Water on the Moon "path-breaking" says Nair

G. Madhavan Nair (left), former chairman of ISRO,and M. Venugopalan, managing director and CEO of Federal Bank, at the Hormis memorial lecture in the city on Thursday [Vipin Chandran - The Hindu]

The confirmation of the presence of water on the moon by Chandrayaan-I probes will open vast opportunities for space research, says G. Madhavan Nair, former chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

For one thing, water available on the moon could be split into oxygen and hydrogen using sunlight and the oxygen could be used by human explorers while the hydrogen could be used as fuel.

This could reduce the necessity to carry expensive payloads of oxygen and fuel by future space missions. This could drastically cut the cost of space research. At present, every kilogram of payload cost $50,000, thus making space explorations prohibitively expensive.

“It is a path-breaking finding,” Mr. Nair, who was at the helm of the Chandrayaan-I project, said in his K.P. Hormis Memorial Lecture here on Thursday. “It is one of the greatest findings from the space exploration.” (NASA had early this week announced that its radar onboard India's lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-I had detected vast ice deposits near the moon's north pole.)

Read the article in The Hindu, HERE.

New head of ISRO praised by Nair

(PTI) Expressing confidence in the future of India's space program under ISRO new chief, K. Radhakrishnan, outgoing chairman G. Madhavan Nair says his successor will carry forward the agency's plans, including eventually a manned mission.

"He is a talented, highly competent scientist who brings with him the experience of having been with the Indian Space Research Organisation for 35 years. He will move our plans drawn up for the years 2020 through 2025," Nair told reporters with Radhakrishnan by his side.

Radhakrishnan, currently the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSE) in Thiruvananthapuram leaves to begin his new job as head of ISRO in Bangalore. Nair is now new chairman of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

According to MSN/India, Radhakrishnan is a "man who believes in the co-existence of spirituality and science," and "got his appointment letter in a very unusual manner. He received a fax when he was on a pilgrimage to the Sri Krishna temple in Guruvayoor.

"The letter was faxed to the temple office as Radhakrishnan was weighing himself against huge heap of bananas - a ritual that is famous in the temple.e new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)" and Dr. Radhakrishnan is "not just an expert in avionics and space science, but also an avid fan and follower of kathakali, the Kerala style of traditional dance that praises the gods, the moon, the stars and the universe at large. He is also known for his knowledge in Carnatic music."

Nair new head of IAA

Bangalore, Oct 12 (IANS) India’s top space scientist G. Madhavan Nair has been elected president of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) at its general assembly in South Korea, the Indian space agency said Monday.

Nair, chairman of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been vice-president of the IAA for four years prior to taking over the prestigious post Sunday at Daejeon in South Korea.

As an independent organisation of distinguished individuals elected by their peers for their outstanding contributions to astronautics and space exploration, the Paris-based IAA organises conferences and collaborates with other partner societies.

Nair, who is also secretary of the department of space, has been responsible for design, development and operationalisation of the indigenously developed polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV).

During his four-decade long association with the space agency (ISRO), Nair held various positions, including director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Liquid Propulsion System Centre at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Under his chairmanship since 2003, ISRO has successfully launched 25 missions, including India’s maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008.