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MUMBAI: Indian-American Raja Chari (44), who has his early family roots in Telangana, is all set to go on his first space flight as its commander in the very shot itself. In a virtual media interaction on Wednesday evening, Chari said that this mission among other things will help in testing technologies at the space station for Nasa’s mission to the moon called Artemis.
On Thursday, the crew will be going through a complete dress rehearsal of the launch. Chari, with a crew of three, will command the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station which will lift off from launch pad 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre on October 31 at 11.51am (IST).
On December 10, 2020, Chari was among the eight chosen for the moon mission. This means that there is every chance that the Indian-American will have his footprint on the lunar surface. Nasa hopes to land a coloured astronaut and the first woman on the south pole region of the moon in 2024, according to current plans.
Called exploration technologies, Chari said among the aspects that will be tested for the moon shot at the space station will be those linked to life support systems. “We will be able to troubleshoot problems nearer earth before flying to the moon,’’ Chari said, adding: “We are super excited to be actually sitting here (crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Centre), just a few miles away from the rocket we’ll get to ride on.’’
He said that his crew had an opportunity to interact with the Inspiration4 team. Inspiration4 was the world’s first private mission to orbit which was launched on September 16 2021 by SpaceX. “Though it was a private mission, we benefited from their experience. Both ways it proved beneficial,” Chari added.
Earlier, while talking to the media after the crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Centre on Tuesday, Chari lauded the partnership between government and private agencies which is proving beneficial to space missions.
Chari said: “Be it cargo or Inspiration4, more data is always good which can make space flight safer and better. In terms of fixes and risk mitigation, thousands of people have been working to make sure that we are safe. We have complete confidence in the system.’’
With regards to science on this mission, he said his interest is environmental systems, increasing efficiency to recycle water and scrubbing carbon dioxide.
On Thursday, the crew will be going through a complete dress rehearsal of the launch. Chari, with a crew of three, will command the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station which will lift off from launch pad 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre on October 31 at 11.51am (IST).
On December 10, 2020, Chari was among the eight chosen for the moon mission. This means that there is every chance that the Indian-American will have his footprint on the lunar surface. Nasa hopes to land a coloured astronaut and the first woman on the south pole region of the moon in 2024, according to current plans.
Called exploration technologies, Chari said among the aspects that will be tested for the moon shot at the space station will be those linked to life support systems. “We will be able to troubleshoot problems nearer earth before flying to the moon,’’ Chari said, adding: “We are super excited to be actually sitting here (crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Centre), just a few miles away from the rocket we’ll get to ride on.’’
He said that his crew had an opportunity to interact with the Inspiration4 team. Inspiration4 was the world’s first private mission to orbit which was launched on September 16 2021 by SpaceX. “Though it was a private mission, we benefited from their experience. Both ways it proved beneficial,” Chari added.
Earlier, while talking to the media after the crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Centre on Tuesday, Chari lauded the partnership between government and private agencies which is proving beneficial to space missions.
Chari said: “Be it cargo or Inspiration4, more data is always good which can make space flight safer and better. In terms of fixes and risk mitigation, thousands of people have been working to make sure that we are safe. We have complete confidence in the system.’’
With regards to science on this mission, he said his interest is environmental systems, increasing efficiency to recycle water and scrubbing carbon dioxide.
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