Mangala Mani is an Indian scientist. She stayed in Antarctica for more than a year, becoming the first ISRO female scientist to achieve this feat. She was also nominated in BBC’s 100 Women Challenge, the BBC’s series on women in science.
Wiki/Biography
Mani is a resident of Hyderabad. She studied at the Holy Mary Girls High School, Saifabad. She desired to be a scientist, and after reading an article on the Mars expedition from NASA, she cemented her dream. She once recalled this and said,
A newspaper article on Mars by NASA fascinated me a lot and aroused an interest and a dream in me to join a space organisation like in Florida, which was on the coast!” ((The Quint))
Mani completed her Model Diploma for Technicians-Radio Apparatus (MDT-RA) at Masab Tank Government Polytechnic in Hyderabad. In the batch of 80 students, Mani was the only female.
Govt Polytechnic College in Masab Tank, Hyderabad where Mani completed a diploma
Family
Parents & Siblings
Mani is the eldest of six siblings.
Wife & Children
Mangala Mani is married and has two children.
Religion
Mani follows Christianity, and during a TEDx event at Mount Abu School, she said that all her endeavours in Antarctica were due to the blessings of Jesus Christ. ((TEDx Talks – YouTube))
Career
After completing her Diploma, Mani joined HAL, Balanagar, as a trainee. Later, she was called for the interview by ISRO and joined within 3 weeks of the interview. Before her expedition to Antarctica, Mani and her team had to undergo several tests from AIIMS, Delhi for a week. Thereafter, they were trained at the heights of Auli (Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, 9000 feet) and Badrinath (10,000 feet) to test their stamina, and for the temperature acclimatisation. She was the only woman selected among the 23 members of the crew and completed a 403-day expedition at Bharathi, India’s research station in Antarctica, in November 2016. Dr Y V N Krishnamurthy, the director of the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre once talked about the task of Mangala and her team and said,
Mangala and her team were supposed to operate and maintain the Indian research station and collect loads of satellite data as we have polar-orbiting satellites. Unlike Hyderabad, where only two or three orbits are visible, Antarctica (south pole) is the place from where one can observe 14 orbits. The loads of space data are downloaded at the Antarctica station and sent to the Hyderabad centre via the communication satellite link for processing and distribution to users.” ((The Times of India))
Mangala Mani in Antartica during her expedition
She also became the first woman scientist from ISRO to stay for 403 days in Antarctica.
"Ladki hai, Ghar se kitna hi door jaegi".
Mangala Mani recently became first Indian woman to live in Antarctica for 403 days. An ISRO scientist on expedition. On #NationalGirlChildDay lets recognise role played by such women in country's progress.
Ladki padhao, aage badhao !! pic.twitter.com/FK1p6r8Dum
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) January 24, 2020
Facts/Trivia
- For her record stay in Antarctica, she has earned the title of “Polar Woman.” ((Mount Abu Public School – Facebook))
- Mani stitched the image of Antarctica on a pillow cover for Mother on International Women’s Day in 2017.
- Mani’s parents were reluctant to send their daughter to ISRO but later got convinced when her uncle persuaded them.
