NASA clarified on August 26, 2021 that the 14-year-old Indian teen, who had claimed to be selected as a panelist on NASA's MSI Fellowships Virtual Panel, was short listed based on “false information” provided by her. The US space agency also clarified that the Diksha Shinde had not received any sort of fellowship or funding from the agency.
The Class 10 student who hails from Maharashtra's Aurangabad had told a news agency last week that she has been selected as a panelist on NASA's MSI Fellowships Virtual Panel. She said that she had written a theory on blackholes that was accepted by NASA after 3 attempts. She also mentioned that she was asked to write articles for NASA's website.
Social media users, however, had expressed their doubts on Shinde’s credentials, claiming that it was fake and pointing out discrepancies, such as the fact that only American citizens can send in proposals to NASA.
NASA's official statementNASA in an official statement to ThePrint said: “NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement sought applications through a third-party service for expert panelists to review a series of proposals and applications for NASA Fellowships with Minority-Serving Institutions.” The space agency stated, "The fellowships seek student-authored research proposals. Diksha Shinde was selected as a panelist based on false information regarding her background and credentials." The statement further noted that NASA is currently reviewing the process of verifying potential panelists’ backgrounds. NASA clarified that the Indian teen is neither employed by the agency nor has it awarded her any fellowship. The space agency clarified that these opportunities are available only to US citizens. The space agency also claimed that it has not accepted any scientific paper from Shinde or presented her with any other accolades. The claims that NASA is funding her trip to the US for a conference are also false. |
Diksha Shinde's claims
•Diksha Shinde said that she had read books by Stephen Hawking and then submitted an essay to NASA titled 'Questioning the Existence of God' in September 2020. Her essay was rejected in the first attempt. She revised the original essay by making some changes and submitted it again but it got rejected again.
•In December 2020, she claimed that she had submitted an article on "We Live in a Black Hole?", which was finally liked and accepted at NASA. She also claimed that the International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research accepted her paper on ‘Black Hole’ for publication in May 2021.
•She also claimed to win a research competition organised by International Astronomical Search Collaboration. She said that she had provisionally discovered the ‘Main Belt asteroid’ in the competition.
•She also claimed that she got an email from NASA, confirming her selection as a panelist for the MSI Fellowship panel in June and that her position entails assessing research ideas and presenting a collaborative approach to researching at NASA. She also said that she attends the research discussions every alternate day and is compensated for her role as a panelist.
While speaking on her selection, the 14-year-old said, "I just got an email from NASA about selection as a panelist on MSI Fellowship Panel. I was surprised to receive it. I will do my job between 1 am and 4 am on alternate days and also get a monthly honorarium for it."
Maharashtra | Diksha Shinde, a 14-yr-old girl in Aurangabad, was selected as a panellist on NASA's MSI Fellowships Virtual Panel.
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021
"I wrote a theory on black holes & God. It was accepted by NASA after 3 attempts. They asked me to write articles for their website,"she said (18.08) pic.twitter.com/yxDqApWKWm
•The 14-year-old also claimed that she would get training at NASA on attaining the age of 18 years and that she will also attend a conference that will be held in October 2021 with NASA bearing all her expenses.
All these statements have been claimed to be false by NASA.
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