The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., is famous for housing iconic aircraft and space-faring relics, but its latest exhibit is decidedly different. Hanging among the high-tech gears of space history is a humble saree. While it never left Earth’s atmosphere, the woman who wore it helped India reach another planet. The garment belongs to Nandini Harinath, one of ISRO’s legendary “rocket women,” whose leadership was instrumental in India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan).
Who is Nandini Harinath?
She was born and raised in India to a maths teacher mother and an engineer father. Before joining ISRO, she completed her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in engineering.
She has supported more than 14 missions in her career at the Indian space agency, spanning over 20 years. Talking about her missions, she once told Condé Nast Traveller, “Each one you work on feels like it’s the most important.”
However, the Mars mission was very different from others. Recalling, the space scientist said, “But Mangalyaan was special because of the number of people watching us. And it feels great to be recognised for your expertise and competence. The PM shook hands with us. NASA congratulated us; they’re now collaborating with us. But it’s not just the industry, it’s the wider public, institutions, schools—they’re all so interested! They’re even following it on social media.”
During a 2025 interview, Nandini Harinath recalled how her fascination with space began by watching a popular TV series. “There was this very popular serial on TV called Star Trek,” she recalled while speaking at ET Enterprise AI’s Making AI Work Summit 2025 in Bengaluru.
She added, “My entire family were absolute fans—we wouldn’t miss a single episode. Another film I loved watching again and again was Apollo 13. Those stories of exploration and teamwork stayed with me.”
Why the saree?
“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 Organization’s spacecraft successfully left Earth’s orbit and began its 300-day journey to Mars,” Smithsonian wrote on an Instagram post.
The share continued, “As a rocket scientist and the Mars Orbiter Mission’s deputy operations director, Harinath was integral to mission planning and operations. Far exceeding its mission of six to 10 months, the spacecraft spent eight years in orbit, documenting Mars’ surface and atmosphere.”
It added, “The team’s success made India the first Asian country and the fourth country in the world to reach Mars. The sarees worn by the mission’s women leaders came to symbolize their national identity and India’s success in space.”
The museum shared a video and a photo of a “mannequin dressed in a vibrant red and blue sari with intricate patterns.”
“The sari includes a blue blouse and a red and blue draped fabric with detailed designs.”
What is the Mars Orbiter Mission?
It was ISRO’s first interplanetary mission. A spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on November 5, 2013.
The goal of the MOM, also known as the Mangalyaan mission, “was to test key technologies for interplanetary exploration and to use its five science instruments to study the Martian surface and atmosphere from orbit.”
