REUTERS NEXT NEWSMAKER

S.SOMANATH
INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION CHAIRMAN

27 AUGUST 2024 
8:30AM GMT / 2:00PM IST

Please join us for a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker featuring S.Somanath, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman

Tuesday, 27 August 2024 | 08:30am GMT / 2:00pm IST

India’s space organisation, ISRO, has captured the imagination of rocket scientists and civilians across the world with its affordable, yet ambitious, technology. The agency’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft last year became the first to land on the far side of the moon – just days after a similar Russian mission failed, and at a fraction of the cost of US space exploration projects. 

Somanath, an aerospace engineer who became ISRO chairman in early 2022, is credited with steering the organization through a critical development phase that has bolstered national pride; almost 7 million people watched a livestream of the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing. 

Reuters correspondent Nivedita Bhattacharjee talks with Somanath about ISRO’s plans to join the global race for a share of the $447 billion private space market, developments in the agency’s planned human mission, competition from China, the potential colonization of Mars and the future of mankind.

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