NASA-In search of the "UNKNOWN"

I was  in Houston for 3-4 days and thoroughly frustrated  already...with training (or lack of it),the food, the locality etc.The dependence on car to move around and my lack of skills in driving  on the "Other side" of road meant that I was almost stuck to Hotel after classes.The weekend was approaching and like my predecessors visiting Houston  and many of the current colleagues, I was also  planning a trip to famous Johnson Space Center a.k.a. NASA.
I started sounding my colleagues if anyone was interested and zeroed on  three Asian friends from Singapore. As one of them was fairly comfortable( but in reality  without any hands on experience) driving in USA, we decided to hire a car as we were told it is the best way forward if you don't own a car.
So we inquired  with the Hotel Concierge and decided on a Car Rental company called Enterprise.A telephonic conversation yields some valuable information with regards to Insurance, rental etc etc.and we formally decide to hire a car next day.
With childlike enthusiasm and little unsure of what was in store, all four of us met in the lobby at 0730 and after a healthy breakfast catch a shuttle to George Bush International Airport  where at departure Terminal E we disembarked  and boarded  a car rental bus after alighting stairs  one level down.The airport is MASSIVE and after a five minutes ride we reach the car rental terminal. Even this is big.Renting a car on an outstation trip is not a luxury but a requirement in US of A. People park their cars at home airport and hire cars at the other city airport where they are on a business tour.So even at this hour there were few people at the rental area.

At this point one of the friend doubted if the Car rental co. will ask for a Passport as an ID proof. All of us were like , Ohh S**t !!!, we will have to go back to the Hotel now...Luckily, the lady was satisfied with Driver License and credit Card.The cost of hiring car for locals  in US is negligible, but for foreigners like us who did not have any insurance and were first timers, we were  advised to take all insurances and the cost went up quite high.We decided to be safe than sorry and paid for the insurance. Another most important, mandatory and trusted ally for us was going to be the GPS .So another USD10 per day payment later we were set for a ride.We were pretty clear as to which car we wanted..basically any good looking sleek sedan which is not easily available in India. Among the cars on display we chose a black Chevy.
Ali my Singaporian friend and our driver for the day checked all the essentials . I took a sit next to him as  self declared Navigator for the day.

We fed the destination (Courtesy :MayBaap Google) in GPS and the Lady started giving us directions.We came out of the rental station and on the first intersection I had  to remind Ali to be on the RIGHT side of road and not the LEFT.Our black beauty was nice n smooth in acceleration and after some turns and with the help of Lady 's voice in  GPS we soon hit the Freeway towards Galvaston (IS 45 S) .Ali desperately wanted to test the speed limits of the car and I didn't blame him for that, even I would have done the same, but the passenger seat friends caution him against over speeding. Meanwhile I'm busy getting familiar with the GPS and also other controls and instruments.Though all of us drive cars regularly, finding buttons and knobs for routine functions like "adjusting the mirror" or "rolling the windows up/down" is a task in American cars.We do not have so much automation back home.Traffic is very light,it being a Saturday and soon we are driving at 70mph and can't feel a thing moving...The Roads are so spacious and smooth.....its a pleasure Driving.The markings , exits are so very wel written for the convenience of Driver.I was tempted to try my hand but was  apprehensive.
As per MaayBaap Google maps Johnson Space Center was around 41 miles from the Hotel, not considered as LONG in americas.

Driving on a freeway is easy and fun as you don't need to worry about directions till the EXIT or Intersection. At every intersection we are confronted with a web of flyovers in air thoroughly confusing as to which road/ direction to take. For amateurs like us this was tricky  to negotiate sans our trusted GPS.So after an hours drive or less we finally reach Johnson Space Center.

After a customary foto we proceed to ticket counter and opt for a City Pass .on the way We are greeted by a giant spaceship which has seen better days and now an exhibit at NASA.

