‘We look forward to work with ISRO and get the Indian astronaut into space’
The Hindu
Dr. Nicola "Nicky" Fox of NASA discusses NISAR project, Indian astronaut training, and future collaborations with ISRO in Bengaluru.
Dr. Nicola “Nicky” Fox, associate administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate
Dr. Nicola “Nicky” Fox, associate administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate-NASA Headquarters, who is on a visit to India to review the upcoming NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) project spoke to The Hindu on the sidelines of a student outreach event in Bengaluru on whole range of topics ranging from the NISAR mission to sending an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station later this year.
Q. Dr. Fox, what brings you to India and in particular to Bengaluru?
A. This is my very first trip to India and I am very excited to be here. We are here celebrating the partnership between NASA and ISRO on our big flagship mission the NISAR mission and I am really looking forward tomorrow to meeting with NISAR team when I visit the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre and honestly seeing the spacecraft in the clean room is always a very inspiring thing to do, to see a piece of technology which is about to go to space so I am excited about that. And then of course talking about the ways the two agencies interact in a whole round of not just science but also in astrophysics, heliophysics and in planetary so kind of getting to talk about the ways the agencies are collaborating together.
Q. How is the NISAR project progressing? When is the launch scheduled to take place?
A. NISAR is progressing very well. So as I said I will be seeing it in the clean room. We are in the final phase before launch where you are testing and making sure that everything is perfect because of course if anything has an issue you want to identify that when it is still on the ground and not when it is in space because it is easy fix on the ground it is hard to fix in space so we are doing all of those final checks and progressing hopefully to launch later this year. We don’t have a specific date (for the launch) yet. We are still in the final testing and verifying everything is perfect but as soon as that spacecraft is ready then we will have a launch date.
Q. Are you meeting ISRO Officials, visiting any of the centres?
About 54 women entrepreneurs from the UK drive an auto rickshaw from Chennai to Goa for charity, empowering women and children as part of Sisterhood Group UK titled “Let’s Goa 2025 Rickshaw Rally”
Manu Parekh's vibrant memories of Kolkata and artistic journey are showcased in Flower Sutra exhibition at Nature Morte, New Delhi.
Private lunar lander Athena fails mission after sideways landing in moon crater, ending $62 million NASA experiment.
Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are two of the greatest presidents that the U.S. has seen. You probably know that already. But did you know that Jefferson made what is considered the first contribution to American vertebrate paleontology? Or that Lincoln is the only U.S. president to receive a patent? What’s more, both their contributions have March 10 in common… 52 years apart. A.S.Ganesh hands you the details…
Preprint papers are publicly available scientific papers before peer review, popular among open-access advocates and scrutinizing peer review practices.
Discover the fascinating world of river dolphins in India, facing threats but captivating hearts with their unique features.
L&T, India's largest private defense manufacturer, expands into aerospace industry to capitalize on growing global launch vehicle market.
The BMW C 400 GT: A stylish scooter with premium details, advanced safety features, modern technology, and improved ergonomics has arrived in India
With the rise of the women’s liberation movement in the West, and some parts of China, activists fought for separate rooms, separate bathrooms, separate swimming pools, separate vehicles, separate roads, separate cities, even separate countries
Himmat Shah refused to be part of the mainstream, instead focusing on metamorphosing his medium and materials in the most versatile ways — with a distinctly Indian aesthetic
Celebrate Alexander Graham Bell Day on March 7, honouring the inventor of the first telephone nearly 150 years ago.
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft explodes in space, causing FAA to halt air traffic in Florida, marking second failure this year.
Trump's firing of NOAA employees sparks discussion on climate predictions, highlighting the need for global, high-resolution models for resilience.