The aeronautic maestros are no more the only space-meddlers, rather the students have begun boarding on their ideas like Anusat, the first student made Indian satellite aimed to improve education. The latest in the row Jugnu, an innovation of IIT-Kanpur, is India's lightest nano-satellite that weighs around 3.5 kgs and measures 34 cm long and 10 cm wide.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) gained confidence on IIT-K’s first satellite, after the second design review of the project, to launch it into the orbit in December. ISRO’s mother satellite will lift off from Sriharikota with Jugnu on board. The masterminds behind the satellite comprise of 40 students and 12 professors of IIT-K, led by the Mechanical Engineering Department Head, Prof. Nalinaksh S Vyas. Though the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in February, ISRO gave the final nod in May, after observing the progress of the project. Well equipped with micro-imaging and micro-electronic systems, the high-resolution pictures from the satellite will be utilized in diverse fields like drought monitoring, wasteland management, urban planning, and flood risk management. The images will be transmitted to the base station at the IIT-K campus.

The cost factor has served as an encouragement for students to embark on this smart technology innovation. A similar project in any European country would have cost over Rs.10 crore, while in India the budget was well within the range of Rs.2-3 crore. The inefficiency witnessed in employing Anusat for better educational purposes, however, has goaded analysts to question the effectiveness of the Jugnu project. The efficiency can be calculated after the satellite’s launch, which is expected to be in the orbit for 12 months, though its stipulated life time is six months.