A Class XII student from Sivakasi Nadar Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Madurai has developed a project showing that bacteria can produce electricity using Martian soil simulant. Akilesh Chandrasekaran’s work was chosen for the Cubes in Space 2026 programme run by iEDU inc. and backed by NASA Wallops Flight Facility and other U.S. organisations.
On August 21, his 4 cm cube module will launch toward Mars and return data aimed at supporting future habitation. His mother recalls that Akilesh showed scientific curiosity from a young age, encouraged by science fiction books. Interest grew during the pandemic through webinars on satellites.
Inspired by former President Abdul Kalam, he began building rockets early. He has earned awards including a gold medal at the 2021 International Warsaw Invention Show and taken part in aerospace programmes such as femto-satellite work and the RHUMI rocket mission.
His project uses Shewanella oneidensis to treat astronauts’ wastewater and generate power, addressing risks from Martian dust storms to solar systems. NASA and ISRO researchers will analyse the returned data to aid crewed missions to Mars.
School secretary Senthil Kumar called the achievement a source of national pride and said it motivates other students.
