Ten Indian students, winners of a competition organised by an educational website, on Thursday left for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.

The students, along with their parents and school teachers, boarded the plane from New Delhi on their way to NASA, said a statement by Learnsmart India, the company that runs 24x7guru.com, which conducted the Destination NASA Knowledge Challenge.

The nine-day fully paid trip for the 42-member team involves visits to Washington DC, Indian Embassy, Washington Science Museum, Orlando Sea World, Kennedy Space Center and a full day trip to Disney World and New York.

The students were excited as they would learn about NASA's diverse and exciting missions of research, exploration, and discovery.

Sanjiv Gupta, director of Learnsmart India, congratulated the 10 winners who won the dream visit to NASA.

"24x7guru.com is proud to have conceptualized the knowledge contest for thousands of students who dared to dream and challenge them. We are proud to have been associated with such a talented group of participants," he said.

Before embarking on their journey, the students met former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam, who shared his thoughts on the challenges ahead for students and how they can overcome them.

The students also visited the US Embassy in New Delhi on an invitation from Peter G Kaestner, minister counsellor for consular affairs, and interacted with the Embassy officials.

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