Minal Rohit facts for kids

Minal Rohit is a brilliant Indian scientist and engineer who works for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). She played a very important role in sending India's first spacecraft, called Mangalyaan, to Mars!

After finishing her studies at Nirma Institute of Technology, Minal joined ISRO. She worked closely with other engineers on the team for the MOM. She helped make sure all the systems and special sensors, like the methane sensor, worked perfectly on the spacecraft. She was a key part of the team that launched MOM into space.

Early Life and Education

Minal Sampat was born in Rajkot, India. When she was a child, Minal dreamed of becoming a doctor. But then, she watched a TV show about space when she was in eighth grade, and it completely changed her mind!

During her school years, Minal noticed that many girls around her chose science careers mainly because of the money they might earn, not because they loved learning. Minal, however, wanted to learn as much as she could. She completed her full education, including college. She graduated from Gujarat University in 1999. She also earned a B.Tech degree in communications from the Space Applications Centre. She was even a top student, winning a gold medal in electronics and communication engineering from the Nirma Institute of Technology and Science, Ahmedabad.

Minal's Amazing Career

Minal started her career as a Satellite Communications engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Later, she worked for the Space Application Center. She was one of about 500 scientists and engineers who worked on the incredible Mars Orbiter Mission.

Working on the Mars Mission

As a Systems Engineer for the Mars mission, Minal helped put together and test all the special sensors that the orbiter carried. She worked incredibly hard, not taking any days off for two whole years to make sure everything was perfect!

Leading Future Projects

Minal was also a head engineer and a Project Manager for other important projects, like Chandrayaan II. Today, Minal Rohit is a Deputy Project Director at ISRO. She hopes to become the first woman director to lead a national space agency one day!

What Minal Researched

Minal Rohit was one of 500 scientists working on the Mangalyaan mission, which was led by ISRO. She was also one of only 10 women assigned to this huge project. She worked as both a project manager and a systems engineer.

She helped put together important parts of the spacecraft. These included the methane sensor (MSM), the Lyman-Alpha Photometer (LAP), the Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS), and the Mars Color Camera (MCC). All these tools helped the orbiter study Mars. Minal is still a senior engineer at ISRO.

Improving Satellites

Minal is currently involved with the Chandrayaan-II mission. This mission is a follow-up to Chandrayaan-1, which was India's first successful mission to the Moon. Her main job on this project is to make the Insat-3DS satellite better. This will help collect more and better information about Earth's atmosphere.

Minal's Legacy

Minal Rohit was one of the ten women among 500 scientists who helped India reach Mars. Thanks to her and her team, India became the first country to successfully send a satellite to orbit Mars on its very first try!

Minal Rohit was also featured in a short film called Snapshots from Afar. In the film, she talked about her important work on the Mangalyaan space probe.

Awards and Achievements

Minal Rohit has received several important awards for her hard work and contributions.

• In 2007, she won the Young Scientist Merit Award from the ISRO. This was for her work on their Telemedicine program, which uses technology to provide healthcare from a distance.
• In 2013, she received the ISRO Team Excellence Award. This award recognized her work on the INSAT 3D weather instruments.
• For the MOM project, Minal and her colleagues were praised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He spoke about their amazing work on the mission, especially since they had only 15 months to complete it.
• She graduated from Gujarat University with a gold medal in electronic and communication engineering, showing she was a top student.
• In 2014, CNN named Minal one of their Women of the Year.

Personal Life

Minal Rohit has one son.