National Conference on India in Space and Nuclear Science : A Centenary tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, The Father of Indian Space Program.

National Conference on India in Space and Nuclear Science : A Centenary tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, The Father of Indian Space Program.

The night of 6th September 2019 was a momentous occasion not just for ISRO but for the entire nation. It was on this day that Vikram Lander - named after the founder of the Indian Space program - was to soft land on the South Pole of the lunar surface, the first for any nation. We had made arrangements for the live telecast of this historic moment at our centre and the Mumbaikars overwhelmingly responded to our invitation and as against our capacity of 270, we had more than 400 audience, including school going students, and some dignitaries. It was a first for our centre that we had organised an event in the dead of night and true to the spirit of the nation, Mumbaikars turned out in large numbers and stayed put at our centre right until 3 AM on the 7th of September.

Most unfortunately, the last moments for the Chandrayaan 2 mission, before making history, turned out to be unscripted. The telemetry signal that the Vikram Lander was providing went according to the script until about 2.1 kilometres from the surface of the moon and then something went wrong and the signal from the Vikram Lander was lost and the nation waited with bated breath, hoping against hope for the best, which was not to be. The mission to soft land the lander and row the Pragya rower on the southern pole of the moons surface may not not have been a success but then the achievements of ISRO remained unprecedented. Space missions are rid with complex challenges and it is not for nothing that the term 'Rocket Science' has crept into the lexicons of English dictionary. The five thrust rocket engines, which were meant for charting a programmed decelerated path for the Vikram Lander, perhaps did not work to the exacting engineering standards that was expected of them, leading to the loss of the telemetry signals from the Lander.

While the ISRO scientists and the nation are all disheartened, let us not forget that the main orbiter from the Chandrayaan 2 mission will continue to orbit the moon for not just for one year as planned, but for several more years and will continue to send data to usher newer knowledge for humanity. It was truly heartening to see the PM address the failure as he did, which I am sure will not only motivate the team ISRO but will also enter into the best of management practices the world over.

While ISRO continues to find reasons for the partial failure of the mission, we at the Nehru Science Centre join the nation in expressing our solidarity with team ISRO and wish them well for eternity.

To commemorate the centenary of the founder of ISRO, Vikram Sarabhai, we have joined hands with the National Centre for Science Communicators to organise a “National Conference on ”India in Space and Nuclear Science”, which will be a befitting Centenary tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, in whose honour the Vikram Lander was named. A galaxy of experts in the subject will be sharing their thoughts on this all important topic during the course of the full day conference. For those of you who may be interested in attending this one day conference on the 16th of September at our centre, please send a request email to the Nehru Science Centre or to the National Centre for Science Communicators

director@nehrusciencecentre.gov.in

The conference is only for invitees so please hurry before we close the registration. May ISRO and the DAE continue to live up to the ideals of the great Visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai.