The successful lift-off of Indian Space Research Organisation’s PSLV into space on Wednesday is being seen as another giant leap in India's space programme.
The rapidly-growing interest in space studies perhaps is an indication enough that India’s space dream – first realised by Kalpana Chawla and now Sunita Williams – has only begun.
With more and more youngsters expressing an inclination towards opting for a space career, the pro-space, pro-infrastructure voices are becoming more audible than ever before.
The country - with a relatively nascent space programme - is suddenly eyeing the stars, looking for a familiar face.
“If she (Kalpana Chawla) has done it why can't I?” said an eight-year-old aspiring astronaut from Bangalore.
"I want to travel to the space and see how our earth looks from there. I also want to see the moon,” said another 10-year old who wishes to get “spaced out” soon.
Have Kalpana and Sunita created a 'space-sensation' for Indian kids?
This was the topic of discussion on CNN-IBN show India 360 with Sagarika Ghose. On the panel of experts were - first Indian in space, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma; Director of Nehru Planetarium N Ranthnasree; and aerospace engineer Shomita Goswami.
Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space and is most remembered for humming the memorable lines Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara from up there. He presents a positive picture of India’s space dream and says that the excitement that he sees now is almost the same as he experienced over 20 years ago in 1984.
“Very little has changed in the last 20-years. Space captivates everybody’s imagination now as much as it did 20 years ago. I believe Indian children have derived inspiration from Indians who made a mark in space travel including myself, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. They feel when other people of our native country can do so, why cant they,” said Sharma.
But how easy is it for an Indian child to become an astronaut? Looking at the limited infrastructure and opportunities and little scope of development in India, is it possible for them to realise their dreams?
“Kalpana Chawla did, and so can these children. We need to have a space programme and alternatively we need to collaborate and cooperate with countries which have these space programmes, specially the International Space Station. And if we can be a part of it, then we can send Indian astronauts for training either in NASA or in Russia, and they could be a part of an international crew in the orbit,” Sharma pointed out.
However, he also cautioned about several limitations that a country like India, with a relatively nascent space programme, could face.
"If you want to be an astronaut, you’ve got to have US citizenship. This is because NASA doesn’t take people who are not American."
“It’s perhaps early days, and till the time we have a viable man space programme, what would these children do? But these are long-term goals and you need to have people who are trained. This can be done by, say, opening a space university perhaps similar to that abroad. We need to show children what awaits them at the end of all the efforts they put in. Today parents want their children to become commercial pilots so they need to know what lies in the end. But I am not just talking about money, I am talking about interest too,” said Sharma.
How to become an astronaut?
If an Indian wants to get into space research, does he/she necessarily have to leave India and become US citizens? “Not for space research, but if you want to be an astronaut, you’ve got to have US citizenship. This is because NASA doesn’t take people who are not American,” said aerospace engineer Shomita Goswami.
PAGE_BREAK
So what does one do to get into NASA? “There could be a lot of things. I am an engineer, you have scientists, pilots or flight engineers. There are two different fields. While scientists carry out experiments on flights and aboard, engineers take care of the rest,” said Goswami.
So even if one needs to have a particular citizenship to get into space, it hasn’t affected the morale of Indian children who have become enthused after Kalpana Chawla and now Sunita Williams’ space sojourns.
“There is much awareness about this field among children. There is something about space that intrinsically interests every young and adult mind alike. There is no straight path available for the interested Indian young minds to get into space, unless India gets its own space programme. But there are still a lot of avenues in space study that excite students,” said Director of Nehru Planetarium N Ranthnasree.
At this point, Shomita Goswami asked Rakesh Sharma if going to space had changed his perspective about life and the world.
“No I don’t believe it has. When we as professionals go up in space, we are fully focussed on the flight itself, and I am afraid we did not have much free time. Each moment of our journey was spent in experiments and documentation of what we had done. So we couldn’t look out of the window and marvel at the beauty outside. These thoughts come only if you have that kind of time. It was pretty mundane and was a day at office for which we had over-trained. But yes, what it does to you is that it brings a powerful realisation that this (earth) is the only planet we are ever going to have and so we must take care of it. So you become environmentally conscious. In that respect it’s very elevating,” Sharma replied.
He also confirmed that he had done yoga in space! “I did yoga up in space as it was an experiment of a biomedicine package. I did it to find out if yoga offers an alternative to trained crew of space flights and if it can assist them in adaptation to zero gravity," Sharma said.
Conclusion: 'Don't let the dream die'
Given below are the concluding remarks from the panellists.
What subjects to opt for? One needs to decide is the kind of role that you would want o play in a given space crew. Would you like to be in the cockpit, be the commander of a flight, a payload specialist or an engineer? That will decide the subjects you must take.
Rakesh Sharma: "Ours is a developing country and there will always be the question if the money spent on space research will be worth its while. To all these questioners, I would say that just look around and see how our world has changed after the arrival of our space programmes. Be it telemedicine, telecom, or television. So when you invest money in future, there will always be a payback."
N Rathnasree: "There are various ways in which youngsters can quench their thirst for space, do space research, for example. There was an amateur astronomer who discovered an asteroid. If they can, so can you."
Shomita Goswami: "You shouldn’t let the dream of space die and let it go on, no matter what."
Comments
0 comment