the International Genius of Record 2022.

She was the national finalist in the Scientist for a Day contest 2020-21 conducted by NASA.

Next Story