"Born and raised in India, Kalpana Chawla was discouraged from pursuing a career in aeronautical engineering because there were limited career options for women in that field. But she persisted, getting her degree and then moving to the US to obtain other, more advanced education before joining NASA and becoming the first Indian-born woman to go to space. Though she was killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, she continues to inspire girls in India and around the world to pursue their dreams of spaceflight"--
