All smiles as 25 Pune ZP students leave for NASA tour

A flag-off ceremony for the students was held at Council Hall on Friday. The Indian Express had earlier reported on the case of Aditi Parthe, a class 7 student from Bhor selected for the tour. Her school did not have any computers, neither did anyone in her home have a smartphone, but she managed to get selected for the test. Her father told The Indian Express, “We feel that she has done something completely different. All our relatives are very happy. I wish that she should keep doing well in the future and I will keep supporting her.”

No one from Umar Shaikh’s family has travelled in a flight before this, says his father Sameer Shaikh. Based in Indapur, he runs a stationary business. He said, “We had no idea about the exam, the teachers filled the forms themselves. We were so happy when the results came out we couldn’t even believe it.”

Suyog Wadekar, cousin of Kasturi Wadekar who was flying to the US, was overjoyed while dropping her off. “We are based in Shikrapur. Everyone in our family is so happy she is going to the USA.”

The programme is being carried out in collaboration with IUCAA, which has played a pivotal role in designing the selection framework, conducting student assessments, and creating scientific orientation modules. More than 13,000 students appeared for the initial test and the final selection was completed through a rigorous three-stage evaluation process.

Earlier this year, 50 students visited ISRO and witnessed a rocket launch, while another 50 students visited Delhi, exploring Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, Jantar Mantar, and Nehru Planetarium. More students will soon visit Mumbai’s science institutions. The San Francisco segment of the US trip is supported by the Jnana Prabodhini Foundation, California.