Kalpana Chawla was born on March 17, 1962 in Karnal, Haryana, India. She was married to Jean-Pierre Harrison. She died on February 1, 2003 in over Eastern Texas, USA.
The first Indian-American scientist / NASA astronaut, she was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Montsu is the affectionate form of Kalpana Chawla's family name, Montu; the name Kalpana, meaning "imagination" in Hindi, three-year old Montu chose for herself.
Kalpana had two sisters, Sunita and Deepa, and a brother, Sanjay.
She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1990.
Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1998.