Mumbai Boy Makes The Country Proud: Helps Land A Spacecraft On A Comet


BENGALURU: For the first time in the history of science, a small robotic spacecraft has been landed on the surface of a comet after a journey of ten years and hundreds of millions of miles. Chaitanya Giri, who belongs to Gorai; near Mumbai, is admirably the only Indian among the crew of scientists maneuvering Rosetta Mission of the European Space Agency. The robotic spacecraft probe named Philae was placed on the Comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko, which was moving at a scorching speed of 84000 miles per hour, in an elliptical orbit around the sun, reports Puja Pednekar of Hindustan Times.

 Chaitanya, a student of Swami Vivekanda International School, Gorai, made the school and the teachers feel proud. The school is going to celebrate the achievement of its ex-student Chaitanya Giri, on 12th December, 11 years after he left the school. Giri confessed that the school is worth the credit for inculcating values of discipline and modesty in him and molding the seven formative years of his life.

He has been working with Fred Goesmann at the prestigious Max planck Institute of Solar System and Research, , on the optimization of an instrument known as COSAC Flight Spare model of GC-MS, which is on board the Philae Lander. Even though he was part of an extraordinary endeavor, modest Giri confessed the failures of his school life. He said, “I did not excel in any sport or art. I only did well in the topics that captivated me, to the extent that I would fail in certain subjects.” He further added, “If I analyze now, I had a maverick way of solving [scientific queries], which was not expected by textbook-adamant examiners.”

Giri developed interest in science after his parents gifted him picture books, carrying picture of spacecrafts landing on alien lands, futuristic cities and distant galaxies. The director of Swami Vivekananda International School, Yogesh Patel informed that the school has invited Giri’s parents to accept felicitation on his behalf, as he won’t be able to come.

Also Read: Stop What You're Doing, Find Out What Google Knows About You

Apple Announces Best Iphone, Ipad Apps Of The Year