20 School Students From Odisha Leave On A Tour To Space Applications Centre Of ISRO In Ahmedabad

Bhubaneswar: A group of 20 young astronomers from schools of Odisha on Saturday left Bhubaneswar on a visit to the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Ahmedabad.

Krushna Chandra Patra, Minister of Science and Technology, flagged off the bus carrying the young students at the Pathani Samanta Planetarium (PSP) in Bhubaneswar. The young astronomers were selected out of more than 300 schools from across 30 districts through Tata Steel’s Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2023.

Besides exploring the SAC labs, the students will interact with its Director and other leading space scientists. Accompanied by officials of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Tata Steel and their guiding teachers, the students will also visit the Science City, to explore the field of astronomy and space science.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said, “India is doing a great job in space science and research at the world level. I believe these children will be able to contribute in a big way to this field.”

Extending her good wishes to the students, Chithra Arumugam, Principal Secretary, Science and Technology department and Chairperson, Pathani Samanta Planetarium said, “I congratulate the 20 brightest students, who have been selected from among 80,000 participants, to visit and explore the SAC of ISRO at Ahmedabad. Tata Steel has been conducting this noble initiative for the last 17 years and I am sure the company will continue its efforts towards building a strong industry-academia collaboration.”

Prasanna Kumar Patra, Director, Pathani Samanta Planetarium and Debashis Jena, Chief Resident Executive (CRE), Tata Steel, Bhubaneswar also spoke on the occasion.