New Delhi, February 27 (HS): Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino interacted with students of PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya, Delhi Cantt on Thursday. During this, Massimino also took stock of the facilities of the school, which include AR-VR Lab, Atal Tinkering Lab, Language Laboratory etc.
While interacting with the students, Massimino praised India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission. He emphasized its importance not only for India but also for the global space community. He highlighted the challenges of landing on the south pole of the Moon and said how this achievement can provide important information about the water sources required for settlement there. Apart from this, he emphasized the importance of international cooperation in future space programs.
Massimino told how a film based on 7 astronauts inspired him to become an astronaut. While interacting with the students, he answered their questions about space exploration, food in space travels, etc. Recalling his personal experiences, he explained how he adjusted to zero gravity in space and explained in detail about his sleeping arrangements, consoles to work on, etc. Talking about the role of AI in space exploration, he said that AI will streamline processes, making them more efficient, economical and safe.
He advised the students about the subjects and skills they should pursue to pursue a career in space exploration.
During the event, the students asked several questions about the challenges of pursuing a career as an astronaut and the key subjects required for their preparation. Massimino emphasized the importance of exploring various fields including soil science and marine biology. His practical and insightful answers excited and deeply inspired the students. He also asked them about the most challenging project they have worked on at NASA and whether it would be possible for humans to colonize Mars in the near future. He said that living on the moon could soon become a reality, but settling on Mars will take longer because of technical challenges that still need to be overcome.
Massimino is a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and a senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. He holds a BS degree and an MS in Mechanical Engineering and Technology and Policy from Columbia University. He also holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After working as an engineer at IBM, NASA and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, with academic appointments at Rice University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996. He is a veteran of two space flights—the fourth and fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009. Mike holds a team record for the number of hours of spacewalking in a single Space Shuttle mission. He is also the first person to tweet from space. Joint Commissioner (Personnel) Somit Srivastava, Deputy Commissioner (Academic) of KVS Headquarters BK Behera, Deputy Commissioner of KVS Delhi Region SS Chauhan, Assistant Commissioners of Delhi Region GS Pandey and KC Meena, Principal of KV No. 2, Delhi Cantonment VK Mathpal and others were present at the programme.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
