ISRO Chairman, fisheries expert conferred prestigious awards by Tamil Nadu government

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan was conferred the national Dr A P J Abdul Kalam award by the Tamil Nadu government on Independence Day 2019.

The Chairman wasn’t present at the time of the ceremony and celebrations, but is expected to collect his award from Chief Minister E Palaniswamy someday soon, the Hindu said .

The citation for the award claims Dr Sivan, a native of Kanyakumari district and popularly known as “Rocket Man”, has led the Indian Space Research Organisation through the most challenging space mission India has undertaken — Chandrayaan 2 , a mission to land a rover on a previously unexplored part of the Moon’s south polar region. If successful, the mission will propel India into an elite group of just four nations: the Soviet Union, USA, and China, that have managed to pull off a soft landing on the moon.

Among announcements that Dr K Sivan made in 2019 is the launch of a space station by 2030 , in an extension to the Gaganyaan mission, planned for 2021 .

“We have to sustain the Gaganyaan programme after the launch of the human space mission. In this context, India is planning to have its own space station ,” he said.

Also awarded on Independence Day was P Ramyalakshmi, the assistant director of fisheries (marine) in Cuddalore. She was awarded the Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise for her action against the usage of destructive purse seine nets in the area, The Hindu reports .

Purse seine fishing has been banned by Tamil Nadu because the practice has an adverse impact on marine life.