Kerala - Kochi

Chandrayaan ignites young minds

KOCHI: “I am really excited and hope that one day we will walk on the surface of the moon,” was how Aishwarya Menon, a B.Tech student responded seconds after the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) onboard Chandrayaan–I successfully ejected and landed on the lunar surface on Friday night.

Her friend, Reshmi, was equally excited to watch the visuals of the Chandrayaan project on television.

“I am proud to be an Indian,” the youngster said. Aishwarya and Resmi are part of a growing tribe of young talents in the city who want to explore and learn more about the mysteries of the universe.

Arun Mathew, a B.Sc Physics student, said the Chandrayaan project would inspire many budding scientific talents.

“We all know that our country has joined the elite club of Russia, the U.S., Japan and the European Space Agency, which have impacted probes on the moon. It is a real scientific advancement for us,” he said.

Sheba George, an M.Sc Chemistry student, said the Chandrayaan project was unique in every sense.

“We should congratulate all those at the Indian Space Research Organisation for this feat.

“I am also happy because the spacecraft was built in India. It was put into orbit by the Indian rocket and the launch took place from Indian soil,” she said.

Lekha Nair, a B.Tech student, reminded that the MIP was also built indigenously.

“It was constructed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram,” she said. The youngsters said they were keenly awaiting more visuals from the Moon in the coming days.

Astronomy clubs in colleges are also planning to have more programmes on the moon exploration soon.

Teachers and students are also looking forward to the Chandrayaan–II project by the ISRO.

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