NASA: Indian-origin scientist joins NASA's Artemis 1 Mission

An Indian-origin scientist named Amit Pandey has joined NASA’s Artemis 1 Mission.

Amit Pandey has been appointed as a senior scientist for the Artemis mission. (REUTERS)

A scientist hailing from Uttarakhand in India has joined NASA's upcoming Artemis 1 Mission as a senior scientist. Amit Pandey works at Lockheed Martin, which is one of NASA's contractors for this mission.

In an interview with ETV Bharat, Amit said, “In the 60s, America launched the Apollo programme, through which astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Similarly, NASA is now launching a long-term Moon Program, so astronauts can live and do research on the moon.”

He also retweeted a tweet containing a video related to the Moon posted by Lockheed Martin. He wrote “Moon here I come. Love it”.

According to ETV Bharat, Pandey completed his early education at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Haldwani. He later completed B.Tech from Banaras Hindu University and pursued a master's degree from the University of Arizona. Pandey completed his PhD from the University of Maryland in 2009.

 What is Artemis 1 mission to the moon? 

The Artemis Program is NASA's first attempt to send a manned mission to the Moon since the Apollo missions in 1972. Earlier this month, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said, “To all of us that gaze up at the Moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface, folks, we're here. We are going back.”

According to NASA, Artemis I will be the first uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. When NASA launches the Artemis 1 mission using the Space Launcher System on August 29, the Orion spacecraft, although unmanned, will carry 3 manikins called Zohar, Helga and Campos to space as human stand-ins for various tests and studies. They will be retrofitted with a vast number of sensors to conduct tests regarding the spaceflight.