THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Given a chance to play astronaut, Dr Anil Bhardwaj would aim for the moon first. And the next stop would be - you guessed it! - Mars. “But I don’t think they’ll select me. They’d want young people who are physically fit,” says the director of ISRO’s Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) wistfully, his eyes twinkling.
So, why the moon? “You should get to know your immediate neighbour first, shouldn’t you?” says Bhardwaj, who has brought laurels to SPL - which is at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba - and ISRO by winning the coveted Infosys Prize 2016 instituted by the Infosys Science Foundation. The award acknowledges his outstanding work in planetary and space sciences.
Seated in his brightly-lit office at the SPL on Tuesday, Bhardwaj spoke about his work, upcoming ISRO missions, the SPL (‘’his home’’) and the challenges that keep him going. His desk of polished wood is neatly stacked with files, brochures, diaries, an assortment of pens and even a small picture of the ghostly aurora australis, a gift from a friend.
“Wow! Great news in the morning!” was apparently Bhardwaj’s first reaction when Infosys honchos called him up one recent morning to inform him about the prize.
To quickly understand how important SPL is, all you have to do is look at ISRO’s big adventures: SPL had important scientific payloads on Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Orbiter Mission (‘Mangalyaan’). It will have more on the upcoming Chandrayaan-II, and Aditya, ISRO’s venture to study the sun. Bhardwaj’s experiments on Chandrayaan-1 and ‘Mangalyaan’ offered fresh insights into solar wind interactions with the lunar surface and thermal escape of the Martian atmosphere. And next stop could be Venus, with ISRO already dreaming of night-flights to the inner planet. It goes without saying that Bhardwaj and his team are extremely busy people.
“But all this work is a team effort. The Infosys Prize is a recognition for the lab, VSSC and ISRO. Moreover, it recognises India’s efforts in planetary sciences,” says the senior ISRO hand, who received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2007. Hailing from Lucknow, Anil Bhardwaj pursued an interest in physics, doing his BS and MS at the Lucknow University. He then obtained his PhD from the Institute of Technology, Benares Hindu University. After that, in 1993, he joined SPL, VSSC. He cherishes a two-year stint at NASA’s Marshal Space Flight Centre. “That was a wonderful experience. It helped me understand how they work,” he recalls.
For him, it all began with skygazing in his hometown as a youngster: “Differentiating between stars and planets. Those that twinkled were stars, the rest planets. That was the initial stimuli.” After obtaining his PhD he applied to ISRO, responding to an SPL ad. That was 23 summers ago. What drives him forward, he says, is the joy of discovering something new. “The work is always challenging. Research is about enjoying yourself. There’s no point in it if you don’t enjoy what you are doing,” says Bhardwaj, who winds down to Rafi, Lata and Kishore, ghazals and ‘Shayri.’
The Infosys Prize carries a purse of Rs 65 lakh, a 22 karat gold medallion and a citation. It will be presented to him on January 7 in Bangalore.
Bhardwaj is married to Preethi Sharma. The couple has two children, Misha and Anusha.