Thirteen-year-old Iniya Pragathi of Chennai is redefining the bounds of possibility by becoming the world’s youngest analogue astronaut. She discovered her love for space when she was five, sky-watching and devouring space articles by seven. Rather than waiting to grow older, she persisted—sending hundreds of emails until she secured her first mission.

Since then, she has completed multiple analogue space simulations: short two-day stints, a 12-day mission in Russia, a 21-day Martian-environment simulation in Brazil, and an extreme Arctic expedition on Devon Island — one of the highest-latitude expeditions in the world. On top of that, she publishes books on astronomy and balances rigorous training with regular schooling by studying late into the night. She describes the isolation missions as mentally and physically demanding: wearing heavy gear, walking long distances, practising yoga and even polar-bear rifle safety during the Arctic mission.

Her next steps include training with NASA and completing final analogue missions in the United States. With her journey, Iniya hopes to spark more young girls into science and space, showing that with passion, persistence and the right guidance, financial or age constraints need not stop you from reaching the stars.