Efforts on to reduce cost of space exploration

Mylswamy Annadurai, Programme Director (Remote Sensing and Science Mission) of ISRO, looking at the scaled down model of the ISRO-built Vikas rocket engine at an outreach programme at Jayanthi Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Tirupur on Saturday. Photo: R.Vimal Kumar

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in association with industry, is now working on ways to make space explorations cheaper, according to Mylswamy Annadurai, the Programme Director (Remote Sensing and Science Mission) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

“Our effort is to cut costs at the production stage itself with the existing range of space launch vehicles. This will help carry out more studies at a unit cost and make India the global leader in space science,” he told The Hindu here on Saturday.

Mr. Annadurai was here to inaugurate the three-day outreach programme organised by ISRO, in association with Jayanthi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, to educate students on the history of Indian space science and also help them know the exploration the country has initiated in space science.

On future initiatives, Mr. Annnadurai said that focus would be given to explore astronomy from different wave lengths/ dimensions.

“One such initiative will be the project planned to study the solar corona, the sun’s outer region, by putting a spacecraft at the ‘Lagrangian Point’, which is the intersection of the spheres of influence of the gravities of earth and sun.

“By placing the spacecraft at that point, it will remain stationary and at the same time can give pictures of both sun and earth,” he added.

This apart, the ISRO would put into orbit ‘Astrostat’ satellite for studies of cosmic sources shortly, he said.

As part of the outreach programme here, the ISRO had put up an exhibition of the ‘scaled down’ models of various satellites and launch vehicles. The visitors were welcomed by a huge photograph and detailed profile of Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of the Indian Space ventures. “This expo is meant to motivate students from Tirupur and its hinterland to study space science,” R.S.Kannu, a senior scientist from ISRO’s unit at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district, who explained the features of various launch vehicles to the visitors, told The Hindu .

C. Heruba, a student from Amrita Vidhyalaya, said the visit to the expo arena was thrilling.