Russian cosmonaut congratulates Indian students on National Space Day

Russian and Kazakh cosmonauts Sergey Korsakov and Aidyn Aimbetov visited Chennai, India, where the winners of the annual Young Scientist India competition for schoolchildren and students were honoured.

For the last 10 years, future space explorers from all over India gather at the Russian House in Chennai to compete for victory in the final stage of the competition. This year, 2,000 students came to the award ceremony.

"From space, the Earth looks united, without borders. Only together we can achieve success in space exploration," Korsakov said, congratulating future scientists on National Space Day.

It is to this holiday, held in the country for the first time, that the competition in 2024 is dedicated. Those who were lucky enough to win received their cups and prizes from the hands of real cosmonauts. 

India plans to send a man into space by 2025 and to land an expedition on the moon in 2040. As the country's Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said earlier, US$119 million was allocated to finance the space programme last year.