On the occasion of Kalpana Chawla's birth, an IFS official pays respect.

Parveen Kaswan, an IFS officer, posted a tribute to astronaut Kalpana Chawla.

Kalpana Chawla

IFS officer Parveen Kaswan brilliantly honored the heritage of the first woman astronaut of Indian descent, Kalpana Chawla, on her birth day. Kaswan honored Chawla's life and accomplishments with a sincere ode and a colorful drawing in a meaningful homage.

The tale of Kalpana Chawla is one of incredible perseverance. She broke through early in life when, in 1978, she was the first female student to enroll in Punjab Engineering College's aeronautical engineering program. Her academic endeavors did not end there; she continued to study at the University of Texas, laying the groundwork for her greatest accomplishment—becoming an astronaut with NASA.

Chawla's space adventure started on her maiden voyage on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997, where she worked as the lead robotic arm operator and mission specialist. Her accomplishment of becoming the first woman of Indian descent to fly in space was made possible by this expedition.