Chandrayaan II design complete

NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said that the design for Chandrayaan II has been completed and it will be launched by 2012. "The designs for Chandrayaan II have been completed and we hope to launch it by 2012," ISRO chairperson G Madhavan Nair told reporters here on the sidelines of a function organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to felicitate the Chandrayaan I team. The Chandrayaan II project is slated to land a small rover on the moon's surface and collect and analyse samples, he said.   The ISRO has made another achievement recently, when a commercial satellite built by the organisation for the European satellite operator, Eutelsat, was successfully launched from French Guiana in South America.   Nair noted that the ISRO was earning about Rs 10 billion (Rs 1,000 crore) annually from its commercial wing. This is expected to grow at 20 percent per year, he added.

MNCs seek management tips from 'Team Chandrayaan'

Bangalore: India's first lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-I's successful formula in management of diverse manpower — groups of scientists and engineers from across the world working in unison — has proved such an awe-inspiring model that multinational corporations (MNCs) and management forums across the globe are keen to emulate it.  Mylswamy Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-I, has been swamped by invites from MNCs and forums for lectures on management of human resources in a multi-partner collaboration. He has spoken about 'Team Chandrayaan' at Bangalore-based MNCs Honeywell and Bosch, but declined invitations from Tata Consultancy Services and Project Management Institute, USA, for paucity of time. Likewise, members of the Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram chapters of the Confederation of India Industry have heard him, while those in New Delhi will get an opportunity next week. "I never thought I would be a good manager, but only an engineer. The MNCs want to hear how we managed a project involving so many partners and whether they could replicate it along with collaborators. We were like a family with a lot of give and take, and that enabled us to pull it off successfully," he told the Hindustan Times. On board Chandrayaan-I, six of the 11 instruments are from international space agencies — the US's National Aeronautics and Space Agency, European Space Agency (a consortium of 17 European nations) and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Soon after the launch on October 22, the team won recognition in the form of an award for global cooperation from the International Lunar Exploration Working Group. Besides, the successful launch and placement in a precise 100 km orbit have inspired many of its international partners to suggest that they would like to participate in Chandrayaan-II, scheduled for 2012. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 425 crore and signed a pact with Russia as a partner for a soft-landing on Moon. This will be followed by a robot carrying out chemical analysis of lunar soil on the presence of water and mineral composition. "We have heard from some of these teams that they want to be part of Chandrayaan-II and they have also indicated the kind of instruments they plan to contribute," Annadurai said. He said Chandrayaan-III, planned for launch in 2015, would aim to land and bring home samples of lunar soil for detailed analysis on minerals and chemical substances present on Moon.

PEC to felicitate project leader of Chandrayaan-I

Punjab Engineering College (PEC) is all set to organise a function on Wednesday where it will honour its alumnus Madan Lal Singla, who was a project leader of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) project of Chandrayaan-1 from 2004 to 2007. Singla will interact with the faculty and students of PEC and he is also likely to be felicitated by his alma mater. Affectionately known as 'Lala' by his friends, he obtained his Aeronautical Engineering degree from PEC in 1969. From an encyclopedia of detective novels and movies during his college days, Madan Lal Singla rose to become the deputy director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the lead centre of the Indian Space Research Organiation. During his tenure of 38 years at ISRO, Singla has played a critical role in the design and development of several indigenous space transportation systems. Another challenging flight mission led by him was the design and development of systems related to India's first re-entry and recovery mission, SRE, which had a successful flight in January 2007. As project director, he led the activities of 'Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator' which is a fore-runner for ISRO's future launch vehicle to make space access more cost effective. He retired in June 2007 as the chairman of the committee on Indian Manned Space Programme.

Space research got a shot in the arm after Chandrayaan-I launch

Kolkata Given the dearth of researchers in the country, scientists are elated to find a new wave of interest in science being generated among students after the launch of Chandrayaan-I. Speaking on the sidelines of IRIS 2008 in the city, AS Kiran Kumar, Deputy Director of Space Application Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation said: "We are witnessing a lot of interest being generated about space research." IRIS is an initiative taken up by a group of private companies and the Central Government to generate interest in scientific research and innovation among students. Praising the role played by the media in highlighting the countries' moon mission, scientists from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, also spoke on similar lines. "The manner in which the mission is being followed by youngsters, will provide the necessary spark for students to opt for research in space science," said D K Pandey, a senior scientist of the department. According to Debargo Sarkar, a Class XI student of South Point School and one of the winners at IRIS 2008, all his schoolmates were excited about the launch and "they are curious about space technology." Department of Science and Technology scientists said the Central Government will soon announce a scholarship for bright students, so that their expertise can be utilised in future projects. The government also organises Children's Science Congress every year in the country to promote innovative scientific activities among students. "The incentives provided to researchers are small and we need to make a career in science more attractive," said Pandey.