Priya Abiram

Priya Abiram [@astro_priya_] is an aspiring astronaut and entrepreneur pursuing Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. She hopes to land on Mars and develop spin-offs from space technology to improve the human condition on Earth.

Priya is a pilot, analog astronaut, Congressional Award Gold Medalist, and science communicator. She has interned in Design and System engineering roles at Blue Origin, Boeing, NASA Kennedy Space Center, and Inversion Space. Priya is a passionate STEM advocate and international speaker, giving keynote talks at universities and conventions internationally.

At Cornell University, she is the responsible engineer for the guided parachute system in the rocketry team and an integration & testing engineer in the Alpha CubeSat team building a satellite planned to launch to the International Space Station. She is working on her high power rocketry certification. She also leads the Women in Aviation and Aerospace chapter providing resources and organizing events to promote women entering the space field.

Priya is a Citizen Science Astronaut Trainee at the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences trained in operating payloads in microgravity, spacesuit evaluation, and acrobatic flying. Priya trained as an analog astronaut simulating Mars conditions in isolation on top of a Hawaiian Volcano. As the Chief Scientist of the analog missions, Priya is responsible for conducting a series of scientific experiments, and research improvements to spacesuit technology. She led multiple extravehicular activities, leading the crew into lava flows to explore the volcanic terrain. 

She is the innovator of internationally awarded technologies ‘Visualeyes’- an assistive technology to improve navigation for the visually impaired, ‘Vacation Station’ - portable charger powered by renewable energy, development of eco-friendly plastic fuel utilizing Pyrolysis and Catalytic cracking, improve toddler car seat through incorporation of astronaut life support systems, design lunar dust vacuum system. As a published researcher, she was internationally awarded for her research on Harvesting Geothermal Energy on Mars for Future Settlement at the International Astronautical Conference in Paris, France. She also designed numerous experiments to operate in microgravity parabolic flights studying distortion and vection in astronauts. 

Priya served as a Cadet Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, Auxiliary of the US Air Force, as the Cadet Commander leading 100+ cadets in leadership, STEM, military traditions, and emergency services. She enjoys pulling 6.5Gs as a private pilot. Priya enjoys inspiring young girls about their passions and sharing her perspective of our planet!