“My name is Anurag and I am studying in class 9. I always wanted to be an astronomer. Growing up, I used to imitate the scientists making rockets and satellites and discuss it with my father with utmost pride.

Whenever I would see a rocket launch happening at the ISRO space station, on TV, I would tell my dad that some day I will be there watching the launch of a spacecraft live. But I would have never imagined my dream come true so early as I was selected among the top 44 Young Astronomers Search examinations conducted across India in 2019. Yes! I was invited to Srihari Kota for the launch of Chaandrayan 2 as a part of the training course conducted by the Planetary Society of India. It felt surreal when I was taken on a special bus to Sri Hari Kota from our village at Bodhan in Nizamabad.

I still remember the site crystal clear. It was on the 22nd of July 2019 at 2:43 PM, the spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 was launched on its mission to the moon. The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-2 lander were to operate a robotic rover on the lunar surface. Unfortunately, the mission could not succeed because of the crash landing of its lunar lander on 20th August. However, I am proud of the mission as it’s a once in a lifetime experience for a small-town kid like me to get an opportunity to visit the ISRO space station and watch the launch from a close distance. I also got an opportunity to meet some of the senior officials of the mission, all thanks to PSI Director, Mr. Raghunandan Kumar, and my school teachers at Telangana Minority Residential Education Institution Society who made this possible.

Everything is going well so far but the only thing I regret in life is not being able to share my experience with my father. Well, I don’t want to recollect the past but my father passed away a few years ago due to a major heart attack.

He may not be there with us physically but I am sure he must be proud of us. My sister has completed her nursing training recently and joined the service in a local hospital in Nizamabad. I promised my dad that I would become an Aero scientist in the future.

My ultimate aim is to work with ISRO as a space researcher, contributing my part to the field of Aerospace Science Engineering. Let’s see what the future holds for me.”

#Dream #Astronomy #ISRO #Chandrayaan2 #Aerospace #Life #Strength #Courage #ruralindia #Success #Surreal #Lifelessons #Children #Future #Telangana #Hyderabad #HumansofHyderabad ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation