BHARATI PAWASKAR
It was a spectacular moment for Sanad Baligeri, a class IX student from Hedgewar High School to meet and interact with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr K Sivan at Sriharikota, a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, which houses the Satish Dhavan Space Centre (SDSC) from where India launches rockets in the space. Sanad was also lucky to view Chandrayaan-2 which is to be launched on July 15 at 05.51 am.
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar mission, has three modules - Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan). The Orbiter and Lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle. The Rover is housed inside the Lander. “We were shown the prototype of the Rover, as it was already inserted in the Lander by then. It was so amazing to be there,” shares Sanad.
After launch into earth bound orbit by GSLV MK-III, the integrated module will reach Moon orbit using Orbiter propulsion module. Subsequently, Lander will separate from the Orbiter and soft land at the predetermined site close to lunar South Pole. Further, the Rover will roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface. Instruments are also mounted on Lander and Orbiter for carrying out scientific experiments.
“I was at Sriharikota for two days along with 108 other students like me, who were taken to meet ISRO chairman. It was in the second week of my travel wherein we were taken by air from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Kerala,” recalls Sanad, who was one of the three students from Goa, who had the opportunity to visit ISRO’s main centre at Sriharikota to watch live, the launch of a sounding rocket with a small satellite. The students’ visit was especially scheduled during this launch event. Here, the students visited all the control centres and departments, saw the propellants, radars etc and could sit there for some time to see the launch happen. “I shall never forget that moment,” admits Sanad who, inspired by his visit to ISRO, has decided to be a space scientist in future.
Sanad was one of the three lucky students along with Steve Nathan De Sa (Rosary High School, Cujira) and Brijali Dergunkar (Government High School, Surla) from Goa to be sent to ISRO, first at VSSC in Kerala and then to SDSC in Sriharikota to have a glimpse of GSLV-Mk III / Chandrayaan-2 Mission. The 108 students from across different states were sent to different centers of ISRO across India. During their stay they were also taken to city tour, beaches and cultural programmes. “We also participated in cultural programmes, debates and quizzes,” says Sanad who won first prize in debate and quiz and was felicitated by the chairman Dr Sivan during the tour that lasted from May 13 to 25.
During Sanad’s fortnightly stay, there were senior ISRO scientist visiting every day to their classrooms who taught the students, interacted with them and also offered career guidance. “The space scientists pampered us, mentored us and took care of us 24x7. We were housed in a special guesthouse at ISRO. It was a 15-day programme, which allowed us to visit a facility each day, attend workshops and have interactions,” recalls Sanad.
Recalling the process of applying for the YUVIKA programme, Sanad shares, “NCERT had sent letters to all headmasters along with forms to be filled by students of std IX. The form was in two categories - the first was academic details and the second was extracurricular activities and both had marks, 50 per cent each. The selection was based on a mock test online. The results were announced two months later. I got the letter of selection. I had earlier made a project - Universal Headlight Auto Dipper, which I mentioned in my form and I think that gave weightage to my application among 38 students. This project has won first place all over India as the best innovative project from NITTI Aayog and UNICEF.”
Explaining his project, Sanad points out that driving at night poses a serious problem because of the headlights of the oncoming vehicles. “The glare of the headlights momentarily blinds the driver of the opposite vehicle leading to accidents “ fatal or otherwise. This major problem is faced, not only on highways, but also on city, small town and village roads. Having sensed the severity of the issue, we decided to work out an effective solution. Something that is compact, sturdy, economical and versatile to sense the glare of high beam from oncoming vehicle and then automatically switch to low beam,” he states.
In the night driving scenario, a driver is supposed to switch the high beam of his vehicle to the low beam (dipper) mode when two vehicles cross each other. However, this important aspect of road safety is more often than not either neglected or forgotten for reasons best known to the driver. “Our Smart Headlight ‘AUTO-DIPPER’ is devised in such a way that the high beam of the headlights automatically switch to dipper mode when the oncoming vehicles are at a distance of 50 meter from each other and the modes are reversed within five seconds of the vehicles crossing each other thus accomplishing the purpose of preventing accidents at night,” shares Sanad, now in SSC, aspires to become a space scientist.
