Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the exposure visit of the top 20 winners of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2017 edition in a programme here on Thursday.
The budding astronomers who were selected across Odisha will be visiting the Space Application Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Ahmedabad. Besides visiting the facility, the students will also get one of those rare opportunities to interact with some of the top-notch space scientists of the country over there.
The 12th edition of YATS 2018 was also launched by the CM on this occasion. With the overwhelming participation of students in 2017, the next edition was launched with much zeal and enthusiasm to make YATS much more enriching for the participating students.
The theme for 2018 is “Imagine space exploration, 50 years from now” and will include many events. Present on the occasion were Minister for School and Mass Education and Science and Technology Badri Narayan Patra, Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary and Secretary to Government P and C Department R Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology Nikunja Bihari Dhal and Managing Director, Bhushan Steel, a Tata Steel Group Company Rajeev Singhal. Patnaik congratulated the student winners for their interest in the unique programme and extended his best wishes for their ISRO visit.