The Chandrayaan-2 mission inches closer to achieving its goal with every passing day. With just few days to go for the ‘Vikram’ lander to land on the South Pole of the Moon, 60 students will get to witness the historic landing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The students were selected from across the country through a quiz competition announced by PM Modi during a Mann Ki Baat programme in July.
The quiz comprised of 20 questions on varied topics, such as requirements for a rocket launch, how to place a satellite in space, or what an A-SAT is.
Based on the ISRO quiz, students from Delhi, Lucknow, Odisha, Meghalaya, and other states were chosen.
These students will watch the landing live with PM Modi from the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru.
Here's what few of these students said on the opportunity:
Shrijal Chandrakar, Chhattisgarh (Kendriya Vidyalaya)
Shrijal Chandrakar, a class 9 student from Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund sees it as a huge opportunity.
“All questions were current affairs and related to ISRO. I never thought i’ll do something like this.”Shrijal Chandrakar, Student, Chhattisgarh
Rashi Verma, Lucknow (DPS Jankipuram)
Rashi Verma, a class 10 student from Delhi Public School (DPS) Jankipuram, expressed excitement over her selection.
“Almost the entire class took the quiz. The school told us that taking the quiz will be good and the teachers really encouraged the students to take part.”Rashi Verma, Student
“I am very excited... my parents, DPS Jankipuram, the whole team is very excited, including principal ma'am, teachers and my friends. Everyone is excited,” she told news agency ANI.
Wahengbam Devananda, Imphal
Wahengbam Devananda, a class 9 student from Imphal said that he was very happy to witness history with PM Modi.
“I have read about Chandrayaan on the internet and i do my best in competitions. I didn’t expect to be selected.”Wahengbam Devananda, Student
Sharana Nanda, Odisha
Sharana Nanda from Odisha told us that she is extremely proud to be able to witness the landing of Chandrayaan - 2. She said that the quiz was moderately difficult. It required knowledge of recent and important space-related news.
Sharana further said that this experience offers a huge lesson.
The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had written to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and other state boards to encourage the children to participate in the quiz.
While announcing the quiz, PM Modi had said the quiz was planned to promote awareness about India's historic space programme among children.
'Vikram’ Lander, named after the father of India's space mission Vikram Sarabhai on his birth centenary year, is scheduled to touch the lunar surface near its South Pole on 7 September at around 1:55 am.
Chandrayaan-2's landing is expected to make India the fourth nation in the world, along with US, USSR, and China to land on the Moon.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS)
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