“Grand Maa! Just look at that moon, one day I will go there"
 
I’m Nitya Pandey, Space and Astronomy enthusiast, eager to mushroom the knowledge of the outer world among mankind. I have been born and raised in Kachora (a very small village near Maoist infested district of Bastar (CG)), currently living at Kondagaon with my family, which is a small town in the south Chhattisgarh. Apart from my parents, I have one younger sister and brother.

The quotes mentioned at the start of this write-up were mine. I was the student of 4th class and once in a night lying down on the cot at the courtyard along with my grandmother and was dreaming to touch the Moon. I remember very well, it was 1st February 2005, the second death anniversary of Kalpana Chawla (first Indo-American astronaut) when my class teacher Mrs. Chabila Sethiya told us about her life and career. After returning home, immediately I went to my father and asked him about space and related fields. He told me about Neil Armstrong and his team as well as about NASA and ISRO. My father told me, beyond this azure there is another captivating world where astronauts are the travelers of that mysterious space. The day was the turning point of my life, and with a new zeal, I resolute to venture to space someday.

With my utmost delight, I would like to say that, I have been selected for the Space Studies Program [1] at International Space University, France. I consider myself truly honored as this esteemed institute has diligently pondered upon the qualification, experience, and passion of the applicants among many before finalizing their list and choosing me. This is one of the best course for a Space Enthusiast, where its participants come from various working professionals from myriad backgrounds from across the whole world. From the past three years, under the Kalpana Chawla project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism and Space Studies, ISU, France provides partial funding for Indian nationals to attend Space Studies Program. This year 4 women are awarded by this prestigious Kalpana Chawla Scholarship [2] from all over India, and I am fortunate to be one among them.

Talking about my educational background, I have always been motivated by some ingrained competitiveness, to gather more knowledge and to do the best in whatever I do. Throughout my academic life, I have consistently been among the top-ranked students in the class. For Higher Secondary School my intentions were boosted me to choose Mathematics and Physics as majors. Further, my passion for Mathematics and Physics coupled with the desire to become a part of the new revolution in science. I pursued this ardor through basic science and the following suit, I enrolled for an undergraduate program (B.Sc.- Bachelor of Science) in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as my major subjects in Government Gundadhur Science College, Kondagaon. In B.Sc., I realized my interest was bent towards subject experiments and often spent my spare time in the laboratory repeating those experiments. The habit of performing experiments later turned into an interest to pursue research career ahead, as I wanted to see the laws of Physics working in the real world. My zeal kept mounting stronger with time. Adhering to it, I joined the Master program in  Physics (M.Sc. – Master of Science) at SOS in Physics and Astrophysics, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur (CG). Here I got an opportunity to specialize in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Learning these subjects during master’s aroused deep interest and filled me with confidence to move ahead in Astronomy and Space Studies. I strived hard and my passion drove my motivation to excel in examination and assignments and scored highest in most of the subjects, not to mention, especially in Astronomy. I secured 6th rank in the master program in University and 1st rank in Astronomy and Astrophysics branch, with the highest score of 99 out of 100.
 
My high grades during the first year of Master and a project synopsis eventually helped me to get a renowned fellowship of India the “Summer Research Fellowship 2017”. I spent the summer of 2017 at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, working with microscopes. Meanwhile, after a few months, I got a chance to participate in the professional training school for astronomers at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES),  Nainital, India. My master’s final year dissertation work was also on Astronomy as well, carried out under the guidance of Dr. Sourabh, Scientist “D” at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, India. Here I worked on the project of the “Photometric study of Narrow Lines Seyfert1 Galaxy”.

I am from a very small town in India where my father works as a teacher in a government school. He has the responsibility to raise his three children and thus have limited financial options and often faces economic hardships. Consequently, thinking about any program abroad seems to be a way too ambitious plan for me. In fact, even after securing the respectable scholarship, initially, my ISU dream was in jeopardy as it was quite stressful for my parents to arrange even the balance funds. However, he somehow managed the initial deposit amount of 1000 Euros by means of utilizing little savings and borrowing. I was in dilemma to choose between my family considerations and my desire to be a space scientist.

In the coming future, I wish to work for the development of South Chhattisgarh region, which is technically very backward in studies and technology [3]. With my determination, I wish to ignite the spark of space studies in each and every heart of my region which is remote yet full with immense potential. This Space Studies Program would be a crucial platform for me to augment my knowledge in a better manner for a meaningful future.
 
The course starts from June 22nd and ends on August 24th, 2019 in Strasbourg, France. Following is the estimated expenditure sheet to meet my program’s expense at ISU France.

Table 1 – Estimated Expenditure for the entire study and related process
Heads	Amount (in Euros)	In Rs. ( considering 1 Euro = 77.69 INR
Tuition     Fees,     Housing     & Meals	18,500	14,37,265.00
Round trip Air Ticket [4]		57,168.00
2 Months Local Transport [5]	88.16	6,849.15
Internet and other daily utility ( two months) [5]	57.08	4,434.54
Miscellaneous at France for two months (Estimated)	300	23,307.00
Travel & Health Insurance (cover up to 1 Lac Euros) [6]		3,364.00
Visa Processing fees [7]		4,688.00
Total Estimated Expense		15,37,075.54

Table 2 – Scholarship and Self-funding details
Heads	Amount (in Euros)	In Rs. ( considering 1 Euro = 77.69 INR
Kalpana Chawla Scholarship4	16,000	12,43,040.00
Advance fees deposited ( Self Funding)	1,000	77,690.00
Total Funding Secured		13,20,730.00
Expected Financial Support (Total of table 1 minus table 2)		2,16,345.54

Thus I am seeking for financial assistance of any amount ranging up to Rs.2,16,345.54. While drafting this letter, I’m hopeful and bit nervous as well, as my dream greatly depends upon the success of raising funds through this platform. Not to mention, I will be immensely thankful to those society/individual/firm/agency that would render their helping hands to support my cause.

Thank you for sparing time to read my story!

 Reference:-
  [1] http://www.isunet.edu/about/space-studies-program

  [2] https://www.isunet.edu/pages/isu-kalpana-chawla-scholarship-awarded-to-ssp17-sonal- baberwal/470

  [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhattisgarh

  [4] https://www.cleartrip.com/flights/international/results?from=DEL&to=SXB&depart_date=20/06/2019&return_date=25/08/2019&adults=1&childs=0&infants=0&    class=Economy&airline=&carri er=&intl=y&sd=1554519029716&page=loaded (Dynamic pricing, seen as on 06/04/2019)

  [5] https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Strasbourg

  [6] www.policybazaar.com

  [7] https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/ai-je-besoin-d-un- visa?p_p_id=NeedVisaApplication_WAR_fvfoportalvisasportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&_NeedVisaApp          lication_WAR_fvfoportalvisasportlet_implicitModel=true

Annexures:-
 1 – Acceptance Letter from ISU France in SSP19
 2 – “Kalpana Chawla Scholarship SSP 19” offer mail copy
 3 – Payment Receipt of 1000 Euros