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Noida boy will join PM Modi to watch Chandrayaan-2 landing
Shivansh Pal is one of two students selected from Uttar Pradesh by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to see the satellite’s landing on moon on September 7, from the tracking centre in Bengaluru.
When 15-year-old Shivansh Pal appeared for the ‘Space Quiz 2019’ in August, little did he know that he would soon get a chance to see the landing of Chandrayaan-2, and that too alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pal is one of two students selected from Uttar Pradesh by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to see the satellite’s landing on moon on September 7, from the tracking centre in Bengaluru.
Chandrayaan-2, comprising an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched on July 22. The lander, which is carrying a rover, is scheduled to land on the Lunar South Pole at 1.55am, September 7. If successful, this will be the first mission in the world to explore the South Pole of the moon. It will also be the first ISRO mission to make a soft landing on the moon
“It was a 20-question online test and the criteria for selection was to get the maximum answers correct in the shortest span. It went well but I had no idea that I would be selected. It was unexpected but I am really looking forward to being in the ISRO headquarters and to see the landing in real-time,” Pal, a class 10 student of Amity International School, said.
Also Watch: Chandrayaan 2 about to create history: The journey so far
A physics enthusiast, Pal hopes that the experience will help him in his future aspirations. “I want to pursue engineering from IIT and become an astrophysicist. I want to contribute to the field of space development,” he said.
Pal lives with his parents in Sector 50 and is an only child. His parents are accompanying him to Bengaluru and the family will leave Noida on Friday morning.
“We are all excited. Any parent who sees their child do well in life can’t help but be proud of him,” Sanjay Pal, the boy’s father who is an IT engineer, said. His mother, Meenu Pal, is a homemaker.
Pal said that in his free time, he enjoys playing online games and watching robotics of artificial intelligence based videos.
He has also received accolades at school. “It is a proud moment for the entire Amity family that he has been invited to watch Chandrayaan-2 landing alongside the Prime Minister,” Dr Amita Chauhan, chairperson, Amity International Schools, said.
The other student from Uttar Pradesh is Rashi Verma, a class 10 student of DPS, Lucknow. Nearly 60 other students from the country will be present at the ISRO headquarters to witness the landing.
