03 Jan 2014|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125 Noida
Dr. W Selvamurthy, President, Amity Science, Technology and Innovation Foundation delivers lecture on “Global Space Mission”
Dr. W Selvamurthy, President, Amity Science, Technology and Innovation Foundation delivered a lecture on “Global Space Mission” at Amity Campus, Sector- 125, Noida. The lecture was organised under the Amity International Centre Lecture Series.
Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, Amity Group, Dr. K.L. Chopra, Former Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and Prof. Sham Tickoo Purdue University Calumet, U.S.A were present along with numerous Faculty members, Directors, HoDs and Senior Officials during the lecture.
Delivering the lecture, Dr. Selvamurthy stressed that 21st Century is also known as “Space Age” and the objective of Indian Space Exploration Missions is development and utilization of Space Science and Technology in a self reliant manner for the socio- economic development of the country. He shared that entire globe is taking giant leaps in the area of Science and Technology. Although, USA and Russia are at the frontline when it comes to space research but India is also doing well since 1963 with the launch of first sounding rocket by TERI. He shared that India’s ISRO along with NASA was the first to discover water on the surface of Moon. He appraised the gathering that India has been successfully launching the satellites of other countries such as Germany, Korea, Belgium, Italy and many other countries since 1999 at economic rates, thereby contributing to ISRO’s revenue in a big way.
Posing a very critical and intriguing question, Dr. Selvamurthy said that with 30% of India’s population below poverty line, is it justified on the part of India to invest in Space technology. The speaker, then, went on to explain the importance and need for developing and improving Indian Space Technology. He emphasized that the rapid pace at which fossil fuels are being used currently, there will come a day when they will be completely exhausted and next generation energy needs will be met through minerals brought from other planets. This, he stressed, makes it important for India to harness and develop its Space Technology to reap the benefits for future generations.
Dr. Selvamurthy informed the gathering that there are lot of spin off benefits/technologies that come out of Space Missions and benefit the human beings such as Remote Sensing, Data Mapping, Artificial Limbs, Jet Stripping, Faster Diagnostics, 3 D Biotechnology and many more.
He outlined several challenges faced by human beings in Space including Medical risks, Food supply and Waste Removal, Generation of Bone Loss and muscle Mass loss, Radiation Damage, Skin Rash etc.
Dr. Selvamurthy informed the gathering about the problem of Space Debris that has become very threatening. “Space debris, an accumulation of broken satellites, spent rocket stages and other junk in orbit, is dangerous because it could hit and damage working satellites, as well as spacecraft like the International Space Station”, stressed Dr. Selvamurthy.