Bhubaneswar, Oct. 26: Rakesh Sharma spoke from the unique perspective of an astronaut when he said, "the world is one family" while delivering a lecture at the secretariat on the occasion of the Odisha Knowledge Hub seminar here today.
"Anyone who goes to space, first looks at his own country, but soon it appears that there are no boundaries between the countries and the entire world is one family and our destinies are integrated," said Sharma.
The astronaut was part of the joint Indo-Soviet Space Mission in 1984. He was conferred awards such as Ashok Chakra and the Hero of the Soviet Union as well as the Order of Lenin by the erstwhile Soviet establishment.
Earlier, the Odisha Knowledge Hub lectures were restricted to ministers in the secretariat. But today's lecture hosted all the districts collectors, senior officers and science students from various educational institutions. The students asked inquisitive questions of the astronaut.
The students asked what one eats during a space voyage, how to prepare for space flight, whether "aliens" really exist in the universe and so on. They also asked whether space research should be carried out at the cost of natural resources that are used in production and launching of space flights.
Speaking on "Manned Space Flight: A learning Experience," Sharma underscored the need for collaboration in space research. "All countries should collaborate in space research so that there is no wastage of resources."
Sharma reiterated that environmental degradation of the earth caused by vehicular and industrial pollution was clearly visible from the space. "Unless pollution issues are addressed appropriately, the human race will soon be extinct," Sharma said.
Development commissioner R. Balakrishnan introduced Sharma to the audience and briefed the gathering about his contributions as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, apart from being an astronaut.
"During the Indo-Pak War of 1971, wing commander Rakesh Sharma successfully launched 21 operational missions on a Mig-21 aircraft. He was less than 23 years old then," Balakrishnan said. Finance minister Pradeep Amat presented a memento to Sharma on behalf of the state government.
