Ritu Karidhal

Ritu Karidhal hails from Lucknow, and as a child, she was always interested in outer space. As a teenager she started keeping track of all the activities of ISRO and NASA by collecting newspaper cuttings. To follow her dream, she went on to pursue a BSc in Physics from the University of Lucknow, and then joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where she got a Masters in Engineering (ME) degree in Aerospace Engineering. Karidhal started working at ISRO in 1997 and she was the deputy operations manager for Mangalyaan.

Mangalyaan was one of the major achievements of ISRO making India the fourth country in the world to reach Mars. It was conceptualized and launched within 18 months and at a very low cost to taxpayers – only Rs. 450 crores (4.5 millions) Karidhal’s job was to develop and implement an advanced independent manual system, which used satellite functions independently in space and responded appropriately to malfunctions.

When the United Kingdom took over the G7 presidency in 2021, Karidhal was appointed by Women and Equality Minister, Liz Truss, to the newly formed Gender Equality Council (GEAC) led by Sarah Sands. She has received the ISRO Young Scientist Award from former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam, in 2007.