Kashmiri student gets NASA approval for two projects

A Kashmiri student has received approval for two of his projects from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Kennedy Space Centre.

A defence statement said here Wednesday: "A youth from a remote village in Kashmir, Asif Ali, has brought laurels to the Valley, as his two projects on astronomy have won approval from the Kennedy Space Centre, NASA, the US.

"Asif, who comes from a humble background from a village in Mattan area of Anantnag district in south Kashmir is studying astronomy at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

"The two projects Asif will work on include those on estimation of asteroids (also called minor planets made up of rock and metal and forming part of the inner solar system) and the effect of gamma ray emissions (emitted from radioactive isotopes).

"Asif, who has done B.Tech from IIST and is currently doing M.S. in astronomy from the same college, said he would be flying to NASA soon to start his project work."

The statement said Asif did his basic schooling from the Army Goodwill School, Aishmuqam, Anantnag, and later Government Higher Secondary School, Mattan.

His father retired as an officer from the state animal husbandry department and his mother is a housewife.