15-Year-Old Colombian Girl Will Participate in the Construction of a Lunar Satellite in India
The young Maria de los Angeles Izquierdo, just 15 years old, was selected to represent Colombia in the ShakthiSAT 2026 Mission, which will take place in India and will bring together young people from different countries to participate in the design and construction of a nanosatellite.
Originally from Palmira, in Valle del Cauca, and a tenth-grade student at the Maria Antonia Penagos Educational Institution, Megacolegio campus, Maria de los Angeles stood out among nearly 100 students from different countries who participated in the selection process, becoming the only Colombian who will be part of this international mission.
She is also a space sciences student at NASA. “I started when I was around 12 years old with a program called Tecnovation Girls Colombia, which seeks to train girls in Steam areas, and I was a global quarterfinalist with my application. Then I moved on to the She is Astronauta Virtual program, and I had the opportunity to train with NASA,” she said in a video posted on the Mayor’s Office Facebook account.
“I had the opportunity to train in the ShakthiSAT 2026 program, provided by ISRO, India’s space program,” she added, and explained that the satellite in whose construction she will participate will orbit in low Earth orbit for space exploration. “I really like, along this path, disseminating science, motivating young women and also girls, especially to break that gender gap that exists,” she said.
ShakthiSAT, according to its website, is guided by the powerful vision of empowering girls around the world through the fascinating world of space exploration. The mission seeks to involve 12,000 girls from 108 nations, providing 108 talented students from each country with a transformative opportunity to discover their passion.
A year and a half of preparation
The contest that Maria de los Angeles won in Colombia was organized by the Colombian Space Agency (AEC), and all the young women who participated are passionate about programming, robotics and aerospace engineering.
“I have already been doing this for three years and I never imagined I would get this far. I was looking to train myself autonomously. I have taken some pre-university courses at universities in the United States virtually and with NASA,” she told Semana magazine. “The teachers at my school, mainly in automatic technology, have helped me with everything and my mother has been my main motivation.”
“I found out about [the contest] through a mentor,” she added in the same outlet. “I applied and was accepted for the training. We spent about a year and a half training in aerospace engineering. They called me to tell me that I had been among the five selected to compete for the trip to India and I had to go through an interview before receiving the news that I was the winner.”
Pilar Zamora, president and founder of the AEC, also detailed in the magazine the selection process, the benefits for Maria de los Angeles and how these dynamics could be linked to the country’s educational system.
She said that a total of 108 countries participated, each of which selected a group of girls over the age of 12 with skills in subjects such as science, mathematics, chemistry and physics. From Colombia, 100 girls participated, whom the AEC trained in satellite construction, software programming, analytics, rockets and launches for one year.
“We selected Maria de Los Angeles Izquierdo because she was the one who first demonstrated that she had completed all the modules, and it is going to be very interesting because usually it is the first time these girls leave their country, get on a plane, experience another culture, and they will be sharing with other girls from Africa, Europe, North America, Australia and Latin America,” Zamora said.
She also explained that this event will even feature the participation of the prime minister of India and the founder of the lunar satellite mission.