This Hyderabad whiz-kid wins kudos from NASA for discovering asteroid

Eleven-year-old Siddiksha proves that one can excel in anything regardless of age if there is a desire to achieve. Setting a big goal at a young age and moving forward is her success mantra... she is an inspiration to peers of her ilk.

Hyderabad:At seventh standard, it is natural for anyone to go to school, tuition, do homework and play games when they have time. But, this girl is different. At the age of 11, she was doing astronomical research and trying to find the traces of asteroids. Since the age of five, she has been excelling in Indian classical dance and winning medals. She is moving ahead to serve as a scientist in ISRO and NASA. And who is that girl? How did astronomical research become possible at the age of 11? Read to know about this whiz-kid from the Hyderabad suburbs.

Meet the girl Pallam Siddiksha, she is 11 years old, but all her research is on space. She was doing astronomical research with the inspiration of her elder sister and achieved success. In the past, she found an asteroid with her sister and received a NASA certificate. The girl's mother, Dr Chaitanya, is working as a principal at Vijaya School of Business Management and hails from Abdullahpurmet, a suburb of Hyderabad. Her father, Vijay, is trading in the stock market. Both Siddiksha and her sister are doing research on astronomy and tracking asteroids and receiving praise from NASA and ISRO.

Siddiksha and her elder sister Sriya received a certificate of appreciation in the 'Scientist for Day' competition organised by NASA in 2018. At the age of six, Siddiksha was inspired by her elder sister and developed a passion for astronomy. Under the guidance of her mother, she was trained by Sameer Sachdeva, founder of Spaceport India Foundation, Delhi, on astronomy and space topics. In 2020, she participated in the 'International Observe the Moon Night competition and showed her talent.

Siddhiksha, along with her elder sister, took part in the Asteroid Search Campaign and discovered Asteroid 2021 GC103 and received a certificate from NASA in 2021. In the asteroid search campaign held in September and October last year, Siddiksha found an asteroid in the main belt asteroid between the planets Mars and Jupiter by analysing the photos of the Pan Stars telescope. It is named as 2022SD66. Siddiksha also became a part of NASA's World Minor Body Catalog at the International Astronomical Union held in Paris on October 30.

Swathimohan, who is working as a scientist at NASA, is a relative of Siddiksha and Shriya. In 2010, she led the Mars mission and hogged the limelight after the Rover's successful landing on Mars. As they often talked about Swatimohan at home, both the sisters drew inspiration and since then started astronomy research.

In recognition of Siddiksha's work in detecting the presence of asteroids in astronomical research, the International Astronomical Research Collaboration-AISC awarded her a certificate in association with Texas Hardin-Simmons University. Siddhiksha scientifically explains the creation, fragmentation, existence, properties and destruction of many celestial bodies in the universe.

With the encouragement of her parents, Siddiksha is excelling in astronomy. She also learned Indian dance form Kuchipudi and music. She has given more than 40 dance performances in the country, especially in the Telugu states, and received praise from celebrities. Siddiksha says that her goal is to become a space scientist and serve in NASA and ISRO.