India is doing exceptionally well in space

Recently, the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), a premier institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, hosted its 19th Raja Ramanna Memorial Lecture.

- ROUSHAN CHATTERJEE

Recently, the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), a premier institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, hosted its 19th Raja Ramanna Memorial Lecture. Organised at the Meghnad Saha Auditorium of the VECC-SINP campus, the annual lecture commemorates Dr Raja Ramanna, one of India's eminent nuclear scientists and a key figure behind the country's first nuclear test.

The lecture this year was delivered by Prof. Goutam Chattopadhyay, Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA. Titled 'Space Exploration and Our Place in the Universe', the talk emphasised how space exploration inspires future generations, advances science and technology, and deepens our understanding of Earth and the cosmos. "We still don't know if we are alone in the universe," he said, focusing particularly on the search for water as a key to discovering life beyond Earth. He also explained how his team develops next-generation and low-power instruments.

Speaking to The Statesman, Sumit Som, Director of the institute, said, "This lecture started in 2005 in memory of Dr Ramanna. This year is particularly special as it is the 100th birth anniversary of Raja Ramanna. I am very much thankful to Prof. Chattopadhyay, and he has given an amazing and insightful lecture."

At the end of the event, Prof Goutam Chattopadhyay engaged in an exclusive conversation with The Statesman, highlighting his journey from Nabagram, a village on the outskirts of Kolkata, to NASA.

Q. What first sparked your own interest in astronomy and space science, especially growing up in India?