Dubai Expo 2020: ISRO chief to speak at 'Space Week' at India Pavilion

Top officials from the Indian space sector, including Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr K Sivan, will speak during Space Week at Dubai Expo 2020, Khaleej Times has learnt.

Dr Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) and Dr Umamaheswaran R, scientific secretary at ISRO are also expected to share their thoughts on India’s numerous space programmes. Dr Sivan and Dr Goenka will be participating in the event virtually.

Space will be one of the thematic weeks at the Expo from October 17 to 23; the India Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai announced its agenda on Thursday. Activities at the pavilion for space week is being organised by the Department of Space and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

In the recent past, India has led various missions like putting 104 satellites into orbit in a single mission and successfully completing complex missions like the Mangalyaan at a fraction of the cost of similar missions led by other countries, an official statement from the pavilion said.

In line with these achievements, the Space Week at Expo 2020 Dubai will hold sessions on the future of space international participation and collaborations, space for start-ups: Infinite opportunities in space, Space 2030: space for sustainable businesses and building capacity and research opportunities.

The first session on the future of space international participations collaborations will explore discussions around space exploration, international collaborations for joint research and development that leads to multiple areas of research in one mission at the same cost.

“Space is a multi-faceted discipline which can yield benefits to many areas such as agriculture, transport, urban development, land cover and use, weather, disaster management, water resources, communication and entertainment etc,” said the statement.

“It will discuss the advanced technologies like quantum mechanics, synthetic aperture radars, multi-spectral solutions, green propellants, etc. provide huge potential for research in the space domain, and product development,” it added.

- dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

Dhanusha Gokulan

Originally from India, Dhanusha Gokulan has been working as a journalist for over ten years. For Khaleej Times, she covers NRI affairs, civil aviation, and immigration issues among other things. She completed her BA in Journalism, Economics and English Literature from Mangalore University in 2008 and is currently pursuing her MA in Leadership and Innovation in Contemporary Media at the American University in Dubai. In her spare time, she dabbles with some singing/songwriting, loves food, and is mom to an over-enthusiastic Labrador retriever. Tweet at her @shootsprintrite.