Delhi boy to watch Chandrayaan-2 landing with PM

New Delhi: Delhi student Manogya Singh Suyansh has been selected by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to watch the landing of Chandrayaan-2 on the surface of the moon with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A student of class 9, Suyansh aspires to be an astronaut.

Speaking to IANS, Suyansh who could not hide his glee, said: "I am excited to watch Chandrayaan-2 landing on the moon's surface as well as to meet the Prime Minister."

"Since childhood, I had the curiosity to know about space and related developments. I want to get admission to an IIT and be an astronaut in the future," said Suyansh, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, who has taken up a four-year preparation course for engineering entrance exams.

Suyansh is among the 60 students who have been selected from across the country to watch India's ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan-2 landing on the surface of the moon with Modi at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru.

"ISRO has great pleasure in informing that you have been selected to watch the historical Chandrayaan-2 moon landing in the early hours of September 7, 2019, at the ISRO Tracking Centre (ISTRAC), Bengaluru in the presence of Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi Ji. You are requested to reach Bengaluru by 1400 hrs on Friday, September 6, 2019 along with one parent/guardian," said the letter sent by ISRO to Suyansh.

ISRO had conducted a 'Space Quiz' for students from the classes 8 to 10. The student with the most number of correct answers in 10 minutes emerged the winner.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry had written to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and other state boards to encourage children in schools to take part. This quiz was conducted to promote awareness among children about India's ambitious space programme.

The landing of Chandrayaan-2 will make India the fourth nation in the world to land a spacecraft on the moon, thus putting the country in the league of the US, Russia and China.