When India successfully etched its name into space exploration history with the Mars Orbiter Mission, the world celebrated the brilliance of the scientists who made it all possible. Among them was Nandini Harinath , one of the key minds behind this historic event. Now, a decade later, her triumph is being celebrated in the most iconic manner as a remarkable symbol from that historic moment.

In a heartwarming tribute to both science and culture, her iconic Mars mission saree has now found a place in a prestigious US space museum. According to a report in NDTV, Nanini Harinath spoke to the BBC and shared some of the moments from the ‘single most critical day’ of her life. She remembered wearing a red and blue silk saree for the mission in December 2013, which has become the first object from India collected for the interplanetary science collection at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington



She said, “It was a do-or-die moment, the most critical operation in the mission. We had to decide where the spacecraft goes, how it goes, and when it goes. The success of the mission depended on what we did that day. " Along with other ISRO scientists, Nandini was also inside the control room, pushing the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and embarking on a 300-day journey towards the Mars orbit.

Becomes a museum piece in the US

Nandini, along with Anuradha TK and Ritu Karidhal, became a source of national pride, grabbing the spotlight and inspiring the young generation of women to pursue rocket science, which is a field known as dominated by men.

Smithsonian’s official Instagram handle shared this exciting news and wrote, “One of India’s 'Rocket Women', Nandini Harinath, helped her country reach Mars. She wore this saree to work the day the Indian Space Research Organisation's spacecraft successfully left Earth’s orbit and began its 300-day journey to Mars.”