ISRO making best use of availability technology, says Kiran Kumar

‘Chandrayaan II will be a lander and will have an object landing on the moon’

Some of the exhibits displayed by the students at the Mega Science Fair held at Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School in Puducherry on Sunday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

The hallmark of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was to make use of whatever capability or technology that was accessible, A.S. Kiran Kumar, ISRO chairman, said on Sunday.

Speaking after inaugurating the Mega Science fair at Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School here, Mr. Kumar said the ISRO, which evolved with this kind of innovative approach since its inception, had a fully indigenous capability and launched satellites not only of India’s but also of other countries. ISRO had so far launched about 79 satellites for 21 countries in the world.

Highlighting the various experiments, researches, and activities of the space agency, Mr. Kumar said there were 38 satellites operating and they were developed by its own launch vehicle giving information about cyclones in advance and details about 12 varieties of crops. Fishermen were particularly able to get information about the availability of fish in the ocean based on satellite data.

“When Mangalyaan was put in orbit in 2013, the ground station, satellite, and instruments carried in the satellite were indigenously realised. We took note of what others had done and we were able to put the satellite in the orbit around Mars. We were able to show the world that it is possible to do inter-planetary mission or planetary mission at a very low cost,” Mr. Kumar said.

Although many satellites of countries had gone around the moon, the credit for discovering water molecules and processes responsible for water molecule formation is credited to Chandrayaan I. It was never too late to find new things, he added.

Chandrayaan II plans

“Now we are planning Chandrayaan II where there will be a lander. Chandrayaan II will have an object which will go and descend on the surface of the moon in a controlled manner,” he said.

Sharing a few tips with children, Mr. Kumar advised them to not refrain from asking questions and they should indulge their curiosity to find out the causes of various scientific events.

The innate curiosity made a child discover things and understand new systems. They should learn from the mistakes of others so that they could make improvement.