An image mosaic taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit’s panoramic camera (Reuters). (Below) Amitabha Ghosh. Picture by Pabitra Das

He was our man on mission Mars back in 1997, as a member of the Pathfinder ground-control team in NASA. The 33-year-old ex-Don Bosco Park Circus and IIT Kharagpur student is back in business as the planetary geologist on the second sojourn to the red planet — Mars Exploration Rovers — that’s breaking records. On a recent trip to town, Amitabha Ghosh spoke about the highs and lows of contributing to history through scientific success. Here’s what the only Asian in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California — who has made the long journey from Ultadanga to Washington DC — had to say before rushing off for the busiest 92 days of his lab life.

You were the first person to study Martian rock (Barnacle Bill), in 1997. This time it’s…

Incredible. Nothing short of overwhelming. During trial runs, we had to control the rovers in different rooms, and images would appear on big screens. When Spirit landed, just to see the panorama of Mars horizon was amazing. We were all in a state of disbelief, especially since Beagle 2 had made no contact after landing. Those six minutes before we received a signal was tense.

Talk about travel time…

To give you an idea, the distance between us and them (Spirit, launched in June 2003, landed on Mars on January 4; Opportunity, launched a month later, is due on the red planet on January 24) is about one lakh one-way trips from Calcutta to Delhi.

Is Mars a mystery no more?

There are too many unknowns about Mars. We could find something really big, and I’m not being sensational. For instance, the Gusev Crater, where Spirit has landed, has lots of rocks. But one area, which mission chief Steve (Squyres) has named Sleepy Hollow, has no rocks and is very even, and everyone has a different theory as to why and how. In fact, during the Pathfinder mission, we found that Mars’ soil wasn’t composed primarily of basalt, as we had thought all along… Every step is a discovery.

Rock by rock…

We’re going to analyse the soil, rocks and atmosphere on Mars, with instruments like panoramic cameras, microscopic imager, rock abrasion tool and several spectrometers, which the rovers are carrying. The power on each golf-cart-sized rover should last for about 92 days or 90 sols (Martian days).

The planet red...

The high point is the colour pictures. The first few we clicked just to make sure everything was functioning properly. Later, when Spirit starts roaming around will come clearer and higher resolution pictures and the pan cams will kick in, so the images will be even more amazing. But we are not going to rush and risk mistakes.

The Beagle 2 bug...

In this profession, you can’t be 99.9 per cent correct. You have to be 100 per cent accurate. If an error has been made, however small, things will go awry. However, people are focussing on what went wrong, not on what was accomplished. The Express Orbiter was successfully launched, so the mission wasn’t a complete failure.

 

Time to Talk

Here are the rest of the responses on “I will remember 2003 for...”

l2003 was a significant year. Above all, I will remember it for the cricket World Cup, where India gave an excellent performance. And, of course, Mandira Bedi added glamour to it. The year also saw some great hockey matches. Not to forget, the release of the fifth Harry Potter book, as also some great films like Kal Ho Naa Ho and Baghban. The Indian economy took a leap forward. On the personal front, it was the year for my Class X board exams, which was not a happy event.

Rashi Daga

l2003 started with a tragedy — the death of sergeant Bapi Sen, trying to save a girl on New Year’s eve. Another sad note was struck by the sudden death of Kalpana Chawla, who stands as a role model for all Indian women. The happier side was how our boys in blue emerged as the second best team in the cricket World Cup. The fall of Saddam Hussein was also a great achievement.

Kamalika Chaudhuri,

XII (Arts), Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan

lI remember 2003 as the year of enmity between the US and Iraq — how the presidents of these two countries fought without thinking about the lives of innocent people, and how Saddam Hussein was captured. I also remember the year for Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to go to space. She lives on in the hearts of people the world over.

