Pune, Aug 23 (PTI) Shubhra Renuse beamed with pride as the teenager from a tiny village in Pune district enthusiastically spoke about her upcoming US trip in October.
The 13-year-old is among the 25 students from rural schools in the district who have been selected to visit the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
“I am keen to know more about NASA’s recent ISS (International Space Station) mission involving Sunita Williams and her team, as well as its future space expeditions,” said the Class 7 student from Pabe in Bhor tehsil, about 40 km from Pune.
The NASA visit for Shubhra and other students is part of an initiative by the Zilla Parishad, in collaboration with the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), to broaden their horizons, said an official.
A Zilla Parishad is the highest tier in the Panchayati Raj System in rural India, functioning as the district-level local self-government body responsible for developmental schemes and social justice.
Gajanan Patil, chief executive officer of Pune Zilla Parishad, told PTI that they aim to provide wide exposure to the students through the tour.
“Out of 15,000 students, around 235 were shortlisted through written and oral interviews, and finally 75 were selected. Of them, 25 will visit NASA, while the remaining 50 will tour ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) facilities in India,” Patil said.
Another 160 students will be exposed to other institutions like planetariums, IUCAA, GMRT (Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope), and Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament, within India, he said.
Patil said students from Zilla Parishad schools are academically bright but often lack exposure compared to their counterparts in private schools. “We want to increase their interest in space and science and nurture a scientific temperament,” he said.
The 25 students are expected to embark on their journey to America in October, and the process of obtaining passports and visas is underway. Pune Zilla Parishad will fund the entire project, which will cost about Rs 3.5 crore, Patil said.
R Srianand, director of IUCAA, said they helped identify the students through a stringent assessment process involving two written tests and one personal interview.
“The questions were based on science, space, and astronomy from their syllabus. Based on the evaluation, the top 25 will visit NASA, while the remaining 50 will go to ISRO facilities,” he said.
Although the students come from humble, rural backgrounds, they are bright and intelligent, Srianand said.
“We want the visit to NASA and ISRO facilities to be an enriching experience. Though NASA is a big attraction, we hope these bright minds will contribute to research here in India as they advance in their academic journey,” he added.
IUCAA will continue to track the academic progress of the students beyond the visits, he said.
“Our role is not just to facilitate the trips. We want to ensure their talent is nurtured. Based on this year’s experience, we plan to prepare a booklet of questions for next year, and the evaluation process will be even more professional,” Srianand added.
The Zilla Parishad has signed a three-year MoU with IUCAA for this initiative.
Shubhra said she is thrilled to have made it to the list of top 25 students.
“I am very excited to go to NASA. I have already started chalking out the questions I want to ask the scientists and researchers. I want to understand how NASA works and how a space scientist thinks,” she said. PTI SPK NR
