# Akshata Krishnamurthy

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**Akshata Krishnamurthy** (born 27 December 1990) is an Indian space systems engineer working as Principal Investigator and Science Phase Lead at the [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory](/source/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory).[1][2]

She is currently working on [Mars 2020](/source/Mars_2020).[3] She was named to [Fortune India's](/source/Fortune_India_500) "Most Powerful Women"[4]

## Education

Krishnamurthy was born on 27 December 1990 in [Bengaluru](/source/Bangalore), [Karnataka](/source/Karnataka), India. She completed her schooling and undergraduate education at [R.V. College of Engineering](/source/R.V._College_of_Engineering) before moving to the [United States](/source/United_States) to pursue a [Master's degree](/source/Master's_degree) in [Aerospace Engineering](/source/Aerospace_Engineering) from the [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign](/source/University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana-Champaign).[5]

Krishnamurthy earned her PhD in [Aeronautics and Astronautics](/source/Aerospace) from the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology) (MIT).[6][7] Her PhD research focused on instrument calibration and performance improvement for space-based telescope missions for exoplanet detection. The results of her research contributed to the [Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite](/source/Transiting_Exoplanet_Survey_Satellite) (TESS) and [Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics](/source/ASTERIA_(spacecraft)) (ASTERIA) missions. Krishnamurthy and her colleagues contributed to the discovery of several exoplanets and the characterization of [HD 59640](/source/HD_59640) as an eruptive variable star with flares.[8] Other projects included the [Mars 2020](/source/Mars_2020) [Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment](/source/Mars_Oxygen_ISRU_Experiment) (MOXIE).[9]

At [MIT](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology), she was the President of the Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (GA^3) student organization[10] and Co-Chair of the MIT India Conference.[11]

## Career

Krishnamurthy interned at NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](/source/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory) as part of the ASTERIA mission while working on her PhD. In April 2021, she and her colleagues received the [NASA](/source/NASA) Group Achievement Award for their work with the [CubeSat](/source/CubeSat) [ASTERIA](/source/ASTERIA_(spacecraft)).[12][13] Following graduation, she was employed as a systems engineer and science data system lead at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[14] She also started as a systems engineer on the [NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)](/source/NISAR) mission[15] and later became the Science Phase Lead.[16]

Krishnamurthy is currently a robotic operations systems engineer working on the Mars 2020 [Perseverance](/source/Perseverance_(rover)) Mission robotic operations and a principal investigator on a strategic university research program with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3] She previously served as an instrument engineer on NASA's [Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)](/source/TESS) and as a co-investigator on [ASTERIA](/source/ASTERIA_(spacecraft)) missions. She is the first Indian to operate the [Perseverance Mars rover](/source/Perseverance_(rover)).[17]

## Awards and recognition

- [Luigi G. Napolitano Award](/source/Luigi_G._Napolitano_Award) from the [International Astronautical Federation](/source/International_Astronautical_Federation) for contributions to [aerospace science](/source/Aerospace_engineering) (2017)[18]
- Dr. Robbin Chapman Excellence Through Adversity Award from the MIT Office of Graduate Education (2018)[19]
- Amelia Earhart Fellowship by the [Zonta International Foundation](/source/Zonta_International) (July 2018)[20]
- Emerging Space Leader Award by the [International Astronautical Federation](/source/International_Astronautical_Federation) (September 2018)[21]
- [MIT](/source/MIT) Graduate Woman of Excellence Award (2019)[22]
- [Space and Satellite Professionals International](/source/Space_and_Satellite_Professionals_International)'s 20 under 35 list of top space professionals (2021)[15][23]

## References

1. Sharma, Manoj (2 August 2024). ["Power lists like Fortune India MPW help shun self-doubt: NASA's Krishnamurthy"](https://www.fortuneindia.com/multimedia/power-lists-like-fortune-india-mpw-help-shun-self-doubt-nasas-krishnamurthy/117897). Fortune India. Retrieved 14 November 2024.

1. ["NASA JPL NISAR Project Team"](https://web.archive.org/web/20241101131041/https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/team/project-team/). NASA JPL. Archived from [the original](https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/team/project-team/) on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.

1. ["SURP Research"](https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/posters/2023/SP23005.pdf). *SURP Research*. NASA. Retrieved 31 May 2024.

1. Sharma, -Manoj. ["Akshata Krishnamurthy - Most Powerful Women in 2024 - Fortune India"](https://www.fortuneindia.com/mpw/akshata-krishnamurthy?year=2024). *www.fortuneindia.com*. Retrieved 2024-12-02.

