The chairperson of ISRO, AS Kiran Kumar says the possibility of water on Mars shows were are living in exciting times.
Bengaluru, Karnataka:
When NASA spoke of the possibility of trails of water on the red planet, Mars, everybody paid attention, including those for whom rocket science, is an everyday job.
Speaking to NDTV, the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation, AS Kiran Kumar said, "Of course, technically what is said is still it is not water on mars, there is still a long way to go but it is an interesting development... There has always been talk of water existed on Mars, the question is whether it is there at this point of time. It existed is not a question, but at this point of time, what is there is a question."
He also spoke about the boundless energy of mankind, and how we are living in exciting times.
"It is a very exciting thing because as human beings on earth we are always looking at what other planets you can go and whether you can colonise them. It is only a question of time before man does that. Whether it is a question of decades or centuries only time will tell. It is inevitable - there is no stopping of that, One day definitely man will go to other places," said Mr Kumar.
India has its own Mars project, Mangalyaan, and the ISRO chief is hopeful of getting useful information about the planet. He said "Our own effort in terms of payloads, are baby steps in doing science.... we also released a Mars atlas and we have been having interactions with the Maven team and there are some specific discussions which are going on between the two teams... "
Talking about the Mars orbiter, he said, "The satellite has survived for one month without communication. Now we have crossed that solar conjunction event, and the maximum distance between earth and Mars, that has also crossed. We will get seasons of Mars and go through the Mars year."
For those wanting to get a closer glimpse of Indian images of Mars, the pictures from the Mars Atlas are also online.
With the launch of the dedicated space observatory ASTROSAT this Monday, the number of foreign satellites launched by ISRO has sent 51 satellites from 20 countries into space. Their new target is around 18 launches a year by 2020.
Speaking to NDTV, the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation, AS Kiran Kumar said, "Of course, technically what is said is still it is not water on mars, there is still a long way to go but it is an interesting development... There has always been talk of water existed on Mars, the question is whether it is there at this point of time. It existed is not a question, but at this point of time, what is there is a question."
He also spoke about the boundless energy of mankind, and how we are living in exciting times.
"It is a very exciting thing because as human beings on earth we are always looking at what other planets you can go and whether you can colonise them. It is only a question of time before man does that. Whether it is a question of decades or centuries only time will tell. It is inevitable - there is no stopping of that, One day definitely man will go to other places," said Mr Kumar.
India has its own Mars project, Mangalyaan, and the ISRO chief is hopeful of getting useful information about the planet. He said "Our own effort in terms of payloads, are baby steps in doing science.... we also released a Mars atlas and we have been having interactions with the Maven team and there are some specific discussions which are going on between the two teams... "
Talking about the Mars orbiter, he said, "The satellite has survived for one month without communication. Now we have crossed that solar conjunction event, and the maximum distance between earth and Mars, that has also crossed. We will get seasons of Mars and go through the Mars year."
For those wanting to get a closer glimpse of Indian images of Mars, the pictures from the Mars Atlas are also online.
With the launch of the dedicated space observatory ASTROSAT this Monday, the number of foreign satellites launched by ISRO has sent 51 satellites from 20 countries into space. Their new target is around 18 launches a year by 2020.
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