500 astronomy labs yet to see light of day

Aryan Mishra and three others now working towards making low-cost telescopes

Aryan Mishra, 21, son of a newspaper seller, made headlines when he discovered an asteroid at the age of 14. He was set to build astronomy labs in government schools in 2019 after being approached by the Central government. The idea hasn’t taken off yet and he and his colleagues Shishirant Rahul, Shakeel Ahmad, and Naveen Sharma have been able to set up only 15 labs across the country, including in only three government schools in Jammu, Leh and Kargil. “The government’s idea was to set up 500 astronomy labs across the country. I don’t know why the idea hasn’t taken off yet. Delhi government schools have done well over the last few years. I hope we can take the idea forward. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to meet Delhi Deputy Chief Minster Manish Sisodia. I have tried many times though,” Mr. Mishra, now a third-year BSc student of a private university said. He is studying on scholarship.