Bangalore: Indians ranking second lowest in the world in science, reading and mathematics in a global came as a shocker to Indians the world over. But when YouTube conducted an international Space Science contest with NASA, most entries were from India, surpassing the number from the US. Out of the 60 finalists, nine teenagers were from India, and ten were Americans.

Teens in the age group 14-18 were asked to design a science experiment that could be conducted in space, and all participants were required to upload detailed videos of their entries on YouTube, complete with demonstrations and animations.

The challenge was to find experiments that would work in space rather than in the conditions found on Earth, a task that is usually assigned to space scientists, reported the Daily Mail. Mohit Singhla and Nesar M.N., two Indian finalists from the 14-18 age-group, are from city schools. Singhla’s experiment deals with the question of the effects of micro-gravity on the ballistic trajectory of a projectile. Nesar a student of the Delhi Public School studied how micro-gravity conditions would affect the metabolic and reproductive behavior of a microbe resistant to radiation, the Deinococcus Radiodurans via his experiment. “I stumbled upon this competition while searching for space videos on YouTube and decided to participate,” the 18 year old said.

Mohit, a 17 year old student of the Summer Fields School, said it was very fulfilling to have his work displayed to a global audience. He hoped that his friends as well as the large Indian community on social networks would vote for his project.

What remains uncertain in the wake of these events though is the stand of the Indian education system, especially since another Indian report recently stating that half of Indian fifth graders can’t read second grade books.  Although Indians don’t lack in resources or in intelligence, we clearly don’t invest as much in practical applications of science, something that must be noted with caution especially since R&D jobs have been shifting more to Asia in the past decade.

The final selection will be made and winners will be announced in February, based on votes from the YouTube community.

The NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest 2011 results had the Grand Prize going to a 7-person group of 11-12 graders from India, for creating the “Hyperion Space Settlement”.