THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Each rupee spent by India for its space projects has been worth it, according to Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, the only Indian who has travelled to space. He was delivering the keynote address at the 13th foundation day celebration of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) on Saturday.
He said institutions like IIST have played a key role in realising the vision of Vikram Sarabhai that the life of common man could be bettered through strides in space research. Sharma pointed out that India has reached a very crucial phase in terms of space exploration. The next phase would witness attempts to migrate to other planets and to colonise them. During this juncture, the achievements of India in space research would stand it in good stead, he added.
IIST chancellor B N Suresh, director V K Dadhwal and registrar YVN Krishnamoorthy were among those present. The former astronaut also interacted with select students from schools in the capital as well as former students of IIST in separate sessions.