Kalam foresees a human habitat in Mars

Hyderabad, June 29: Utilising the benefits of low-cost access to Space, in another 50 to 75 years, man would be able to set up an industrial complex on the moon and a human habitat on Mars, President A P J Abdul Kalam said here today.

Inaugurating a two-day international conference on 'Highspeed Trans-Atmospheric Air and Space Transportation', Mr Kalam said vision of various space-faring nations and space experts were of the opinion that missions beyond earth were vital for sustaining the spirit of space exploration leading to space industrialisation.

Such missions would include bringing minerals and materials from the moon, asteroids and Mars and infrastructure development for solar power generation, setting up of industrial complexes on the moon and initiating human habitat on mars, he said.

He urged the world space community to evolve a Space Vision 2050 with three components--Space exploration and current application missions, comprehensive space security and large scale societal missions and low cost access to space.

Such a unified approach would enable the world to see a quantum jump in the progress in space science and technology for the benefit of the world.

About innovative programme management methodologies Mr Kalam said, ISRO had initiated programmes for a reusable two-stage launch vehicle demonstrator and air breathing propulsion modules.

Mr Kalam said the 21st century aerospace ventures would be more global, in view of unique space missions, technological complexities, high costs and risks. The aeronautical community was ready with a roadmap for a 150 seater civilian aircraft on a public-private partnership mode immediately and the R&D and infrastructure build up for the same had to start with innovative programme management methodologies.

About the low cost access to the Space, Mr Kalam said, ''The payload fraction of the expendable launch vehicles does not exceed one or two per cent of the launch weight.'' Thus to put one or two tonnes in space required more than one 100 tonnes of launch weight, making it wholly uneconomical to carry freight and men on Moon missions.

''There was definitely a need for all the countries to work together to develop reusable launch vehicles which could bring down the cost of launch from the present 20,000 dollars per kg to 200 dollars per kg,'' he said.

''High speed air and space transportation in collaboration can lead to a step-jump in the basic goal for reduction in cost of access to space. Space transportation systems that are fully reusable 100 to 500 times enable the cost of access to space reduced substantially''.

Studies in India had shown that the smallest size reusable space launch vehicle, weighing about 25-30 tonnes could be developed with high payload fractions when designed with no oxidizer at launch, but gathers air, liquefies air and then separates out the liquid oxygen for onboard storage while the spacecraft ascends directly from earth to orbit.

These studies in India suggested that an 'aerobic' space transportation vehicle could have a 15 per cent payload fraction for a launch weight of 270 tonnes.

Earlier, the President inaugurated the exhibition displaying the various aspects of the aerospace organised by various institutions and companies connected with the aerospace technology.

Speaking on the occasion, Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur said, ''A nation like India, with its high accomplishments in aerospace sciences and technology, is well placed to make a globally relevant contribution in advanced aerospace science and technology''.

Aeronautical Society of India Chairman V K Saraswat said the objectives of the conference were to share and consolidate the knowledge and experience gained in conceptualisation, design, development and testing of advanced aerospace systems and technologies and to identify thrust areas for future research and development.

Union Minister of State for Defence M Pallam Raju, Atomic Commission of India Chairman Anil Kakodkar, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Ministry M Natarajan and National Technological Research Organisation President Prasada Rao attended the function.

UNI