10th Vedanta VachaspatiRadhaNathPhukan Memorial Lecture

India has made rapid strides in space research within a short span of time, and we can expect significant breakthroughs in the near future.

Today, the world recognizes India’s capacities in this field, which was not the case earlier. This was one of the views expressed by distinguished scientist DrJitendraNathGoswami recently. 

Delivering  the 10th Vedanta VachaspatiRadhaNathPhukan Memorial Lecture – ‘From a Fishing Hamlet to Moon and Mars’ – organized by the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, he said that there is a whole range of technology that ISRO has mastered in the area of space exploration through the dedication of its scientists, many of whom are women. 

Working in six or more separate areas they have come up with ideas and inventions which have been synergized to develop technology for producing both satellites and launch vehicles. Many of the technologies were created indigenously because those could not be purchased by India from foreign countries which own them. 

The success of the Chandrayaan 1 has shown that India is capable of planetary exploration containing many challenges. “Space exploration, including one like Chandrayaan Mission is unforgiving. There is no scope for error.” 

On ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission he said that its success is significant, because India achieved it through relatively modest budget, and did it on the very first attempt. Currently many nations have come forward to collaborate with India taking the country’s space technology very seriously.  

Today ISRO’s payload delivery system is so reliable that many other countries and foreign companies use its launch vehicles put their satellites in orbit.

He said that sending a space craft beyond Mars would present some hurdles. The propulsion system needed to carry them over very long distances would have to be very sophisticated and unlike those which are currently available with India. A foreign country will not easily sell such a technology to us. 

The occasion was also marked by the release of the book, Development Through Culture written by eminent thinker S. Gurumurthy. Published by VKIC, the volume focuses on the traditional cultural strengths of India being used to create and sustain comprehensive economic development in the country. 

Earlier Dipok Kumar Barthakur, Chairman of VKIC delivered the welcome lecture and spoke about the institution’s activities, which centre around protecting and promoting the culture of Indigenous communities of N E India and showing the commonalties they have with the rest of India.