A day after several media organisations (including us) reported that Indo-American doctor Shawna Pandya will take part in space missions along other astronauts in 2018, it has now been found that the reports were untrue.
In a Facebook post, Pandya has written that she is not going to take part in any space mission as there has been no new announcement, flight assignment or selection of missions with respect to her work as a citizen-scientist astronaut with Project Possum or The PHEnOM Project.
“I am no more or less likely to fly than any other member of than these projects than I was 24 hours ago. I remain, however, a steadfast, committed and dedicated teammate and crew member to the work of both projects,” she wrote.
She said that her work is different from that of Canadian Space Agency as well as NASA and she isn’t affiliated to both of them.
“The Canadian Space Agency astronaut selection is ongoing and will be finalized this year; I am not a part of the selection. While I have previously interned at NASA-Johnson Space Center, I have no current affiliation with either organization, and would like to clarify that any reports or articles claiming as such are mistaken,” Pandya wrote.
Pandya added that she is not a neurosurgeon, despite having studied neurosurgery for a short period. She also clarified that she is neither an opera singer nor a boxer as it was being reported in the media.
“I am not an opera singer; I have sang opera on stage once. It went well and I would do it again; however just as boxing once does not a boxer make, neither does that one event make me an opera singer,” she wrote.
But she promised to remain true to her dreams.
“I look forward to continuing my work as a physician, speaker and citizen-scientist astronaut and aquanaut, and just as importantly, look forward to continuing my work with outreach and education about these projects,” she concluded.
Here is her Facebook post:
(All images sourced from: Facebook/ Shawna Pandya)
