Ritu Karidhal is a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). She is the deputy director of India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known as Mangalyaan-1. She was appointed director when the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 became the world’s first space mission led by a woman, thrusting her into the spotlight. She is also known for leading India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 2:35 pm on July 14, 2023.
Wiki/Biography
Ritu Karidhal was born on April 13 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She received her primary education from St. Anjani Public School and Navyug Kanya Vidyalaya, Lucknow. She pursued her bachelor’s degree from Mahila Vidyalaya PG College, Lucknow. She received her Masters in Physics from Lucknow University.
After completing her master’s degree, she began studying for a PhD in physics. At the same time, she also attempted the GATE exam.
While pursuing her PhD, she also worked as a part-time lecturer at Lucknow University. She published a paper six months into her PhD. When she was pursuing PhD for 6 months, her GATE results were announced and she was selected for Indian Science Research, Bangalore. Ritu is in a dilemma. Since she wanted to do research, she didn’t know if she should drop her PhD and go to Bangalore. She consulted her physics professor, Manisha Gupta, who suggested she go. Because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Therefore, she enrolled in the Indian Institute of Science and pursued a master’s degree in aeronautical science and engineering.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Weight (approximately): 60kg
Eye color: black
Hair color: dark brown
family and husband
Ritu was born into a middle-class family in Lucknow. When Ritu was in college, her parents died. She takes care of her two brothers Rohit Karidhal and Shubham Karidhal and her sister Varsha Lal. She is married to Avinash Srivastava. They have two children, Anisha and Aditya.
Ritu Karidhal’s brother Rohit Karidhal
Subhash Karidhal, brother of Ritu Karidhal
Ritu Karidhal with her husband and children
Profession
While Ritu was pursuing her M.Tech degree, she looked for job vacancies in ISRO newspapers. Once, she found a job opening and applied. When she completed her master’s degree, she got a call from ISRO and she got selected. Her first job was with ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC). In her early days, she was often assigned difficult tasks. In one interview, she said that despite having senior scientists, she was often assigned tasks with strict deadlines. She said she loved it; it gave her confidence that she could handle tough projects.
Ritu Karidhal, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
Several years passed, and one day, her team suddenly received the task of the Magalyaan-1 project. She said——
We had just finished one project and suddenly, without warning, we were thrown headlong into the next one, but it was by far the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on.”
Once during an interview, she was asked about her role in Mangalyaan-1. She said——
My job is to conceptualize and ensure the execution of the vehicle’s forward autonomous system, which is the brain of the satellite, a well-coded software system that operates on its own, determining what to detach and when to detach, anything that needs to be destroyed. If something fails, the system needs to be designed well enough to correct and recover on its own in space.”
Ten months before the launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), her schedule became very busy. She used to come home from the office, help her children with their homework, complete household chores, and then work from midnight to 4 am.
Ritu Karidhal with her daughter Anisha and son Aditya
Ritu Karidhal has been appointed deputy director of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Mangalyaan-1 was successfully launched on November 5, 2013 at 09:08 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).
Mangalyaan-1 successfully launched
After successfully serving as Deputy Director of Mission Mangalyaan-1, Ritu has been appointed as Mission Director of Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-2 was successfully launched on July 22, 2019 at 02:43 pm (IST). She was congratulated and praised around the world. Chandrayaan-2 is the first space mission with a woman as mission and project director, which is a major achievement for India.
Chandrayaan-2 successfully launched
Honors, Awards and Achievements
- Young Scientist Award 2007 by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Ritu Karidhal wins Young Scientist Award
- The 2015 Mars Orbiter mission won the ISRO Team Award.
Ritu Karidhal and her ISRO team
- The ‘Women Achievers in Aerospace’ Award 2017 from the Society of Aerospace Technology and Industries of India (SIATI).
- ‘Birla Sun Achievement’ Award from Bank of Baroda
fact
- As a student, Ritu loved mathematics. As a student, she often wrote poems about mathematics. She once said in an interview that when she was a student, she often imagined herself surrounded by numbers.
- On March 3, 2019, Ritu was invited to attend the TEDx event in Hyderabad. She attended and spoke about the successful launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).
Ritu Karidhal in TED talk
- Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan also attended the TEDx event. He met Ritu Karidhal and said it was an honor to meet her.
Ritu Kalidhar and Shah Rukh Khan
- Ritu hopes that more women will join the field of space science and that more women will win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Ritu Karidhal and fellow ISRO female scientists
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education