Club opens up fascinating world of space science to students in Vijayawada

Space science is a fascinating area for children to cultivate scientific temperament and enthusiasm.
Children Space Club of India members visit SHAR launch  pad-1 in Sriharikota
Children Space Club of India members visit SHAR launch pad-1 in Sriharikota

VIJAYAWADA: Space science is a fascinating area for children to cultivate scientific temperament and enthusiasm. What they were taught at a tender age has a long-lasting impact on their minds.

With the motto to provide space education to children, the Children Space Club of India (CSCI) has provided a platform for the children of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka to witness several live space events and interact with space scientists.

With the support of the club, students participated in a workshop in Russia and visited the SHAR at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The students also got a chance to meet scientists and former President APJ Abdul Kalam and also American astronaut Sunita Williams.

The man behind this organisation is a teacher named G Santha Murthy, who began his career as a teacher and served in the field of education for more than 30 years. He hails from Pulivendula in the Kadapa district and is now settled in the Guntur district. He founded the CSCI in 2007.

His passion for space education began when his teacher showed him photographs of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon when he was in Class 4. This led him to establish the space club after becoming a teacher. He also organised over 200 Zoom sessions during the Covid-19 pandemic for students and teachers to interact with space scientists from across the globe.

The organisation has representatives across the State and they conduct tests, elocution, essay writing and painting competitions, to select students for live rocket launches.

With the support of CSCI, a total of 3,500 students have visited SHAR as part of the general visit so far, 55 students visited as special VIPs to witness PSLV and GSLV launching, and 12 students in 2007 participated the 58th International Astronautical congress held in Hyderabad and met APJ Abdul Kalam as well as Sunita Williams.

As many as 13 students attended the space settlement contest conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US from 2011 to 2014. Three students of the unified Andhra Pradesh participated in the Yuri Gagarin Satellite workshop in Moscow, Russia in 2018. Adding to this, two students—Seelam Eswariah and Shankar—were sponsored by the club to scale Mount Everest in 2018.

A CSCI member, Medha Umesh, a Class 10 student of St Dominic school from Bangalore said, “ I joined the club in a wonderful session conducted by the CSCI. As I am very interested in this field, I learnt a lot of things about space and human relations with space and also I got an opportunity to meet Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot with the support of the CSCI.”

T Meghana, a Bendapudi ZP High School student and a CSCI member, said that their dream to visit the SHAR was fulfilled by the club. Santha Murthy said, “Besides friends, I have students at NASA and also SHAR. With their cooperation, a way has been paved to take the children to the rocket launches at the respective space centres.” He appealed to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to introduce space education in the school curriculum and establish a planetarium in the State.

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