Tariq Akhtar

 

School with a cause

Another new school starts off in town this year, but on a different note. Apart from the technological teaching tools, it has the human touch, too. The Excel International Public School (EIPS), in Joka, will kick off in April, with the promise of continued education for its students. The means is a trust fund that will pay for a child’s education in case he or she loses a parent.

The concept is of “education insurance”. The PDS Educational Trust Fund, set up by friends Pavan Garg, Dipankar Jhindal and Sandeep Agarwal, guarantees free education up to Class XII to all students registered with the institution if the earning parent or guardian dies.

The co-educational English-medium school is built to accommodate 4,000 students from kindergarten to Class XII, although it will start up till Class VI, with the plan of CBSE affiliation by adding a class every year. The four-storeyed building is set amidst five acres of green.

There are public address and multimedia projection systems in classrooms, audio-visual aids for teaching, computerised library with multimedia workstations and professional counselling. Classroom teaching will be monitored by CCTV. There are labs for environmental and home science, and geography, as well as a language lab. Hostel facilities are available from Class IV.

As for extracurriculars, the campus has cricket, football and hockey fields, and tennis, basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, as well as gymnasium and yoga centre. A swimming pool is under construction. The ‘education package’ fees — Rs 24,000 per annum — include tuition, uniform, books, special tutorials, etc.

Among the guardians of the school are Sushil Gupta, professor in Florida International University, Miami, honorary advisor T. Banerjee, retired professor and dean, IIT Kharagpur, C. Verghese, principal, St Xavier’s Residential School, Shillong, and Ramesh Gupta, former head of the department of zoology, Laxminarayan Degree College, Lucknow.

 

Former teacher John Greck (left) being felicitated by the batch of ’54 at the 26th reunion organised by Alumnorum Societas at St Xavier’s School on Saturday. Though he taught for just a year, Greck is in touch with all his students. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Track test

Budding Formula 1 champs battled it out for the top honours in the JK Tyre-National Karting Championships (fifth regional leg) on Monday at Clown Town. Champion drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok cheered the participants from behind the finish line.

The first senior semi-finals — above 16 years and 60 kg — saw Mazdayar Vatcha start in third place and clinch the top position in the final lap. In the second semis of the senior category, veteran karter Rayomand Banerjee finished first.

Up next was the ladies category. Malini Chakaravarty, who qualified in P1 position, won a comfortable race. Malini also qualified for the junior class category — 13-15 years — becoming the only female participant in the race.

The junior category saw only three of the six karts finishing the race. Avyay Jhunjunwala masterfully managed to ace the art. Next, the cadet class (8-12 years) displayed its skills. Karan Goenka, youngest of the lot, was the winner.

In the celebrity race, US consul general George N. Sibley came first, president of BMSC Rajat Mukherjee was second and British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Hall managing a third.

In the senior category finals, Rayomand Banerjee had to pull out when his kart developed a technical snag. Mazdayar Vatcha moved into the lead.

Spicing things up was Remo Fernandez with Humma Humma and other foot-tapping numbers. Also entertaining was Ukrainian dance troupe Angels. The winners will travel to Delhi for the Grand National Finals in February, to win a new Opel Corsa, a sponsored drive in the Formula Maruti Class, cash prizes and trips to Malaysia.

— Sangeet Shirodkar

 

For memory’s sake

On Sunday, the alumni of the Jadavpur University English department got together. The parking space was turned into a “mela ground” and stalls were put up that sold memorabilia, told fortunes and did hair beading and body painting.

Games on the greens produced candid moments — Professor Supriya Chaudhuri on duty between the posts and alumnus and theatre personality Jayant Kripalani trying to net a soccer ball. A campus quiz conducted by Abhijit Gupta had the 80’s team come out on top. In the lunch queue at AC canteen were spotted celeb ex-students — Alokananda Ray of Kanchenjungha fame, star of Seemabaddha Barun Chanda, corporate honcho Arup Ghosh and drama personality Mrinal Chakraborty among others.

A high point was ‘JU fashion down the decades’ with students taking the ramp.