UNIS/OS/310
10 June 2005
Exhibition on Indian Space Programme Inaugurated at the Vienna International Centre
VIENNA, 10 June (UN Information Service) – "India in Space”, an exhibition on the Indian Space Programme, was officially inaugurated in the Rotunda of the Vienna International Centre (VIC) yesterday by G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Sheel Kant Sharma, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Vienna, Adigun Ade Abiodun, Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and Sergio Camacho-Lara, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA). The exhibition is jointly organized by ISRO and OOSA. The inauguration was attended by members of the diplomatic community and delegates to the forty-eighth session of COPUOS, currently being held at the VIC.
“India has made major strides in space research, development and its applications for the socio-economic uplift of our people,” said Ambassador Sharma at the opening ceremony. Mr. Sharma highlighted the role of India as an active member of COPUOS since its establishment in 1959. He emphasized that space technology must be accessible to all people, particularly to those in developing countries.
Mr. Nair highlighted some of ISRO’s achievements in using space technology for the development needs of India. These achievements include using remote sensing technology for crop estimation, wasteland mapping, identifying potential fishing zones and environmental studies. He informed the attendees of new initiatives in the fields of telemedicine and tele-education, including the establishment of satellite-based Village Resource Centres.
Commending India for helping raise awareness of the role that the applications of space science and technology play in global development agendas, Mr. Abiodun said that the exhibition served to promote awareness among the general public that “outer space is in no way an exclusive club for rich industrialized countries.”
The exhibition includes scaled models of Indian launch vehicles, such as the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle, which was successfully used to place Edusat, India’s first dedicated educational satellite, into orbit in September 2004. Edusat is mainly intended to meet India’s domestic demand for an interactive satellite-based distance education system. The exhibition also contains a model of one of India’s newest satellites – Cartosat-1. This state-of-the-art remote sensing satellite is mainly intended for cartographic applications. The cameras onboard the satellite are mounted in a way that enables near simultaneous imaging of the same area from two different angles, which facilitates the generation of accurate three-dimensional maps. Several panels display the objectives and achievements of the Indian Space Programme in applying space science and technology for solving problems on Earth.
At the end of the exhibition, which will be on display until 17 June 2005, ISRO will donate some of the satellite models to OOSA for its permanent space exhibition at the VIC. The exhibition can be viewed as part of a guided tour of the VIC.
To book a guided tour, contact:
UNIS Vienna Visitors Service
Telephone : (43) 1 260 60 3328
E-mail : tours@unvienna.org
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The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) implements the decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and assisting developing countries in using space science and technology. Located in Vienna, Austria, OOSA maintains a website at http://www.unoosa.org/.
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