NASA awardees to receive Orissa govt. assistance

Bhubaneswar, June 2 (UNI) Coming to the rescue of four student scientists, awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for their project''Eden'', a space settlement project, the Orissa government has decided to bear all their expenses to visit United States.

Four students of Rourkela Steel Plant-run Ispat English Medium School had bagged the second prize for their project for designing a space settlement at a global contest conducted by the NASA Research Centre.

These four students had received an invitation from NASA to visit their high security establishment but funds for their visit to USA was the stumbling block for accepting the invitation.

However, the government assistance came when the four students - Ashima Kar, Amitav Mohanty, Soumyaranjan Pati and Ullash Mishra, all children of Rourkela Steel Plant employees,met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his secretariat here.

The Chief Minister not only felicitated them for their achievement but also agreed to provide Rs six lakh required for their trip to the USA.

The students had submitted a 131 page thesis suggesting an orbiting independent space colony with artificial gravity generating its own water and oxygen resources which could be taken from the earth and subjected to recycling.

The energy,the thesis paper suggested could be taken care by tapping solar power and Helium-3 available on the moon.The project developed by the students had visualised a resident colony of nearly 10,000 people in the space.

Meanwhile, RSP Executive Director B N Singh has congratulated the four students for meticulously designing their creativity and imagination of an independent settlement colony on a space station keeping in view all constraints.

Mr Singh had presented memento to the four students and wished them success for their endeavour which he hoped would one day become the reality.

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