Saatvik Agarwal (18) the student astronaut who made waves last February after spending a week at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the centre for robotic solar exploration based in Pasadena, California, is maintaining contact with his colleagues of 11 other nations and the US-based Planetary Society through a newsgroup. Saatvik, also a Mars mission ambassador, who aspires to a career in space technology or related sciences, is busy preparing for it. “Study at one of the IITs will be a good platform,” says the laconic youngster. Life has definitely changed for Saatvik after he was selected by NASA for its Red Rover Goes to Mars Project, the first educational experiment for a planetary mission. Meeting Colin Powell, the then US secretary of state, was also a high point of his transformed status.

Saatvik’s elevation into the big league of aspiring student astronauts began when he responded to a small ad in a Delhi newspaper supplement. He submitted an essay as required and was called for a personal interview following which he was flown to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in NASA for a meeting with scientists of its Planetary Society, who had chosen 16 student astronauts including Saatvik to work with the Mars Exploration Rover team. “NASA’s objective in inviting student astronauts from around the world was to transform us into a network communicating over the internet and through other media about planet Mars. That’s why we have formed an active newsgroup,” says Saatvik.

The son of an internet consultant, Saatvik uses the world wide web to learn about NASA’s proposed mission to Mars. “Schools and classrooms don’t offer much information on the planets and galaxies. Therefore one has to rely on supplementary sources of information, newspapers and the internet in particular,” says Saatvik, a gifted class XII student at Delhi’s Amity International School. Gifted is an apt description for this precocious youth who is patently aiming for the stars. In 2002 he was conferred the Infosys sponsored Innovation in Science award for building a space exploration website by India Vision Foundation, a charity promoted by supercop Kiran Bedi.

Inspired and influenced by President Abdul Kalam who had blessed him before his NASA trip earlier this year, Saatvik’s other motivational force has been the late scientist-physicist Albert Einstein, whose life and work he has studied extensively.

Autar Nehru (New Delhi)

Kishan S.S

Though he is only nine years of age, a complete recitation of Bangalore-based child prodigy S.S. Kishan’s achievements would require more space than the editor of this magazine would be able to afford. Young Kishan is already an actor-singer-director-film script writer-computer whiz and a wannabe Guinness Record holder all rolled into one. By any yardstick this whizkid’s achievements are impressive.

Already he has acted in 24 full-length feature films, four mega television serials, modelled for several ad films and print advertisements, released his own music album (which has sold over 15,000 copies), scored the title tune for a hit Kannada movie and is presently set to direct a full-length movie titled C/o footpath.

“As a child my parents would film me playing with my sister on their camcorder. Once when my mother was showing these videos to her friends, one of them suggested that I should try acting in films. Enthused by the praise, my parents encouraged me to learn acting. Luckily I got my first break in 2001, in Grama Devathe,” recalls Kishan a class V student of the Camlin English School, Bangalore.

“On the sets of Law and Order, by posing questions to the cameraman and director I began learning about how cinematographic equipment works. I also read up several books on direction, screenplay writing and film making before deciding to direct my own movie,” says the child artiste who is currently focused on his directorial debut C/o Footpath, shooting for which started in early September. When the movie is completed Kishan will become the youngest director in the world, a record currently held by Sidney Ling, who directed Lex, the Wonder Dog when he was 13 years.

“C/o Footpath is a movie about the difficulties a poor boy faces to get a decent education. I chose this subject because a few years ago, I saw several children selling newspapers and trinkets at a traffic signal,” explains Kishan whose parents Srikanth, a bureaucrat in the commercial tax department and Shailaja, a music director, are producing the film with a budgeted investment of Rs.60 lakh.

“I believe there is great interest for real life cinema in India. I would like to learn film making from Steven Spielberg who has made futuristic films like Jurassic Park. I want to complete C/o Footpath by December 2005 so I will have time to study for my final exams in March 2006,” says Kishan.

Definitely a youngster to watch!

Srinidhi Raghavendra (Bangalore)

Also read: 15-year-old Indian-American becomes TIME’s first-ever kid of the year