Prasanthi Nilayam, 07 October 2022:
The World Space Week 2022 Celebrations at Prasanthi Nilayam came to a close today, Friday, 07 October. The celebrations were held by Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) in collaboration with the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, ISRO, Department of Space, Government of India.
The valedictory ceremony began with invocatory chants by the students of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and the traditional lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest Shri R J Rathnakar Managing Trustee, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT), Guest of Honour Dr. S Sankaran, Chief General Manager, SMP & ETF, SDSC SHAR, ISRO, the Vice-Chancellor, SSSIHL, Prof. (Dr.) C B Sanjeevi, and Shri C Muralidhar, Chairman, WSW, Puttaparthi.
In his welcome address, Shri C Muralidhar said that the objective of the programme was to ignite young minds and reiterated the need to conserve outer space for future generations. He said that the activities conducted as part of the outreach received a huge response and observed that the students were very unique and highly talented. Sharing details of the participation he said over 3700 students took part in the Space talent test, 470 entries were received for the Poster competition, and over 40 for elocution. In addition, the competition was also extended to Anantapur, which saw 247 students participating in essay writing and 70 for Extempore. The walk for space on 04 October, he said saw over 400 students participating. A short video was then played with clips and photographs from various activities held. View video.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) C B Sanjeevi then shared how the overall event and the various scientific lectures and interactions with students have already led to discussions for potential partnerships and collaborations with various centers. Discussions to have a value-added course on Satellite making, he indicated are underway. With a variety of other initiatives in the pipeline, Prof. (Dr.) C B Sanjeevi said he was very hopeful some of them will materialize very soon. He expressed his gratitude to the SDSC SHAR team for this wonderful opportunity.
The Guest of Honour Dr. S Sankaran, Chief General Manager, SMP & ETF, SDSC SHAR, ISRO in his address said that both ISRO and SSSIHL shared a few things in common – Discipline being first, and other was that caste, creed, and religion had no place in the organisation and all worked together to a common goal. He praised the institution for instilling such ‘humility and discipline in students. From his recent interaction with the students at the campus, Dr. S Sankaran was very hopeful to see some collaboration and also wished some of them would be part of ISRO someday.
The Chief -Guest Shri R J Rathnakar, Managing Trustee, SSSCT in his address said that technology has grown leaps and bounds in the last few decades, and that barely over 100 years ago man invented the airplane, and today we talk of various missions to space and planets. He went on to share how closely both Science and Spirituality are interconnected and can co-exist. He said all Indians are extremely proud of the work our Scientists at ISRO do and of their contribution to society.
Shri R J Rathnakar and Prof. (Dr.) C B Sanjeevi was then felicitated by Dr. S Sankaran, and Shri C Muralidhar on behalf of SDSC SHAR, ISRO. Three Satellite photographs of the State of Andhra Pradesh, Puttaparthi, and Sri Sathya Sai District were also presented to them by the SDSC SHAR team. Both Dr. S Sankaran, and Shri C Muralidhar too were felicitated on behalf of SSSIHL.
The students and staff from all four campuses of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Anantapur, Muddenahalli, Brindavan, and Prasanthi Nilayam), and the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Primary School, and Smt. Easwaramma High School in Prasanthi Nilayam was extremely fortunate to witness and participate in the celebrations. The students of the Institute (SSSIHL) were also immensely blessed to listen to and interact with senior ISRO Scientists and hear from them the fascinating growth stories of the Indian Space Programme along with experiences, challenges, and learnings from various projects and missions they have been a part of. In addition, they all had the opportunity to view some of the amazing work done by the SDSC SHAR Scientists through the exhibits which also included scaled-down versions of their launches.
The 2022 theme ‘Space and Sustainability’ was an eye-opener for many. The World Space week teaser video gave the students an overview of the threats posed by increasing space debris and the need for more responsible use of space and an action plan to mitigate this.
Prizes to winners of all the competitions held for school children both boys and girls were then handed over. This included winners of the Space talent test, Elocution, Poster and Drawing competition, and online quiz and photography. In the end, SSSIHL felicitated the whole team of SDSC SHAR who worked hard to make this event a grand success.
The ceremony concluded with the National Anthem and Aarathi to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
World Space Week is an international celebration of Space Science and Technology and their contribution to the betterment of human conditions. Every year, 4 -10 October is celebrated by more than 70 nations as World Space Week in commemoration of the launch of the first man-made Earth Satellite, Sputnik-I on 4th October 1957, and the signing of the treaty on principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space including the moon and other celestial bodies by a resolution in the UNO on 10th October 1967.
The valedictory event was streamed live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HIbc4-QOQaA
