Rashmi Sheoran Interview
Q. How would you describe yourself for someone meeting you for the first time?
At heart, I’m an amateur astronomer who is always looking up. I’m deeply driven to make astronomy more accessible and exciting in India through informal education, public outreach, and social media. Over the years, I’ve worked with startups and universities to push space science into the mainstream. While astronomy was my first love, it opened the door to a broader curiosity about science as a whole. Today, as a science communicator, I enjoy diving into cutting-edge research across different disciplines and figuring out how to make complex ideas click for everyday audiences. Beyond my work, I love traveling, watching anime, cooking, advocating for mental health, learning words from different languages, and simply being myself unapologetically.
Q. Why were you so drawn to physics in general and astrophysics in particular?
To be completely honest, I wasn't a fan of physics in high school or during my bachelor's degree, which might sound surprising coming from someone with a B.Sc. in Physics. What I actually wanted to study was astronomy, but back in 2017, there were no dedicated undergraduate astronomy programs in India. I enrolled in a physics program with the promise that astronomy would be offered as a final-year elective. That elective never materialized, but in hindsight, I’m glad it didn’t. Because I never studied astronomy through a rigid academic lens, it kept the whimsical charm that traditional classrooms can sometimes drain away. To me, astronomy is the oldest science. It connects us directly to our ancestors and dares to ask the biggest questions about our place in the universe. Stargazing gives me both peace and wonder.
Eventually, as I began teaching and interacting with students, I found my way back to physics on my own terms. Working at IIT Gandhinagar’s Centre for Creative Learning was a turning point. Diving deep into optics and hands-on experiments completely transformed how I perceived physics and science education. It reminded me how intuitive and fun the subject can be when curiosity leads the way.
Q. You've worn a lot of hats in this field, from ISRO to NASA to your own platform. Looking back, what's been the hardest part of that journey?
The hardest part was forging a path without a blueprint or visible role models. When I started out as a science communicator just before the pandemic, there were almost no Indian women in this niche to look up to. I had to open doors for myself and build credibility from scratch. Academically, the conventional choice for me would have been stepping straight into a physics or astrophysics research lab, but I was determined to carve out a space in public engagement and outreach instead.
Navigating the institutional landscape was another challenge. Global space agencies like NASA have massive public appeal, but working with them directly comes with geographic and citizenship constraints. Meanwhile, ISRO historically operated with minimal public engagement, which made it tricky to build content around Indian space missions. When the ISRO Space Tutor initiative launched, it was a massive validation. It finally brought together an emerging community of Indian educators who had previously been working in silos. It’s exciting to see how Indian space communication has evolved since then, and I’m proud to play a role in that shift.
Q. When you're breaking down something like a black hole or a cosmic event for your Instagram audience, how do you decide what to simplify and what to keep intact?
My biggest advantage is that I am my own target audience. I’m an astronomy nerd, a creator, and an active consumer of science content. Because I regularly interact with students, teachers, and people completely outside the scientific community, I have a good pulse on what genuinely confuses people, what bores them, and what sparks instant awe. My creative process is personal and intuition-driven. If I stumble across an intriguing concept, even if it isn't breaking news, I’ll make a video about it because that genuine curiosity translates on screen. If a trending topic doesn’t excite me, I’d rather skip it than force out dry content. Because I handle the entire pipeline myself, from initial research and scripting to filming and editing, I have multiple opportunities to trim the fat. If an explanation feels clunky, overly technical, or dull while I’m editing, it gets cut. If it makes me lean in, it stays.
Q. What is the biggest misconception people have about astronomy or astrophysics, especially in India?
The biggest misconception is the assumption that no one pursues astronomy as a real career in India, or that it’s purely a hobby rather than a viable professional path. People often default to the traditional doctor-or-engineer mindset and don’t realize how many world-class research institutes, observatories, and astrophysics programs exist across the country. There is also widespread confusion about the difference between space technology and observational astronomy. Many assume that working in astronomy in India is synonymous with working at ISRO, similar to how people associate astronomy in the US entirely with NASA. While ISRO develops exceptional launch vehicles, planetary missions, and space-based payloads, core observational and theoretical astrophysics is largely driven by dedicated autonomous research institutes and observatories across the country. And, of course, there is the classic, frustrating mix-up between astronomy and astrology, which should really be put to rest by now.
Q. Since you've studied both in India and abroad, what do you think is the major difference in approach to this subject?
The biggest difference lies in academic culture, hierarchy, and how passion is integrated into teaching. During my undergraduate studies in India, the environment felt very rigid and rote-based. The instructors taught physics purely as an academic curriculum rather than a living, evolving science driven by curiosity. That disconnect was actually the main reason I chose to wait until I could pursue my master's degree abroad in an environment that prioritized applied learning.
Studying science communication in Germany was a breath of fresh air. My professors were active practitioners in the field, not just theoretical lecturers. The classrooms were smaller, highly collaborative, and almost entirely free of rigid hierarchies. You could comfortably challenge ideas, provide feedback, and debate concepts. At a university of applied sciences, the emphasis shifted away from memorizing for high-stakes exams toward project-based assignments and practical problem-solving. My peers and I weren't just leaving class to complain about coursework; we were continuing discussions at cafés because the material genuinely shifted how we thought.
Q. What drew you to content creation in the first place? Was it a deliberate shift, or something that happened almost by accident?
It started organically as a hobby long before Astro Roxy existed. As a teenager, I ran different fan pages for artists and topics I loved, and in high school, I set up a simple page sharing astronomy fun facts. The real turning point came during my second year of college while doing an astronomy outreach internship. I realized I could use the page to document what I was actually learning and doing in the field, not just repost generic facts. During the pandemic, I saw science communicators globally using short-form video to make astrophysics engaging, and I decided to try it myself. I filmed my first few videos, found my rhythm, and never looked back. What started as creative experimentation during lockdown quickly opened professional doors, led to collaborations, and eventually shaped the direction of my career, to the point where my master's thesis is directly rooted in the work I do online.
Q. What's your favorite constellation, and why?
My favorite target in the night sky is actually not a constellation, but an open star cluster: the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.
I first fell in love with it watching Neil deGrasse Tyson talk about the myth of Orion and the sisters in Cosmos. Shortly after, I remember stepping outside with my mom and successfully spotting both Orion and the cluster with the naked eye for the first time. Connecting what I saw overhead with ancient folklore and modern astrophysics gave me chills. What makes the Pleiades so special to me is that almost every culture across human history has woven a story around it. In India, it's known as Krittika; both my mother and grandmother know it. Every winter when it rises, it feels like a familiar friend, and pointing it out to people never gets old.
BIO
Rashmi Sheoran (known online as Astro Roxy) is a science communicator and ISRO-recognized space tutor. After studying physics at Delhi University, she is now based in Vienna, pursuing an MSc in Science Communication while working at the CeMM Center for Molecular Medicine. She has made significant contributions to astronomy outreach by producing hundreds of short-form videos covering stargazing, new astronomical discoveries, and space exploration for global audiences. She has discovered 2 main-belt asteroids and holds a Guinness World Record.
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