Profile
| Name | Ira Sharma |
| Nationality | Nepal |
| Bio | I am a 19 year old recent A Levels graduate from Kathmandu, Nepal. I am currently involved as a Junior Satellite Research Fellow at Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal (Space Foundation Nepal). I have been involved in assisting teams in national satellite projects and have been involved in curating a training program fro students of grade 6 and above from all over Nepal. I have also been deployed as Assistant and Lead Trainers for STEM/ Tinkering Training Programs and Satellite Bootcamps all over Nepal having directly empowered 200+ young minds of Nepal. I also currently serve as Nepal’s Ambassador for ShakthiSat’ a global female-led Satellite Missior on the Lunar Orbit and am working to bring high schools girls forward for the historic project. I am also a skilled researcher and project manager with experiences of being a certified Analog Astronaut through Habitat Marte’s Virtual analog astronaut training and research program and having moderated panel/ organized the overall program of Space Con; an annual flagship program of Space Foundation Nepal. |
| Academic Background | I graduated my Secondary Education Examination (SEE) – NEB Board from St. Mary’s High School, Kathmandu, Nepal. I then completed my A-Levels from Little Angels’ College GCE A Levels, Kathmandu, Nepal. I currently am in my gap year applying for universities. I have been accepted into Texas Christian University as a Next Genius Scholar + granted The Dean’s Scholarship and International Grant under The Mechanical Engineering Domain. I hope to start my undergraduate the coming year. |
| Professional Interests | My dream has been to become an astronaut. Coming from a middle-class background in the Nepalese Community, this dream of mine feels super ambitious yet possible. Through the journey of indulging myself in various activities to expand my horizon of knowledge, one constant thing I realized is my love and passion for Space and Engineering. Specifically, I have been interested in hands-on activities on satellites, as of now. I am also quite fascinated by aviation and flights and wish to acquire pilot’s license some day. The vastness of space has always fascinated me but with not many opportunities here in Nepal, the idea of working in this field is assumed to be limited as a non space-fearing country who has just entered into the space industries through satellites. I am hence looking for opportunities, especially in the astronaut training domain to train myself physically, mentally and technically to be an astronaut and prepare future astronauts of my country. My ultimate aim in life is to ensure that no dream is big enough and to empower youths, especially girls, to dare to dream. |
| Certifications | Open University Student |