108 young women gather to look toward the same Indian sky

Carolina Gaviria Salazar

journalist and communication strategist

When we think of a space mission, we usually imagine technology, scientists, laboratories, rockets, and a countdown—and the image of 108 young women from different countries learning together does not come to mind.

But that is precisely part of what will take place in India under the international initiative Mission ShakthiSAT, which will bring together young women from various countries around space science, technology, and intercultural exchange. María de los Ángeles Izquierdo is the only Colombian selected to represent her country.

The mission's website describes it as "a bold global journey to ignite curiosity, courage, and a lasting passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and space exploration. United across continents, these future pioneers dive into the world of satellites and discovery, shaping humanity's future among the stars."

Who is María, and why is she ready to go to India?

She did not come to this project by chance. She is a member of Colombia's National Robotics Team and holds two registered copyrighted projects: one related to satellite detection and another to biotechnology. In other words, the trip to India does not mark the beginning of her relationship with science, but rather the continuation of a path she had already been building.

And yet, when asked what this experience means to her, she does not speak first of technology. She speaks of people.

"For me, going to India represents enormous cultural and personal growth. Seeing other perspectives. I find Indian culture very interesting and enriching. I'm going with 107 other girls who will contribute so much to me."

That response made me think that perhaps we still imagine science in too individualistic a way. As if scientific vocations were born solely from a brilliant mind confronting a complex problem.

No, they are also born from connection, from mutual support, and from the desire to inspire further generations. From discovering that there are others asking the same questions. From feeling that you are not the only woman in an engineering classroom. From finding yourself, in this case, alongside 107 other young women who also decided to look upward.

Mission ShakthiSAT brings together participants from 108 countries around a training and cooperation initiative in space science and technology. And in this context, the number matters.

It matters because each of those participants will arrive with a different story, a different school, a different language, and a different idea of what it means to be a woman interested in science. The Colombian who will travel to India explains it through a word that comes up frequently when she speaks of the experience: sorority.

"When we talk about female empowerment, the term gender gap comes up. And women in this field are closing that gap. There is a great deal of sorority, a desire to inspire others; you feel support among us."

For years, we have spoken about the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. And today, data show us that although women have increased their educational participation, significant gaps continue to exist in various STEM areas and in research and development spaces.

But statistics do not always tell us what it feels like to be inside that gap.

They do not convey what it means to enter a space where, for a long time, you have seen few women. Nor the effect that suddenly finding yourself with more than a hundred young women from different parts of the world who share similar interests can have.

Perhaps that is why this experience holds value that goes beyond building a satellite. For Colombia, the benefit lies not only in the technical knowledge that one of its young women may acquire and bring back. It also lies in the network she can build, in international connections, in the exchange of perspectives, in the possibility that an individual experience may later become inspiration for other students.

A person can return from a trip with knowledge. But she can also return with a different idea of what is possible. And that is difficult to measure in a statistic.

India seems to understand well the power of that connection.

The country has turned its growing presence in the space sector into something more than a technological achievement. Through initiatives involving students and young people from different countries, it is also building a relationship with a new global generation interested in science. This form of diplomacy no longer occurs only between governments; it is happening among young people—people who, perhaps, twenty years from now, will be working in universities, technology companies, research centers, or governments across different countries.

Each of the young women who travels will learn about the country and take away a personal experience of India. For a nation seeking to strengthen its international presence and position itself as a scientific and technological actor, these connections are also a way of building long-term influence.