Their days with astronauts, scientists at NASA

10 students of classes VI and VII share their trip experiences.

April 27, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 08:10 am IST - PUDUCHERRY:

Rare opportunity:Students of PSBB Millennium School, who returned enriched after their visit to NASA talk enthusiastically about it. (Right) The students and teacher pose in front of the NASA Kennedy Space Centre.— Photos: S.S. Kumar

Rare opportunity:Students of PSBB Millennium School, who returned enriched after their visit to NASA talk enthusiastically about it. (Right) The students and teacher pose in front of the NASA Kennedy Space Centre.— Photos: S.S. Kumar

For a group of students from the region, their visit to National Aeronautical Space Agency’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Centre as part of their 11-day trip to the United States was an experience of a lifetime.

The excitement level is still palpable among the 10 students of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Millennium School at Periyakattupalayam near here who returned only the other day. Their jet lag is no damper to their enthusiasm with which they talk about their experiences at NASA and their first-hand look at moonwalking, space shuttle launching, mission experience and rocket making.

The 10 students of classes VI and VII were accompanied by a science teacher.

R.A. Rajyasri, a student of VI-A in the PSBB Millennium School, said “We spent two days in NASA and learnt about shuttle launch, main engine releases and fuel tank releases. They also taught us how to balance our body in the absence of gravitational force.”

“We had one-day orientation programme about NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre prior to the visit. The principal had a meeting with parents on how to go about the trip and students with different calibres were selected,” said teacher M. Indhumathy who accompanied the students.

The group also had an enlightening interaction with a few top scientists and astronauts.

K. Subramani, a student of VII-A said, “We were briefed on the difference between space shuttles and rockets and the intensive training given to astronauts to prepare them for the space mission. We also experienced space flight simulators and had a close look of Atlantis space shuttle and Saturn V the heaviest ever rocket made on earth.”

“We feel excited and lucky that no one had visited Kennedy Space Centre at this age. It was fascinating to watch real videos about the kind of life astronauts lead in space, what is like to live in a shuttle, the way they work, sleep and do repair in the International Space Station and how they experience sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes. The tour also taught us about good values,” said S. Shivani.

Regular participation in projects such as the International School Award by the British Council also played an important role and inspired the students to visit NASA.

The students also interacted with scientists from NASA and got a chance to have lunch with astronaut Bob Springer, who shared his experiences with them. The students also received participation certificates from NASA on completion of their tour, Indhumathy said.

As part of the tour the students also visited Niagara Falls, New York, Disney Land, and Universal Studios and enjoyed the thrills of water rides and Harry Potter simulation.

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