Published 16:21 IST, September 12th 2019
Chandrayaan-2: Nobel Laureate Serge Haroche says 'ISRO will fix it'
Nobel Laureate Serge Haroche praised Indian Space Research Organisation's efforts with Chandrayaan-2 and believed that ISRO will fix the problem that it faces
Nobel Laureate Serge Haroche has praised Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) efforts in the Chandrayaan-2 Mission. He believed ISRO will 'fix the problem', adding since expectations were high, the mission received extreme media attention, proving to be troublesome. Serge Haroche, is a French physicist who won a Nobel Prize in 2012, along with David Wineland, for their study of photons in Physics.
Nobel Laureate: ISRO should invest in youth for science's future
Speaking to a news agency, the Laureate said, “I am sure ISRO will fix the problem. All it has to do is learn, so that the experiment gets better next time.” He expressed the problem with the mission was too much media attention and the expectations for it to land and when it didn't, "there was a big amplification of disappointment."
"Science is something where you are going in the unknown... you have surprises, sometimes good surprises and sometimes you have bad surprises and failures. I think the people who work in this area should know that there are failures. Since a lot of money is involved in science, it has to do with economics and politics and I don't like this mixture," he reportedly told.
The Nobel Laureate hailed ISRO scientists as well as everyone involved in the science field. He reportedly said, “What is the difference between a great scientist and an average one is that the great one recognises the learning he is having... Tries to collaborate as much as possible. Working in a group makes it easier to overcome difficulties."
Haroche also spoke on investing in youngsters of the country for science, "The best investment a country can make is investing in young minds. It is important for India to make sure that a large faction of them should come back to India because we need these people here."
Nobel Prize Series India 2019
Nobel Laureate Serge Haroche was at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute in Mohali for a three-day ‘Nobel Prize Series India 2019’ event aimed at discussing issues related to education and learning, wherein the Nobel Laureates talk and participate in roundtables with experts, teachers, and students. This event will be held from September 11-13 in Ludhiana and New Delhi. The Nobel Prize Series India 2019 is organised by Nobel Media in cooperation with the Department of Biotechnology, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology.
ISRO's efforts still on
In the early hours of September 7, Chandrayaan-2's Vikram Lander lost contact with the Indian space agency's control room. Days later, the orbiter sent an image to ISRO, locating Vikram lander on the Moon's lunar surface. Reportedly, the lander had made a hard landing and lay in a tilted position, efforts are on to re-establish connection. In a statement on Saturday, ISRO Chief K Sivan said the Chandrayaan-2 mission was “highly complex” and its accomplishments were a “significant technological leap” compared to earlier projects.
Updated 20:06 IST, September 12th 2019