In continuation of the year-long celebration of Indian space sciences, envisaged in the context of the National Space Science Symposium (NSSS 2022), CESSI, IISER Kolkata in collaboration with the Science Program Office of ISRO is pleased to announce a new public lecture series. The NSSS lecture series is meant to inform the public about important developments in space sciences in the country, highlight past, currently ongoing and future space science missions and present important astronomy and astrophysics research being performed around the country. The goals of this lecture series are to inform the public about national endeavors and enthuse students towards pursuing a career in astronomy, astrophysics, and space sciences, which is one of the most visible and successful domains of research activity in India. Details of the first lecture in this series follow. The lecture is open to all.
Title: Space Science Exploration in ISRO
Date: 12 May, 2022, Thursday, 1800-1900 hours (IST)
Speaker: Dr. Tirtha Pratim Das, ISRO
Live stream link (Public): https://youtu.be/TstXyZRLthg
CESSI YouTube channel link (Public): https://www.youtube.com/cessi_iiserkol/
Abstract: This lecture, mostly meant to kindle the interest of the student community (undergraduate and above) in space science exploration, will present a brief overview of the major themes of space science exploration by ISRO, its space science missions, along with a few science results. The lecture will also cover a question frequently asked by the students, i.e. how space missions are conceptualized, configured, and formalized. As a major takeaway, insights will be presented on how to see space science as a totality, and how to translate a fundamental outstanding question into a set of specific questions, eventually defining a space mission.
About the Speaker: Dr. Tirtha Pratim Das is the Director of the Science Programme Office, ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore, India. He is an alumnus of the Department of Physics, St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, and the Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics, University of Calcutta. His current responsibilities include taking forward the missions of ISRO toward the exploration of space and sowing the seeds of new scientific endeavors. Dr. Das started his career in ISRO in 2004 as a rocket technologist in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO. Subsequently, he shifted to the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) of VSSC, ISRO and embraced Planetary Science as his scientific career, and earned his Ph.D. for his work on the noble gases in the Lunar exosphere. He has played a significant role in the Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, and Chandrayaan-2 missions, in multiple capacities, including Project Manager, Payload Scientist and Principal Investigator, before he moved to ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore. In addition to the scientific endeavors, Dr. Das also handled the responsibility of initiating several disruptive and futuristic technologies for the space sector.
Prof. Dibyendu Nandi
Chairperson, Local Organizing Committee
National Space Science Symposium 2022