Nineteen-year-old Jahnavi Dangeti has scripted history by becoming the youngest to complete the Analog Astronaut programme from the Analog Astronaut Training Centre (AATC) at Krakow in South Poland.
A native of Palakollu in West Godavari district, Ms. Jahnavi has completed the two-week training programme (June 14 to 25) at the AATC, a private agency set up by the European Space professionals to carry out spaceflight scientific studies.
The AATC has picked up six persons from across the globe, including three women, for the programme based on their previous achievements and association with the space programmes.
Ms. Jahnavi is the youngest among the batch, titled ASTRA-45.
In 2021, Ms. Jahnavi had completed NASA’s International Air and Space Programme (IASP) at the Kennedy Space Centra in the U.S.
“In the Analog Astronaut programme, I was the Astro Biologist and trained on Lunar Simulation for 11 days. The experiments done included facing the challenges to tackle with the high radiation flair and high solar radiation,” Ms. Jahnavi told The Hindu.
“The programme provides an artificial environment of lunar simulation, in which the budding astronauts are deployed to spend the stipulated period for the assessment of the physical and mental steadiness and capabilities,” Ms. Jahnavi adds.
The AATC has so far trained 45 batches under the Analog Astronaut programme, and Ms. Jahnavi is the youngest to be trained till date.
“I have been striving to be the next Indian astronaut and equipping myself with every qualification and professional capability during the journey into the space science and missions,” says Ms. Jahnavi, who is pursuing Electronics Engineering in Punjab.
