S.R.N. Mehta School Wins Top Prize in NASA Contest

S.R.N. Mehta CBSE School in Kalaburagi, India, was announced as the first prize winner in the NASA-NSS Space Settlement Design Contest 2025 for the 8th grade category. Their project, created by a team of 11 students, stood out for its creative ideas and focus on building a sustainable space colony. This is a proud moment for the school and India on the international stage.

A Big Win for India at a Global Contest

The NASA-NSS Space Settlement Design Contest is a well-known global competition organized by the NASA Ames Research Center and the National Space Society (NSS). It encourages students to design ideas for living in space in the future. In 2025, more than 4,900 students from 25 countries took part.

The S.R.N. Mehta School team’s project, named IRA, won first place in the 8th grade category. The team showed great creativity and knowledge in designing a space colony that can support human life. Their project focused on making the space settlement safe, green, and future-ready.

Presentation at International Conference

The winning team was invited to the International Space Development Conference (ISDC-2025) held in Orlando, Florida, USA, from June 19 to 22, 2025. On June 21, the students presented their project through a poster and oral presentation in front of over 250 experts, including space scientists, astronauts, and international guests. They were praised for their confidence and depth of knowledge.

The student team included Aarna Adarsh, Deepika, Khushi, Poorvaja, Pranati, Saanika, Shambhavi, Sharan, Shreya, Zaisha Falak, and Nihar. They worked under the guidance of their Principal Rajashekhar Reddy, who praised the team’s hard work and dedication.

NASA Visit and Future Dreams

As part of their U.S. trip, the students visited the famous NASA Kennedy Space Center, where they saw rocket launch pads, learned about space missions, and even met some astronauts. This visit gave them a chance to see how real space research happens and inspired many of them to dream of working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.

The students returned to India on June 30, filled with happiness and a desire to do even more in the field of science. The school management, teachers, and parents all celebrated their success and called it a proud moment for Kalaburagi, Karnataka, and India.