Andhra Pradesh’s Jahnavi Dangeti selected for NASA's 2029 Titan orbital space mission

A twenty-three‑year‑old Jahnavi Dangeti, from Palakollu in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district, has been selected as an astronaut candidate for a private space firm’s maiden mission to the Titan Orbital Port Space Station, scheduled for March 2029.

Dangeti, an Electronics & Communication Engineering graduate from Lovely Professional University, is the first Indian to complete NASA’s International Air and Space Program (IASP).

With that credential, she was chosen by Titans Space as part of its ASCAN (Astronaut Candidate) class of 2025.

Over the next three years, she will undergo intensive training—covering flight simulations, spacecraft systems, survival modules, and medical evaluations—before embarking on a five‑hour orbital voyage.

Dangeti has also built a strong profile in STEM outreach and scientific research. She is a provisional asteroid discoverer, credited via the NASA‑affiliated International Astronomical Search Collaboration using Pan‑STARRS data.

Additionally, she has been a successful analog astronaut in simulated missions (such as Space Iceland's geology training) and has delivered talks at ISRO events and during World Space Week.

Her selection marks both personal achievement and a broader milestone for India’s space ambitions. Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu praised her as “a beacon of hope and ambition for young Indians everywhere,” reflecting how her journey—from a small town in Andhra Pradesh to NASA training and now a space mission—embodies India’s emerging global presence in space exploration.