‘By 2035, people will be on Moon & Mars 
Dr V. Adimurthy, professor and senior advisor (Interplanetary Missions) at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), who was in Bathinda on Friday to attend a UGC-sponsored national conference on ‘Advanced mathematics and its applications’ organized by the the post-graduate department of mathematics of the DAV College, spoke to Rajay Deep of The Tribune on the steps the ISRO is taking to accomplish India’s mission in space.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Q: How far is the day when human beings will be able to live and work at other destinations within solar system?
Ans: Efforts are on for a mission to Mars and Moon and I am hopeful that by 2035, people will be there.
Q: What is the focus on — Mars or Moon?
Ans: No doubt, efforts are being made for both but the prime focus would be on Mars as it has been observed that the possibility to create living atmosphere there is more than on the Moon. It is easily possible to establish a colony on Mars as on the Moon, the whole supply would be required from the Earth.
Q: Is water available on the Moon?
Ans: There were various studies giving different opinions on the issue but the final report suggests that water is available on the Moon but not in its present form like a flowing river. But its molecules are certainly there and may form into water with the passage of time.
Q: What is ISRO doing to build bio re-generative systems?
Ans: Since the propylene product is not biodegradable, researches are on for green propylene.
Q: What are the steps being taken to develop instruments to measure greenhouse gases, disaster monitoring and climate data records?
Ans: We are aware of the anthropogenic effects caused by the man-made remote sensing satellites. To evaluate and check them, there are many researches going on. Parallel to it, we have to understand that it requires continuous services experimenting upon the soil, groundwater, agro-products etc.
Q: What is the major challenge for space transport?
Ans: As at present the cost of space travel is too high, we need the expandable launch vehicles that can be used and reused, but it requires very high investment. So, nobody has approved it yet.
Q: What proved to be the reason behind the failure of India’s advanced GSAT-5P communication satellite, launched recently?
Ans: Though the first and foremost cause is yet to be ascertained, we have studied that the connections snapped and therefore, the vehicle lost control.
Q: Does the failure of GSAT-5P put any effect on the plans of ISRO to launch three major missions, namely the Resourcesat-2, Youth satellite and X- satellite?
Ans: Undoubtedly. After the unexpected experience, our schedule was mismatched. But we are all working hard to launch them on schedule.
Q: Why does ISRO want to launch the regional navigation satellite system when the Global Positioning System (GPS) maintained by the United States is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver?
Ans: The requirement for such a navigation system is driven by the fact that access to GPS is not at all guaranteed in hostile situations and we have witnessed various uncertainties in it.
Q: What is the ISRO doing for students?
Ans: The ISRO is running a large number of programmes to attract students from various pockets. The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology offers various courses for graduates and postgraduates.
Dr V. Adimurthy, professor and senior advisor (Interplanetary Missions) at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), who was in Bathinda on Friday to attend a UGC-sponsored national conference on ‘Advanced mathematics and its applications’ organized by the the post-graduate department of mathematics of the DAV College, spoke to Rajay Deep of The Tribune on the steps the ISRO is taking to accomplish India’s mission in space.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Q: How far is the day when human beings will be able to live and work at other destinations within solar system?
Ans: Efforts are on for a mission to Mars and Moon and I am hopeful that by 2035, people will be there.
Q: What is the focus on — Mars or Moon?
Ans: No doubt, efforts are being made for both but the prime focus would be on Mars as it has been observed that the possibility to create living atmosphere there is more than on the Moon. It is easily possible to establish a colony on Mars as on the Moon, the whole supply would be required from the Earth.
Q: Is water available on the Moon?
Ans: There were various studies giving different opinions on the issue but the final report suggests that water is available on the Moon but not in its present form like a flowing river. But its molecules are certainly there and may form into water with the passage of time.
Q: What is ISRO doing to build bio re-generative systems?
Ans: Since the propylene product is not biodegradable, researches are on for green propylene.
Q: What are the steps being taken to develop instruments to measure greenhouse gases, disaster monitoring and climate data records?
Ans: We are aware of the anthropogenic effects caused by the man-made remote sensing satellites. To evaluate and check them, there are many researches going on. Parallel to it, we have to understand that it requires continuous services experimenting upon the soil, groundwater, agro-products etc.
Q: What is the major challenge for space transport?
Ans: As at present the cost of space travel is too high, we need the expandable launch vehicles that can be used and reused, but it requires very high investment. So, nobody has approved it yet.
Q: What proved to be the reason behind the failure of India’s advanced GSAT-5P communication satellite, launched recently?
Ans: Though the first and foremost cause is yet to be ascertained, we have studied that the connections snapped and therefore, the vehicle lost control.
Q: Does the failure of GSAT-5P put any effect on the plans of ISRO to launch three major missions, namely the Resourcesat-2, Youth satellite and X- satellite?
Ans: Undoubtedly. After the unexpected experience, our schedule was mismatched. But we are all working hard to launch them on schedule.
Q: Why does ISRO want to launch the regional navigation satellite system when the Global Positioning System (GPS) maintained by the United States is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver?
Ans: The requirement for such a navigation system is driven by the fact that access to GPS is not at all guaranteed in hostile situations and we have witnessed various uncertainties in it.
Q: What is the ISRO doing for students?
Ans: The ISRO is running a large number of programmes to attract students from various pockets. The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology offers various courses for graduates and postgraduates.
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