Kochi: The world is watching with bated breath, the transit of India’s first interplanetary mission ‘Mangalyaan’, for if successful, the ISRO would become the fourth space agency to reach Mars after the Soviet space programme, NASA and European Space Agency.
Indeed, the country has come a long way since registering its presence in space with the launch of ‘Nike Apache’ – the NASA made rocket that carried a variety of payloads including that from India, in 1963.
On the occasion of the country’s 50 years of rocketry, students from the state would get a unique opportunity to find answers to a lot of their queries on rocket science like the functioning of a rocket, the type of fuel used, how its speed and direction are controlled, how its controlled in space and what happens upon its re-entry after the mission.
A live demonstration of the ‘Water Rocket Launch’ will be held at the Perumbavoor MET Public School on November 22 for the benefit of students. V.P. Balgangadharan, Senior Scientist from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, will lead the demonstration. Besides, he will explain the technical aspects of rocket making and assist in setting up a rocket model at the event to be held on the school premises at 10.30 am on Friday.
“The entry is free for CBSE students from across the state. The senior VSSC scientist will also take classes on the subject. Students might have seen rocket launches on television and there is a general feeling that subjects like rocket science is too difficult to learn.
The aim is to familiarize them with the ground activities before a rocket launch in its real sense,” said Dr Indira Rajan, executive director, Sarabhai Science Park, which is organising the event.
The Vikram Sarabhai Science Park is the nodal centre for this year’s ‘World Space Week celebration’ programmes being held to create scientific awareness among students. “This year’s outreach programmes are being held at various schools on the theme ‘Exploring Mars; Discovering Earth’. Classes will be conducted on basic science.
There will be competitions in quiz, debate and poster-making among others, at around 200 schools. The concluding event would be held at the Cochin Refinery School on Thursday,” said Suchitra Shyjinth, Project Head of Science Park. Former ISRO chairman G.Madhavan Nair is the Chairman of the Sarabhai Science Park.
