GUWAHATI, Nov 14 - India has made rapid strides in space research within a short span of time, and we can expect significant breakthroughs in the near future. Today, the world recognises India’s capacities in this field, which was not the case earlier.
This was one of the views expressed by distinguished scientist Dr Jitendra Nath Goswami at the tenth Vedanta Vachaspati Radhanath Phukan Memorial Lecture – ‘From a Fishing Hamlet to Moon and Mars’ – organised by the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture recently.
Dr Goswami said there is a whole range of technology that ISRO has mastered in the area of space exploration through the dedication of its scientists, many of whom are women.
“Working in six or more separate areas, they have come up with ideas and inventions which have been synergised to develop technology for producing both satellites and launch vehicles. Many of the technologies were created indigenously because those could not be purchased by India from foreign countries which own them,” he observed.
Stating that the success of the Chandrayaan 1 has shown that India is capable of planetary exploration containing many challenges, Dr Goswami said space exploration, including ones like the Chandrayaan Mission, is unforgiving and that there is no scope for error.
On ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission, he said its success is significant, because India achieved it through a relatively modest budget, and did it on the very first attempt. Currently many nations have come forward to collaborate with India taking the country’s space technology very seriously.
Today ISRO’s payload delivery system is so reliable that many other countries and foreign companies use its launch vehicles to put their satellites in orbit.
He said that sending a spacecraft beyond Mars would present some hurdles. “The propulsion system needed to carry them over very long distances would have to be very sophisticated and unlike those which are currently available with India. A foreign country will not easily sell such a technology to us,” he added.
The occasion was also marked by the release of the book, Development Through Culture written by eminent thinker S Gurumurthy. Published by VKIC, the volume focuses on the traditional cultural strengths of India being used to create and sustain comprehensive economic development in the country.
Ref: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=nov1516/city056
