Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang,
impressed by the success of Chandrayaan 3, has termed it “amazing and
outstanding” and he is looking forward to the next Indian mission akin to it.
Fuglesang, who will be meeting with ISRO
and its IN-SPACE team to discuss the space programmes during his visit to
Bharat, expressed he is expecting to see the Gaganyaan flight with Indian
astronauts on the Indian rocket and Indian capsule.
About the Chandrayaan 3 success, he
said, “The kind of landing of Vikram lander and Rover, I thought that was so
amazing. That was really outstanding and I think the whole world was kind of
applauding for that. And I’m very excited, looking forward to the next Indian
mission like that. And while being an astronaut, I guess I’m mainly expecting
now to see the Gaganyaan flight with the Indian astronauts on the Indian rocket
and Indian capsule.”
Bharat took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan 3
lander module successfully landed on the Moon’s South Pole on August 23, making
it the maiden country to have attained the historic feat. After having landed,
the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover performed different sets of tasks on
the lunar surface for about 14 days.
Christer Fuglesang noted that there are
a lot of possibilities for Sweden and Bharat to work jointly in the space
sector. The Swedish Space Corporation is developing services for the
sustainable use of space, which is an area of mutual interest for both
countries.
He also talked about ‘Space
Sustainability’ and the vital role of space exploration in combating climate
challenges.
On Bharat-Sweden space collaboration, he
said, “So I think we have a lot of possibilities to work together. Sweden is
not a big country, but it really has a very high technological competence in
certain areas. We can gain lot of experience and everything you’re doing here.
So, we should find more ways to work together. And I’m so happy that there will
be now an Indian-Swedish Space Centre of Excellence that will help.”
Notably, Bharat and Sweden have been
partners in space technology for over 35 years, which was facilitated by an agreement
signed in 1986.
Christer Fuglesang participated in the
celebration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Bharat and Sweden.
Sweden’s Ambassador to Bharat, Jan Thesleff, hosted a gala reception at his
residence on Friday to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations between Bharat
and Sweden.
Fuglesang is an astronaut and professor
at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, while also working part-time as a space
advisor for SAAB. He has a PhD in experimental particle physics from Stockholm
University and has worked for CERN and ESA.
ANI
