We’re very impressed with Chandrayaan
As President of France’s space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), JeanYves Le Gall has shared a close strategic partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). A member of the Space Hall of Fame, Le Galle spoke about the relevance of space research for a developing country like India and the future of Indo-French partnership.
Q. How do you rate India’s space programme? A. We are very impressed particularly by the success of the Chandrayaan moon mission and the Mars Orbiter Mission. Q. What role does space research play in directly impacting people? A. It is playing a leading role in disaster management, weather forecasting and broadcast. It will continue to occupy a promi- nent position as a medium to address issues which are critical to us. Q. How can India get an economic dividend from its space programme? A. India has reached maturity in this domain and is already gearing up to offer new solutions, notably for the nations of the southern hemisphere. Q. What is the future of CNES-ISRO cooperation? A. We have been partners with ISRO right from the beginning. Our teams are already working together on new projects that will be put on a formal footing in the coming months. A joint working group will chalk out the programme for 2014 chiefly in the areas of climate change and oceanography.