NASA interested in 16-year-old inventor from Pavlodar

    Pavlodar school student Nazifa Baktybayeva, 16, has been invited to the U.S. to visit NASA headquarters, Channel 7 reports. The NASA experts became interested in her recent space project.
    The student had assembled a unique orbiter for studying planets. Her Venus-1 scientific-research complex is constructed of locally available materials: an umbrella, a hanger, toy balls, earphones and a heater. It took her one year to make the device.
    Baktybayeva will study Venus first. "Studying this mysterious planet with the use of this innovative device will help us develop scenarios for the future of the Earth, and prevent catastrophes that we will likely experience in the future," the inventor says.
    Earlier, her project won third place in a national contest. Baktybayeva received a grant to study in a local university, but she is not likely to use it as she dreams of becoming an astronaut.
    For this major, she needs to study in a foreign university.
    In April, she will take part in the space science competition at Baikonur and will then leave for Houston, www.tengrinews.kz said.