Guwahati: He is aiming for the moon, and is expected to fulfil his mission soon.
At 54, Jitendra Nath Goswami, a scientist from Assam, is working overtime with a team of experts and is all set for the historic launching of an unmanned spacecraft and placing it in a polar orbit, very close to the moon.This will be India's first extra-terrestrial scientific mission and is planned for launch in 2007-08. "The entire objective of this mission is to put a spacecraft in another planet, outside the earth's gravity, to specifically study and analyse the evolution of the moon," Nath told IANS.
He is presently principal scientist for this ambitious lunar mission and also a senior professor at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad.According to plans, the unmanned mission codenamed Chandrayaan-1 is expected to place a 525 kg satellite in an orbit 200,000 km away from earth.
The Rs.3 billion ($67 million) project carried out under the new initiatives for planetary exploration programme by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was announced by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last year."We can study the properties of the moon with some high-resolution mapping, besides studies to ascertain a general belief that there could be water in the moon, mainly in the polar region," said the scientist from eastern Assam's Jorhat district.
Nath says modestly that the task is indeed a challenging one that requires long hours in the laboratory."I feel good that I was being chosen for this really exciting mission and hope things work out according to plans," he said.
"My role is like a conductor in a symphony."As head of the mission, Nath looks after all the equipment to ensure that the data collected could be interpreted in the right manner for smooth launch of the satellite.
A postgraduate in physics from Gauhati University, Nath did his doctorate degree from the Gujarat University and is today an accomplished expert internationally in the fields of solar system and cosmic ray, astrophysics and planetary sciences.According to ISRO, the proposed mission is considered very important because it would "provide a unique opportunity for frontier scientific research".
"It is expected to be the frontrunner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar system," an ISRO statement said.But for the moment, Nath is taking a short break back home in Assam where he came to receive the prestigious Kamal Kumari Foundation Awards for excellence in the field of science and technology.
"This is indeed an honour and I feel very happy for being chosen for the award," the scientist said.Indo-Asian News Service
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