1. Krishnamurthy, Akshata (2012). [*Development and characterization of an inertial electrostatic confinement thruster*](https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/42102) (M.S.). [UIUC](/source/University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana-Champaign). Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. Krishnamurthy, Akshata (2020). [*Instrument systematics calibration and performance validation for high precision photometry missions*](https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/128056) (Thesis). [MIT](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology). [hdl:1721.1/128056](https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/128056). Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["Thesis Defense Presented by Akshata Krishnamurthy"](https://space.mit.edu/events/thesis-defense-presented-by-akshata-krishnamurthy-january-6-2020/). MIT. 6 January 2020. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200926220713/https://www.space.mit.edu/events/thesis-defense-presented-by-akshata-krishnamurthy-january-6-2020/) 26 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Günther, Maximilian N.; Zhan, Zhuchang; Seager, Sara; Rimmer, Paul B.; Ranjan, Sukrit; Stassun, Keivan G.; Oelkers, Ryan J.; Daylan, Tansu; Newton, Elisabeth; Kristiansen, Martti H.; Olah, Katalin; Gillen, Edward; Rappaport, Saul; Ricker, George R.; Vanderspek, Roland K. (2020-01-20). "Stellar Flares from the First TESS Data Release: Exploring a New Sample of M Dwarfs". *The Astronomical Journal*. **159** (2): 60. [arXiv:1901.00443](https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.00443). [Bibcode:2020AJ....159...60G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020AJ....159...60G). [doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab5d3a](https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab5d3a). [ISSN 0004-6256](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0004-6256)

1. Meyen, Forrest; Krishnamurthy, Akshata; Hoffman, Jeffrey (2018). "System Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) of the Mars oxygen ISRU experiment (MOXIE)". *2018 IEEE Aerospace Conference*. pp. 1–10. [doi:10.1109/AERO.2018.8396586](https://doi.org/10.1109/AERO.2018.8396586). ISBN 978-1-5386-2014-4. [S2CID 49539396](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:49539396)

1. ["Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics"](https://ga3.mit.edu/history). *Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (GA3)*. MIT. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["MIT India Conference"](https://mit-india-conference.com/2018-conference/). *MIT India Conference*. MIT. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["NASA Group Achievement Award"](https://ai.jpl.nasa.gov/public/awards/). *NASA Group Achievement Award*. NASA. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["ASTERIA Group Achievement Award"](https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/community/awards-and-recognitions/areas-achievement). *NASA Group Achievement Award*. JPL. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. Mani, Sowmya (13 May 2024). ["'How I Got a Job At NASA': Aerospace Engineer Shares 5 Tips to Build a Career in Space"](https://thebetterindia.com/349546/akshata-krishnamurthy-nasa-aerospace-engineer-rocket-scientist-space-career-mit/). [The Better India](/source/The_Better_India). Retrieved 14 November 2024.

1. ["SSPI's 20 under 35 Profile"](https://web.archive.org/web/20231223232038/https://www.sspi.org/cpages/dr-akshata-krishnamurthy). *SSPI's 20 under 35 list*. [SSPI](/source/Society_of_Satellite_Professionals_International). Archived from [the original](https://www.sspi.org/cpages/dr-akshata-krishnamurthy) on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["NISAR Project"](https://web.archive.org/web/20240601035856/https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/team/project-team/?page=0&per_page=40&order=position%20asc&search=&subtitle=&hover=false&show_email=false&show_institution=true&category=229). *NISAR Project*. NASA. Archived from [the original](https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/team/project-team/?page=0&per_page=40&order=position%20asc&search=&subtitle=&hover=false&show_email=false&show_institution=true&category=229) on 1 June 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.

1. ["Akshata Krishnamurthy becomes first Indian to operate Mars rover - Know more about her difficult journey"](https://www.livemint.com/news/india/akshata-krishnamurthy-becomes-first-indian-to-operate-mars-rover-know-more-about-her-difficult-journey-11701779539224.html). *www.livemint.com*. [Mint](/source/Mint_(newspaper)). December 5, 2023.

1. ["Luigi G. Napolitano Award"](https://www.iafastro.org/activities/honours-and-awards/iaf-young-pioneer-award/former-luigi-g-napolitano-award.html). IAF. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["Robbin Chapman Excellence Through Adversity Award"](https://web.archive.org/web/20231223232039/https://oge.mit.edu/community-diversity/awards-recognition/mit-rise-awards/). *Robbin Chapman Excellence Through Adversity Award*. MIT. Archived from [the original](https://oge.mit.edu/community-diversity/awards-recognition/mit-rise-awards/) on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellow"](https://space.mit.edu/akshata-krishnamurthy-named-zonta-amelia-earhart-2018-fellow/). *Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (GA3)*. MIT. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["Emerging Space Leader Award"](https://www.iafastro.org/activities/next-generation/emerging-space-leaders-grant-programme/iaf-emerging-space-leaders-2018.html). *Emerging Space Leader Award*. IAF. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["MIT Graduate Woman of Excellence Award"](https://web.archive.org/web/20231223233607/https://oge.mit.edu/community-diversity/awards-recognition/celebration-of-graduate-women/). *MIT Graduate Woman of Excellence Award*. MIT. Archived from [the original](https://oge.mit.edu/community-diversity/awards-recognition/celebration-of-graduate-women/) on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

1. ["SSPI's 20 under 35 Media Coverage"](https://news.satnews.com/2021/09/23/sspis-20-under-35-professionals-to-be-honored-at-satellite-innovation/). *Satnews*. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Akshata Krishnamurthy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshata_Krishnamurthy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshata_Krishnamurthy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.