Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Destination Moon: India's Quest for Moon, Mars and Beyond


Book Title: Destination Moon: India’s Quest for the Moon, Mars and Beyond

Authors: Pallava Bagla and Subhadra Menon

(Forewords by: Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, chairman ISRO and Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament and former chairman ISRO.)

Pages: 224 + 8 color plates
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
Price: Rupees 195.00
Release: August, 2008

Introduction to Destination Moon:

Fabled in songs and poetry, and romanticized by lovers down the ages, the earth's closest neighbor is still an enigma in material terms. Can it sustain life? Does it have water? How did it come into existence? And what is its exact relationship with the earth?

Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden moon craft, will seek to unravel these and other mysteries in the most ambitious exploratory mission to the moon in decades. Conceptualized by Indian scientists, it is in some ways a global scientific endeavor, with European and American instruments hitching a ride on a lunar satellite and rocket designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.

When the mission was first proposed in 1999, it seemed wildly optimistic to most people. Could a developing nation with limited resources afford to invest so much money, time and effort on research into outer space? Yet, almost a decade later, India's science community has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of meeting the most exacting challenges.

This book is a celebration of that achievement. It tells the story of the moon mission from conception to launch – the genesis, the plan, the people, the science. Based on reportage, interviews and most important of all, a deep understanding of the processes involved, Destination Moon is a lucidly written and comprehensive guide to India's engagement with outer space – past, present and future.


Quotations:

‘It is not a question of whether we can afford to go to the moon. It’s whether we can afford to ignore it.’
Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member, Rajya Sabha and Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization

'Twenty years from now when space travel is likely to become mundane like airlines travel today, we don't want to be buying travel tickets on other people's space vehicles.'
Dr G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO

`India and the US are not racing to go the moon… we can hope to go together.’
Dr. Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA

About the Authors:

Pallava Bagla is Science Editor, NDTV (New Delhi Television) and Chief Correspondent (South Asia) for the American weekly Science. In 2005 he was honored with the National Award for best science journalism in the print media by the Indian government and in 2003 he was awarded for ‘outstanding journalism’ by the United Nations. He is also a skilled photographer and images taken by him have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Nature and New Scientist. He has covered the Indian space and nuclear program for the past two decades.
pallava.bagla@gmail.com

Dr Subhadra Menon is an award winning science and health writer and a former correspondent for India Today. She has also contributed to New Scientist and Scientific American. She is the author of No Place to Go, a book on India’s ailing health sector. She currently works with the Public Health Foundation of India, spearheading its communication efforts.
subhadra.menon@gmail.com


Details of Book: Destination Moon
Pages: 224 + 8 color plates
ISBN: 978-81-7223-676-2
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
(A joint venture with India Today Group)
Price: Rupees 195.00
Year: August 2008

To Order:
http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=2029
Telephone: +91-120-404-4800
Email: sales@harpercollins.co.in

Harper Collins Publishers India Ltd.A 53, Sector 57 NOIDA,
Pin: 201 301
Uttar Pradesh India