About — Our Journey

Our Journey

This page documents NESRA’s institutional journey through key milestones from 2018 to the present.

2018 — Institutional Origins & First National Space Meet Nepal

NESRA traces its institutional origins to the First National Space Meet Nepal, held on July 21, 2018, at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) — organised in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, with the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). This is confirmed by the event’s own banner and corroborated independently by NESRA’s 2021 IAC research paper, which states the National Space Meet has run “since 2018.”

Attendees at the First National Space Meet Nepal, 21 July 2018, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology — First National Space Meet Nepal, 21 July 2018 — NAST, Kathmandu.

2019 — National Space Meet of Nepal & SpaceGeneration[Nepal]

Over July 19–20, 2019, NESRA held a two-day National Space Meet of Nepal alongside the first SpaceGeneration[Nepal] event, co-hosted with SGAC. The programme included an opening ceremony, speaker sessions, a technical presentation on the NepaliSat-1/BIRDS-3 satellite project by Abhas Maskey and Prof. Mengu Cho of the Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan, an awards ceremony, and a closing celebration. Featured speakers included Dr. Sarah Jane Pell (artist astronaut and TED Fellow), Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom (co-founder, International Space Consultants and SpaceBase), Dr. Bonnie B. Thurber (CEO, Educational Continuum Org, and President, Global Hands-on Universe Org, who has taught astronomy and space science workshops in Nepal since 2014), Sourav Karmakar (Founder, Infinos Tech LLP), Dr. Susan Ip-Jewell (Founder and President, Mars Academy USA), and Hari Bahadur Tamang.

National Space Meet of Nepal and SpaceGeneration[Nepal], 19-20 July 2019 — National Space Meet of Nepal & SpaceGeneration[Nepal], 19–20 July 2019.

November 2019 — NASA Space Apps Challenge, Brescia, Italy

NESRA’s founder travelled to Brescia, Italy to facilitate the NASA Space Apps Challenge in person — direct, individual international engagement alongside NESRA’s organisational outreach in Nepal.

February 2020 — Space Mission Design Workshop

NESRA delivered a hands-on Space Mission Design Workshop at Kathmandu University in partnership with Open Cosmos (UK), focused on practical technical programming and mission-design concepts.

Space Mission Design Workshop promotional flyer, 22 February 2020, Kathmandu University Dhulikhel — Space Mission Design Workshop, 22 February 2020 — Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, with Open Cosmos (UK).

June 2020 — Space4Women Webinar

NESRA hosted a Space4Women webinar with speakers including Sarah Jane Pell and Chiara Chiesa (Lead, NASA Space Apps Brescia) — continuing the relationship built in Brescia the previous year.

Space4Women Webinar promotional flyer, 5 June 2020 — Space4Women Webinar, 5 June 2020.

July 2020 – February 2021 — International Webinar Series

NESRA ran a series of international webinars moderated by its founder as NESRA President, in partnership with the Moon Village Association, the Space Generation Advisory Council, ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), and NREN: “Space Technologies for Efficient Disaster Management” (25 July 2020, with Abhas Maskey and Dr. Reshma Shrestha of Kathmandu University), and two webinars on the importance of analog astronaut missions (6 and 27 February 2021, with Priyanka Rajkakati and Dr. Julia Weratschnig of the Austrian Space Forum). In 2020, Nepal also participated as one of 13 countries in the Moon Village Association’s Participation of Emerging Space Countries (MVA-PESC) programme. Separately, NESRA organised a virtual tour of the International Space University for Nepalese students, in partnership with ISU.

Webinar on the Importance of Analog Astronaut Missions for Future Human Space Exploration Programs, 6 February 2021, moderated by NESRA President Anamol Mittal — Analog astronaut missions webinar, 6 February 2021 — with Priyanka Rajkakati (EMMIHS-III), moderated by NESRA President Anamol Mittal.

September 17, 2021 — International Astronautical Congress, Dubai

NESRA presented original research, “Roadmap to Promote Nepal’s Contribution to the Space Industry” (IAC-21,D5,1,3,x66800), at the 72nd International Astronautical Congress in Dubai — an eight-author paper with contributors from the International Space University (France), Kathmandu University, the University of Alabama, and Tribhuvan University.

September 2022 — International Astronautical Congress, Paris

NESRA attended the IAC in Paris — its second consecutive year of engagement with the world’s leading space congress.

2022–2024 — Student Ambassadors Programme

NESRA ran a Student Ambassadors Programme, with calls issued in 2022 and again in 2024 tied to a new operational presence in Lumbini Province — evidence of youth engagement across multiple cycles and NESRA’s first documented expansion beyond Kathmandu.

July 2025 — Memorandum of Understanding with SIA-India

NESRA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Space Industry Association – India (SIA-India), supporting cooperation on innovation, policy dialogue, and partnerships across South Asia’s space sector.

This timeline highlights documented institutional milestones across research, outreach, capacity building and international cooperation from 2018 onward.