Two Class seven students of a school in Chennai have jointly won the second prize with a Romanian team in a competition conducted by NASA this year.

M Srivatsan and Vasundhara Gautham of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram are the only participants from Tamil Nadu to win the competition.

Under ‘Project IRIS’ (International Research and Integration Station), they developed and designed an alternate habitat for human space settlement. The design won recognition for its detailed and in-depth representation of life and its necessities integrated in a space city.

Srivatsan said “the project was relatively easier as we imagined how life would be in another planet without the resources that Earth provides.”

All basic essentials for sustaining human life – from food, sanitation, shelter and energy was provided. They also conceptualized the way of life – administration, governance, employment, culture and transportation.

“Srivatsan and Vasundhara worked for over three hours every day, brainstorming and designing this project. My only contribution was to inform them about the competition I came across on NASA website,” said Manivanan, Srivatsan’s father.

While Vasundhara took care of providing food and other biological aspects, Srivatsan dealt with the technical details.

The most important aspect of this project was use of ‘quantum computers’ which formed a crucial part of the space city and disseminated information to people via indirect interaction using dead human retina.

The duo worked on the project for less than six months and plans to participate in the same competition next year.

The Sequoia Middle School team from California, U.S.A., bagged the first prize.