Sarita Dara
(She/Her)
Senior Medical Officer, Aviation Medicine
Dr Sarita Dara is a physician dually qualified and experienced in Medicine and Engineering. Sarita took an unconventional path in Medicine and has an MD in Aerospace Medicine, a master’s degree in Space Sciences and PhD in Human Factors Engineering. She is also trained and experienced in Occupational Medicine, Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine and Public Health.
Sarita currently works as Senior Medical Officer, Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand and as a Space Medicine and Human Factors Consultant and Occupational Medicine Physician with Humane Factors Exponential Limited. With her current spectrum of work, Sarita looks after the health of “people at work” on Earth and beyond.
Sarita has worked as a physician, educator and researcher in India, USA, Singapore and New Zealand for over two decades. Sarita is an Academician with the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine and is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine.
Sarita is passionate about interdisciplinary and inclusive STEMM education and outreach focusing on Aerospace Sciences. She is currently appointed as Mentor of Space4Women, an initiative of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs to promote gender equality and diversity in space sector. Only 1 in 5 workers in the space sector is a woman (UN data), through the Space4Women and other outreach programs including Homeward Bound, Sarita intends to continue her work towards increasing accessibility and opportunities for the next generation to launch their aerospace and STEMM careers. Sarita believes in continual learning and value of interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to problem solving.
Sarita loves all things aerospace including planes, rockets, sun, moon, stars and our planet Earth. She is a novice astrophotographer and also an artist and hopes to one day do “enough art” to exhibit her work showcasing the interconnectedness of art and science.
