Delhi boy chosen NASA's 'student astronaut'

A 14-year-old Delhi [ Images ] boy has been chosen as a 'student' astronaut' to participate in NASA's [ Images ] ongoing project on Mars [ Images ] exploration.

Saatvik Agarwal, a standard X student at Amity International School in south Delhi, is among the 16 students selected from all over the world through a global contest and would spend about two weeks at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- NASA's lead centre for robotic exploration of the solar system -- based at Pasadena, California.

He will work together with NASA scientists and other student astronauts as part of the Science Operations Working Group between January-March 2004.

To prepare for his stint at NASA, Saatvik is undergoing intensive web-based training about the US agency's Mars exploration mission -- Red Rover Goes to Mars -- besides Mars science, digital image processing and mission operations.

Saatvik, son of an Internet consultant Rajeev Agarwal, was selected through a global contest organised by the US-based Planetary Society, a space interest group, in an initiative to involve young minds in NASA's mission to Mars.

The boy had earlier won the 'Original Mind' award instituted by Infosys [ Get Quote ] Foundation and an award for his website on space, given by Kiran Bedi's [ Images ] India [ Images ] Vision Foundation.