14-year-old Anjishnu Satpathy is striving hard to achieve his aim of becoming an astrophysicist, and his quest to reach for the stars has received a major boost by none other than NASA!
Anjishnu is a student at Hill Top School in Jamshedpur. He topped the Kalpana Chawla National Scholar Exam, an online test based on CBSE and ICSE syllabuses, and as a result, found himself among the students who were shortlisted for a Skype interview. Only 21 made it from the Skype round, and he was one of them.
Now, he will visit NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the United States this May for ten days to learn about Mars, and how to develop a conducive environment to live there. NASA will provide the students with real-life scenarios to work on.
After Earth, Mars has the most hospitable climate in the solar system. It may, at one time, have harboured primitive, bacteria-like life. Outflow channels and other geological features prove that billions of years ago, liquid water flowed on the planet’s surface. NASA’s Mars exploration has four fundamental questions:
1. The meteorology and climate history of Mars
2. Whether there was ever life on Mars.
3. The geology, and inventory of resources on Mars.
4. Whether Mars should be the next destination for human exploration?
Apart from NASA, the students are expected to visit Disneyland and Universal Studios.
Anjishnu is a huge fan of Stephen Hawking, the legendary theoretical physicist and cosmologist. The boy is thankful to Educcharya.com, for the opportunity, and said to The Telegraph, “I always dreamt of visiting NASA. I idolise Stephen Hawking, read his books and want to be an astrophysicist. This is my time to learn and gather whatever I can from my dream destination.”
The regional marketing head of Educharya, Vikram Bhoyar, says the American space research giant has prepared modules for students depending on their age group. The group Anjishnu is going with will learn about life on Mars through simulators.
Anjishnu isn’t stuck to his books 24X7. When he wants to unwind, he sings and is passionate about Hindustani classical music.
Puneeta B Chouhan, the principal of Hill Top school, claimed that Anjishnu is academically sound as well, and has performed well in various Olympiads. The principal believes in connecting students to programmes outside the realm of academics, to give them ample exposure.
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The students that haven’t been selected shouldn’t feel dejected. The next 21 will receive Rs 1 lakh, the 21 after them will get Rs 50,000, and the final 21 will get Rs 20,000, as cash prizes.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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