Carpenter's Daughter Selected For Mission Shakti SAT in AP

Kandula Jessie, a Class 10 student from Zilla Parishad Girls High School in Dowleswaram, East Godavari district, has become the only girl from Andhra Pradesh to be selected for Mission Shakti SAT, billed as the world’s first all-girls lunar CubeSat mission. 

The fourteen-year-old student is among 20 girls selected from India for the ambitious space programme. Around 12,000 girls from 108 countries had applied, and Jessy secured her place in the final list after clearing multiple stages of the selection process.

Jessie's father works as a carpenter, and financial difficulties forced her to move from a private school to a government school. Her teachers, however, recognised her potential and continued to



encourage her scientific interests. Jessy’s mother, Aruna, described her daughter’s selection and her confident interaction with international scientists as one of the proudest moments for the family. 

Jessy’s interest in science was spotted by her physics teacher and Atal Tinkering Lab in-charge, Manimala, who encouraged her to apply for Mission Shakti SAT.

Manimala registered Jessy and eight other students for the programme. Although the online course had already begun, the teacher approached the organisers and secured another opportunity for the students to participate. Jessie has been balancing her Class 10 studies with intensive training in space technology, attending online sessions after regular school hours.