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India 2003

World Space Week 2003 Report

Indian Space Research Organisation & World Space Week

    The development of space field in a very short span of about five decades is historic. The Space science and technology grew during this period at a rapid pace, giving rise to Space applications, which are beneficial to the society. India is considered by all developing countries as an example in utilizing Space science and technology for National development.

    It was appropriate that Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) took the lead role in promoting the objectives of World Space Week, in India, by organizing annual events. Various Centres and Units of ISRO planned and organized several programmes of public outreach during the World Space Week celebration over the last four years starting from 2000. 

President's Message

    The visit of His Excellency the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who himself is a renowned Space Scientist of Modern India, to Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, coincided with the World Space Week-2003 period. 

    In his special address he said, " I understand that we are celebrating World Space Week now. India has been in the forefront of bringing the benefits of space technology to the common man. Space touches the human beings on their day-to-day life in a variety of ways. I believe that technology is a major enabler for the development of our country. Space technology with its uniqueness can network in many ways. With your strength, you have shown self-reliance in this core area. Even as you do this, there are opportunities to be part of global systems to serve the humanity in general."

World Space Week 2003 Celebrations by ISRO

    As in the previous years, World Space Week – 2003 was organized in various Centres and Units of ISRO. The celebrations were aimed at disseminating this year's theme -"Space: Horizon beyond Earth", to target groups like school and college students, teachers, planners, and State Officials.

Thiruvananthapuram

    World Space Week -2003 was formally inaugurated on 4th October in style at the royal venue-Kanakakunnu Palace. The renowned space scientist and Marconi award winner- Prof. Yashpal inaugurated WSW-2003. Dr. B.N. Suresh, Director-Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Mr. N. Vedachalam, Director-Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC), and Mr. P.S. Veeraraghavan, Director-ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) addressed the gathering, signifying the relevance of the celebrations. In his inaugural address, Prof Yashpal exhorted the students to strive for applying science and technology for the betterment of humanity.  A cross section of the society, dominated by educationists, planners, administrators and technologists attended the function.

Following Programmes were held during World Space Week 2003:

  • A "Space Gallery" was specially set up at the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum, which was declared open by Mr. R.V. Perumal, Director (Projects), VSSC. The Gallery depicted the evolution of Indian Space Programme from an obscure fishing village to the GSAT-2 satellite orbiting at 36000 km.
  • One of the significant programmes of the World Space Week, the Workshop on Resource Planning for Development, was organized on October 8. Mr. V Ramachandran IAS (Retd.), Vice-Chairman, Kerala State Planning Board inaugurated the Workshop. About 120 senior level officials of Government of Kerala and other autonomous bodies participated in the workshop. The workshop provided a common platform for motivating the planners in utilizing Space segment.
  • A Space Workshop for graduate students was organized at the Science and Technology Auditorium on October 8, 2003. For more than 100 students, selected from various colleges of Thiruvananthapuram, it turned out to be a unique learning experience. Senior scientists of ISRO addressed them. 
  • A Painting competition for school children from standard 1 to 10 was held on October 5, 2003, in which 220 young artistes vied with each other for honours in the competition. Exploration of Space and 'Frontiers of Space' were the themes given, which gave them ample scope to express their dreams and imagination.
  • A congregation of about 350 students drawn from 50 schools of Thiruvananthapuram, participated  in a chat session with the Space scientists. The students were shown two video capsules on Indian Space Programme.
  • On October 6, a college level quiz competition was held at the VSSC auditorium, in which 40 colleges participated.

Kochi

  • Workshop for schoolteachers was organized on October 8. About 70 teachers attended the workshop, which was held at the School of Management, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). Dr. N. Unnikrishnan Nair, Vice-Chancellor, CUSAT inaugurated the Workshop. Topics on programmes of ISRO, Space technology, Space science and Space applications were covered in the workshop. The teachers had a rare opportunity to dialogue with senior scientists. 

Aluva

  • A quiz competition for the high school students was organized at Nirmala Higher Secondary School, Aluva on September 29, 2003. Students from 40 schools of the District of Ernakulam participated in the quiz. 
  • Chennai
  • During the 'World Space Week', students from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) Chennai, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, organized quiz programmes, displayed banners and released posters. On October 6, 2003, Madras Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Technology organized independent programmes in which Mr. V. Krishnamurthy, Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR) gave a talk on "India in Space" and Mr. C. Ravikumar, VSSC gave a presentation on India's scientific Mission to Moon "Chandrayan-I" .
  • Ahmedabad

    The World Space Week was celebrated with the following events:

    • Vikram Sarabhai Space Exhibition
    • Kept open from 10:00 Hrs. to 19:00 for the public, on all the days
    • Video programme on Space activities
    • Face-to-face with space scientists
  • Wide publicity was given about the celebrations. A very large number of students visited the Exhibition on all the days. The students as well as the teachers showed keen interest and asked a number of questions related to all the activities of ISRO and Space. In all, there were more than 10,000 visitors to the exhibition during this period.
  • Face-to-face with Space scientists evoked keen interest with a large number of questions pertaining to all aspects of Space Research, Space Sciences, Astronomy, etc. During this session conducted between 5 and 7 PM on all the days, senior ISRO Scientists participated in responding to these queries.
    • Competitions for School and College students of Ahmedabad
    • Models on Space technology / Space applications
    • Posters on Space activities
    • Essay writing - "Space Colonies: Future Vision and Possibilities" or "Mission to Moon"
  • There were about 100 contestants for the events mentioned. The response and the quality of the material submitted by the students in all competitions were quite good. 
  • Prof. Narendra Bhandari of Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, delivered the popular lecture on the subject "The Indian Moon Mission". The response and questions from the public were extremely good. 

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, organized the programmes at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Aluva.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, organised programmes at Chennai.

Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, organized the programmes at Ahmedabad.

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