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On a foggy wintry November evening last year, a 34 kg instrument, after
traversing some 400,000 kms plunged on to the lunar surface and painted it with
the Indian tricolor. In its short 25 minute descent the Moon Impact Probe or MIP
collected crucial data with its C-band Radar Altimeter, Video Imaging System and
a Mass Spectrometer. All this data collected would be critical when the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) launches the second Chandrayaan mission that
would carry with it a moon rover. With Chandrayaan, India became a member of a
very select club of nations that have planted their flags on the lunar soil.
Overnight, the world woke up to the space technology might of India and the
nation became a power to reckon with in the arena.
The credit for this success solely lies with ISRO, that will complete four
decades of existence in this calendar year. These years have been very eventful
in Indian history, from launching INSAT satellites on Russian Soyuz Rockets to
launching ESA satellites on PSLV and GSLV rockets, the transition has been
phenomenal.
One of the many people who deserve accolade for ISROs success is G
Madhvan Nair, a leading technologist in the field of rocket systems and also the
current chairman of ISRO. Over the years, Nair has played a significant role in
the development of the space program. For instance, he was the project director
for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) development program. He was also
the director of ISROs largest R&D center, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, and
oversaw Indias Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) successfully
coming to fruition. Recently, Nair, who is also secretary to the Department of
Space and chairman, Space Commission, was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Indias
second highest civilian honor. In a tete-a-tete with Dataquest, he talks about
how technology is shaping the future of Indias space program. Excerpts
In light of the successful Chandrayaan Mission, what is the uniqueness of
the mission in terms of new technology employed?
At the onset, the Chandrayaan spacecraft was itself a very complex one. The
payload of the mission contained instruments like Terrain Mapping Camera,
Hyperspectral Imager, Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument, High Energy X-ray
Spectrometer, etc. Development of these systems were one of the challenges. But
more important than that was the fact that to travel beyond the earths
gravitational field to the distance of around 400,000 kms, which we were doing
for the first time. Once we get out of the gravitational field of the earth, the
forces that influence the course of the aircraft are many.
Of course, when the spacecraft travels long distance, the telemetry and
telecommunications systems all become very important and for the same ISRO
developed the Deep Space Network. These are just a few instances of the very
many challenges that we successfully faced.
The annual budget of ISRO is merely a fraction of what is available to the
US National Aeronautics and Space Administration or to the European Space
Agency. How do you manage to stay ahead of the technology curve even by spending
less? Do you feel constrained?
No, we have actually worked out a very innovative way of developing new
systems. Pressure of regime of technology denial by advanced nations has been
one of the major motivational factors and our scientists put in extra effort,
which is needed to achieve self reliance in the area. Of course the basic thing
is that almost every skill that is required for space research is available
under one roof. So the next result is that our overheads are minimum and, since
our efforts are also concentrated on a mission mode approach, we are able to
achieve the results with minimum costs.
ISROs geographical spread is across the length and breadth of India. How
do you interconnect all these offices, for instance, the Physical Research
Laboratory in Ahmedabad to the National Atmospheric Research Lab in Chittoor.
What is the role played by IT in networking these diverse centers?
We have satellite connectivity with all the centers. Our travel is
considerably less thanks to the extensive use of videoconferencing. Then we also
have other means of data transfer system again through satellite communication.
The system ensures that simultaneous research is carried out at various centers.
How is IT employed at ISRO?
IT & technology is used in many waysthe mission management computers in the
launch vehicle and the satellite, which have been developed in-house including
the software and hardware. Then there are routine areas as we use large numbers
of hi-end computers for research and every day affairs. For the same we have
also developed a proprietary software to solve our scientific problems like flow
solver; complex computational fluid dynamics applications (used for Chandrayaan
also); 6 Degree of Freedom, etc. These have been developed in-house and used
widely at ISRO.
Do you also work with external partners to collaborate on the projects?
Whenever competency is available, we make use of it. But our requirements in
terms of technology are very specific and hi-tech, having a long gestation time
and quite often we draw a blank when we have to look for an external partner.
Most of the time we go in for design and development in-house, and if there is a
need for repetitive production then we involve an external partner.
One of the other successes of NASA has been its Outreach program, the way
it captures the imagination of the general masses by sharing real-time video on
its website, or video-clips, interviews of its scientists, etc. ISRO did
something similar with the Chandrayaan Mission. What is your view on the same
and what are the future plans?
Specifically speaking from the website basis, we have made a beginning now.
The website is not yet an exhaustive one to allow complete dissemination of
information. But we do have an exhaustive Outreach program in place. For
instance, we regularly allow students from various schools to visit our centers
to get first-hand experience of our work. During the World Space Week in
October, we organize a whole lot of seminars for both school and college
children. We also participate in lots of exhibitions across the country. So we
have our own ways of reaching out to the people, and we try to do that as much
as possible.
As far as capitalising on the Internet is concerned, I think for
disseminating information Web is an ideal medium if utilized properly, and we
are looking at that as well.
Shashwat DC
shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in
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