Author Archives: Anurup Mohanty

Dr K Sivan, Distinguished Scientist and Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram, has assumed the office of the Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, today.  He took over as Director, VSSC from Mr M Chandradathan, who superannuated in end May 2015. Dr Sivan graduated from Madras Institute of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering in 1980 and took his Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in 1982. Subsequently, he completed his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2006. Dr Sivan joined ISRO in 1982 to Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Project and has made rich contributions towards end to end mission planning, mission design, mission integration and analysis. The mission design process and innovative mission design strategies perfected by him for PSLV has become the foundation for ISRO launch vehicles like Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV),  GSLV Mk-III, as well…

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BMSIS is pioneering a new internship program model. Alongside cutting-edge scientific investigations, students are also exposed to training in Communication as well as Ethics. The modern scientist requires excellent communication skills. It is increasingly necessary for scientists to clearly communicate the value of their science to the public and to policy makers, to write compelling proposals for funding, and to communicate their findings at scientific conferences. Communication is thus a pivotal skill in the success of a scientific career. Modern science can also touch the sensitivity of society at large, from climate change to evolution, and countless other topics. The modern scientist thus needs to have the skills to place his or her work in a modern media-rich environment and think about the societal implications of their research. BMSIS interns may work on-site or remotely, depending on the needs of the project, mentor, and intern. Funding is available for some…

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Imagine this scenario: You are planning to buy a new house in a nice neighborhood. The schools in the area are good, the neighborhood is very safe, but you want to know the ‘kid friendly’ area (so that your kids can have friends). You drive around, looking at the available houses, watching for any ‘kid signatures’. You notice that a good proportion of the homes in your neighborhood show some ‘potential’ to have kids. Based on your observation, you estimate the percentage of houses with kids. A very similar process is currently being carried out in the field of ‘exoplanets’: planets orbiting other stars. The past two decades have seen a rapid increase in the discoveries of exoplanets (although, if you follow the International Astronomical Union’s definition of a planet, exoplanets are not technically ‘planets’. But that discussion is for another time). Just this year, the number of confirmed exoplanets…

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Humans have gazed up at the sky in wonder since before the dawn of civilization, and the age-old question of “are we alone?” has occupied philosophers and priests for centuries on end. Today the interdisciplinary field of astrobiology strives toward an answer to this mystery by examining this history of life on Earth in an effort to search for life elsewhere and better understand our future. Astrobiology is a collaborative effort among scientists of different fields to examine the origin, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Earth is the only known example of an inhabited planet, but this at least provides astrobiologists with a rich geological and biological history to examine the conditions that led to the formation of life. Investigation into the interplay between life and climate can lead toward a more fundamental understanding of exactly what is needed for an environment to be “habitable”. This in…

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Geologist, Astrobiologist, Engineer – NASA Ames Research Centre Research Scientist, Director – Blue Marble Space Institute of Science   Dr. Sanjoy Som is a research scientist at the Exobiology Branch of NASA Ames Research Center. His is also a systems engineer for Fruit Fly Lab, a scientific program to study fruit flies on the International Space Station. Fruit Fly Lab – 1 launched in December 2014. Broadly, his research involves investigating the connection between geology, geochemistry, and microbiology in geological systems that involve the reaction of water with sea-floor rocks, through a combination of field, laboratory and theoretical studies. His work on investigation of fossil raindrop imprints to study the ancient Earth atmosphere was published in Nature. He is also the CEO of Blue Marble Space, a non-profit organization whose mission is to enable and promote international unity through space exploration. Blue Marble Space has started several outstanding initiatives including…

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Transmission of radio waves or optical light is the most plausible mechanism of communication between us and any intelligent civilization, if existent in the Milky Way. Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is largely dependent on tapping the radio signals coming from other worlds which are several light years away from us. International community of scientists involved in SETI research have been employing huge radio telescopes like the Arecibo radio telescope, the National Radio Astronomy 140 foot radio telescope, the Big Ear telescope and others, to search for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations since 1960s. Indian astrophysicists are now all set to make significant contributions in establishment of the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope – the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The SKA radio telescope project will be built in sparsely populated and remote areas of Australia and South Africa, with a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre,…

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Microbiologist, Astrobiologist Jet Propulsion Laboratory – NASA   Dr. Parag Vaishampayan is a scientist in the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in Pasadena, California. In this role, he is responsible for the characterization of the microbial diversity associated with spacecrafts outbound from Earth and the clean-room facilities in which they are assembled. Being the key bioinformatician of his group, he is also involved in the generation and curation of a comprehensive microbial sequence database at JPL. Dr. Vaishampayan has over 15 years of research experience in microbial ecology of diverse and extreme environmental niches, encompassing spacecraft assembly clean rooms, ocean, stratospheric air samples, high altitude caves, hydrothermal vents, and the human gut to name a few. His research has been showcased in more than 35 peer-reviewed publications, a book chapter and multiple presentations. A complete list of his publications can be…

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