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COIMBATORE (BNS): Former Indian President, APJ Abdul Kalam, has exhorted students to aim high in life and combined that high aim with unlimited knowledge, hard work and perseverance to stand out as a unique person.

Addressing a special gathering on the first day of the 'Space Festival 2012' at Bharathiar University here on Monday, he said, one should develop an aim before he or she reaches 20 years and work hard towards achieving it.

"The challenge, my young friends, is that you have to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can ever imagine; and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place, that is, a unique you!" he said.

Dr. Kalam also urged the world space community to evolve a World Space Vision 2050, which should contain three major components - large-scale societal missions and low-cost access to space, comprehensive space security and space exploration and current application missions.

Scientists, researchers, academicians and students from various strata are participating in large numbers at the six-day Space Festival  organised by Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, in collaboration with NASA, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Nine NASA scientists will be giving lectures daily at the fest which will continue till 14 July.

Various posters are on display as part of an exhibition being held on the sidelines of the event. The posters included the BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system, Solar Viewing Telescope, Scale model of Sun-Earth system from NASA, and other missiles from DRDO and rockets from ISRO.

The BrahMos Aerospace pavilion is also attracting a lot of students where posters tracing the history of missiles from the first one used by Tipu Sultan to the present day supersonic cruise missile system to the future hypersonic era are on display.

The planetarium made by the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Center (TSTC) is another major attraction.

"This is the first event of this kind ever happened in India concentrating mostly on young minds," said Dr C Swaminathan, Vice-Chancellor, Bharathiar University, during the inauguration ceremony.