Article Posted on : - Jul 13, 2012

Dr. A Sivathanu Pillai, CEO and MD, BrahMos Aerospace delivering a special lecture at the 'Space Festival 2012'. A Brahmand photo.

COIMBATORE (BNS): Space is going to be the next best frontier for exploration, said Dr. A Sivathanu Pillai, CEO and MD, BrahMos Aerospace.

Delivering a special lecture to a large gathering of students on Thursday during 'Space Festival 2012' organised by Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Dr. Pillai said, human beings getting out of their cradle to inhabit other planets similar to that of Earth is a distinct possibility and that day is not far away.

'Human race will get out of the cradle - the Earth to explore new frontiers in Space, as the child gets out of its cradle,' he said.

The emergence of Space tourism, mining in planets and industrialisation of Space has opened up ample opportunity in the Space sector, and thus it will be the most interesting area of research in the next 100 to 200 years, he added.

Dr. Pillai said Space faring and launching of heavier payloads will provide numerous options such as, generating power, and using exotic materials that can be found from the surface of the Moon, Mars and other planets.

The moon has materials like helium which can be mined. It will become the hub for launching vehicles and mining in the future, he said also pointing out that the Chandrayaan-I mission has established that there is water in the moon.

With the help of animation and graphical representation, Dr. Pillai explained to the students how the next Chandrayaan mission would send a rover and explore materials in the moon.

The rover, which would land on the moon through a space vehicle, would move on the moon's surface, collect materials, and bring it back for research and analysis. The manned mission for the moon from India has been scheduled for 2014.

"Space can also provide an alternative habitat for the rising population by providing accommodation to people in space colonies," he said.

On hypersonic technology, Dr. Pillai said it plays an important role in Space and defence. India is working on producing hypersonic reusable cruise missiles. Hypersonic reusable space vehicle would drastically reduce the cost of transportation. It will make space transportation easier, reliable, safer and cost-effective.

Next would be the period of hyperplanes that would travel at hypersonic speeds, he said. According to him, hyperplane flying at a very high speed of 25 Mach will be a real masterpiece to achieve higher payload efficiency. And nano technology will progress significantly in realising highly reliable miniaturised smart systems, he said.

Hyperplanes are multipurpose, fully reusable aerospace vehicles used for passenger or freight transport as well as satellite launching.

Dr. Pillai said India is self-reliant in launching vehicles and satellites now. The country is self-reliant in re-entry mission too. "Re-entry from space to Earth is an important aspect," he said citing the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

The large number of students present on the ocassion asked Dr. Pillai a number of questions after he addressed them. BrahMos  pavilion has attracted more than 10,000 enthusiastic students from various schools and colleges at the ongoing 'Space Festival 2012.'