Space science is interesting but risky: NASA’s Krishnamurthy

Akshata Krishnamurthy, 35, ranked 40th in Fortune India's prestigious 'Most Powerful Women' list this year, is a space scientist who works as mission science phase lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Speaking to Fortune India, Krishnamurthy says rocket science is "exciting" but comes with risks.

Krishnamurthy, who holds a PhD in aerospace engineering from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S., says with space expeditions, the toughest part is coming to terms with the risks involved. "Any tiny mistake that happens can lead to the loss of an entire mission. On Earth, when we do any project, we have a second try and a third try to get something right. There's a lot of testing, education and problem-solving (involved in space missions). It requires a lot of patience to get things right."

Krishnamurthy hails from Bengaluru and is currently involved in three big projects at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) — as mission science phase lead for NASA and ISRO’s first hardware collaboration, the $1.2-billion NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Mission; robotic operations systems engineer on Mars Perseverance Rover; and principal investigator on a technology collaboration between JPL and MIT. “These kinds of collaborations give me motivation and strength to not conform to the mould and at the same time do something you are passionate about," says Krishnamurthy.

She says one of the biggest turning points in her career was when she got into MIT for a PhD where she had the opportunity to work with the best minds in her field. "But what I learnt was you didn't have to choose who you want to be, you can pursue your passions and interests and explore what you can excel in. So that pushed the boundaries of who I am and what I can achieve."

Krishnamurthy has worked on four missions so far and all four have been successful. "But we have gone through phases where we have done a lot of testing and found some issues with some software, and after a lot of analysis, looked at the data and tried to find a solution."

What does power mean to her? Krishnamurthy says it is creating a positive change or a meaningful impact while using influence and resources to "responsibly empower" people's lives. "In my case, I always tell people, if I can do it, you can do it. Everybody's potential is limitless so they should be able to pursue their passions and chase their dreams. I hope that this (Fortune India MPW ranking) gives me a platform to help others and empower people."