It has been years since India lost its shining stars, to the stars- Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to go in space. Years after her demise she still holds a special place in our minds. Kalpana was born on March 17, 1962 in Karnal in Punjab (now Haryana). Her journey from a small town Karnal to above the world is very inspiring, and she was a role model for so many. Her words were equally encouraging for everyone to follow their dreams. In 2003, she was chosen to be a part of the seven-member crew for a specialist mission studying earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety. But it saw an unfortunate end when it blew up on February 1, just before entering the Earth’s atmosphere. But she proved that everything is possible if you have the passion and will to do it.

Today on her 56th birth anniversary, let us look at some lesser known facts about her life:

  1. She was a keen in astronomy right from her childhood. She used to draw planes and was immensely fascinated by them. She completed her primary schooling and college from Punjab itself. She studied at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. She moved to the United States in 1982 to complete a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas.

  2. After completing her studies, Kalpana started working with NASA Ames Research Center. She joined the Astronaut Corps in 1995 after she became a naturalized US citizen. Her first flight followed within 2 years.

  3. Her first flight was Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, was her second visit in space which unfortunately proved to be her last one. It was a 16-day flight and the crew members conducted about 80 experiments.

  4. Kalpana Chawla spent 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes in space. Calculating the time of both her missions out of the Earth’s atmosphere, India’s first female astronaut spent about a month in space.

  5. Kalpana was very fond of the band Deep Purple. In fact, she was in touch with the band even while she was in space. She exchanged emails with the band and had even taken 3 CD’s of them on board on her mission. While in space, Chawla liked to wake up to Deep Purple's "Space Truckin' " from 'Machine Head.' So the band’s song ‘Bananas’ was also inspired by the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

    Watch an inspirational video of India's first woman in space Kalpana Chawla:

Kalpana Chawla is one fine example of a role model for girls today to follow their dreams and go ahead with their passion. The astronaut may be no more with us today, but her achievements are locked in our minds and hearts. We are sure if she was among us today, she would have done India more and more proud!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 17, 2018 01:12 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).