World Space Week 2020 (WSW - 2020) was celebrated at URSC from 4th October 2020 to 10th October 2020 in virtual mode due to the prevailing pandemic situation, under the guidance of Shri P Kunhikrishnan, Director, URSC. The inaugural function was held on 5 October 2020 with Dr K Sivan, Chairman, ISRO presiding and Dr K Kasturirangan, former Chairman, ISRO as the Chief Guest. Shri Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO,Tata Sky Ltd., Shri Rahul Vatts, Chief Regulatory Officer, Bharti Airtel Ltd., Shri L R Mohana Rao, GM (CNS)-GNSS, Airport Authority of India, and Shri Virendra Singh, Head SatMet, Indian Meteorological Department, were the special invitees.

As part of the WSW-2020 celebrations and as a reach out to school students of Karnataka, two competitions, namely, Drawing/Painting and Science-in-action were held. This was followed by interactive Q & A session. The events were designed to trigger the young minds of children, space technology and space endeavours for the future. Invitations were sent to a total of 982 schools across Karnataka. CIG provided necessary technical support through establishing a server for registration and submission of entries for competitions.

Drawing Competition
The competition was conducted on 6th October 2020 by a team under the leadership of Smt. Lalitha Abraham. Children were given interesting topics to kindle their imagination and creativity, which included ‘Life on Another Planet’, ‘Space Tourism - A Gateway Beyond The Skies’ and ‘My Innovative Satellite to Improve Life’. A total of 373 students registered from 82 schools across Karnataka. Four Prizes wereannounced for different categories, including a consolation prize.

Talk and Interactive Session
The event was conducted on 7th October 2020. Shri H N Suresha Kumar, spoke on Satellites and Applications. This was followed by a talk on Space Science Missions and their significance by Dr V Radhakrishna. Students were very inquisitive and asked many questions on topics ranging from rocket technology, satellite applications to space science. A total of 57 students registered from 41 schools across Karnataka. There was an impressive response from all the students asking for more such programs in future.

Science in Action
The competition was conducted on 8th October 2020 by a team led by Shri N S Murali. The competition was designed for the school students from 8th to 10th standard enabling them to learn about concepts and fundamentals of science. Eight simple science experiments were demonstrated through video and power point presentations. After each of the experiment, students were given five minutes to write down the scientific principle behind the experiment. A total of 60 students were registered from 60 schools across Karnataka. The submissions wereevaluated and four prizes were announcedincluding a consolation prize.

The Valedictory function of WSW-2020 was held on 9th October 2020 with Dr K Radhakrishnan, former Chairman, ISRO, and Shri A S Kiran Kumar, former Chairman, ISRO attending the program. Shri Rahan Verma, CEO & ED, Mapmyindia, Dr T Srinivasa Kumar, Director, INCOIS and Comdt. N V Rama Rao, Director, Search & Rescue, Coast Guard HQ were invited for the function. It was also held in virtual mode and was live on internet.

Despite the difficulties due to the prevailing pandemic conditions, WSW-2020 was successful in reaching out to the student fraternity across Karnataka due to the excellent motivation and guidance from URSC Director, Sri P Kunhikrishan.