After entering the Space Center ,the first thing that catches your eye is an International Space Station replica hanging over you....The biggest symbol of scientific collaboration in space among the technically most advanced nations on Earth. For the uninitiated, let me add that this is the 24x7fully manned space station  for last 12 years by astronauts around the world and is currently Captained by none other than  Sunny williams as she is called by NASA( don't know if we can call her our very own Sunita Williams).

The main entrance and the exhibits are in dimly lit space evoking mystery or the enigma about the Space.
There  are ,among other things, real head gears used by Astronauts kept in front of a mirror where I could not resist taking a photo of myself.Also one can see Astronauts hanging in space with all the space gear.

Like in any big sightseeing attraction where there are many things to see, show timings to adhered to, we took the area map and show time booklet at the customer service and meticulously planned our tour. The lady at the customer service suggested we take a tram tour first as it will be getting crowded later in the day.. We take the expert advice and head for tram tour.After getting through a serious security check we board the tram which takes us through the actual NASA premises where humans work to find things in space which us lesser mortals don't even imagine. En route we see buildings,one of which is a kitchen for Space food. Sort of R&D and actual kitchen.

Our next stop was Christopher Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center...A place from where all the activities in space, NASA's all space missions including MARS mission ROVER are controlled.All of us are excited in anticipation as you don't get to see these things "LIVE" everyday in your life. 

This is one of the many other good things I like about America. They may put you through rigorous safety scrutiny,looking suspiciously at every move of yours , but once you are through,no one stops you from moving around freely or stops you from clicking pictures, unlike in India where we are so very much insecure about almost everything that we put restriction everywhere resulting in violations.

In most places in America the objects/places  on display are used as a marketing tool to promote the cause or to earn money in other cases.Anyways, at this Mission Control center one of the Intern working at NASA gave us the small introduction about the place, what NASA is doing, future missions, when we will be landing a manned mission to Mars  etc. etc.

Apart from all the PR stuff , what struck me was the budget figures that NASA gets every year, though the intern very disappointingly referred to the continuous decline in budgets as a percentage of GNP of USof A (from 3-4% few years back to 0.4 % this year)

  Another very important aspect of that PR presentation was the passion and sincerity  the intern evoked . When he spoke about the need for this sort of researches, the justification for spending so much of taxpayers money when in current economic slowdown the same money can be utilized better , he came up with a very good line---Its about the finding the  UNKNOWN  in the Unknown and by the Unknown(ie. the untested equipment).The whole range of possibilities make it ever so important...And he conceded that this cannot be achieved by America alone...The efforts and contribution of best of the whole world is needed to search the existence of human life in space or possibility of us shifting to other planet




Our next stop was Space Vehicle Mockup Facility SVMP--A place where all the astronauts practice and prepare ....Here we can see the future space vehicles on display..I had a misconception that the spaceship or any other equipment used in space  would be of super finish, made up of some rare exotic materials but in reality it not so..We could see SOYUZ along with two more space vehicles, one built with collaboration of other countries and the one to be used on MARS mission.

Our Last stop on the tram ride was all about technical advancements in space program  with Apollo Mission series. Luckily for us there was this ex-engineer employee of NASA who had volunteered to explain this stage of exhibits that day. He was a very very proud and passionate employee who took immense pleasure in working for NASA and USA. He described in detail about all the Apollo missions, the engines at different stages , how they propel the spacecraft at the speed of 5miles per second to zip past earth's orbit and gravity, what type of fuel is used and most importantly how a spacecraft enters the orbit. The last bit is very much important and technically challenging.The problem in not achieving this is catastrophic and possibly the reason for the death of Kalpana Chawla.He was describing all this on the backdrop of an gigantic Apollo Spacecraft with all the stages and engines.This gentleman(in green T shirt) was so enthusiastic that apart from giving all the interesting technical information , he had some very good anecdotes to share.Without doubt Neil Armstrong and Eldritch were his heroes.He described in detail how Armstrong chose to lead a simple life sans any publicity after his famous trip to Moon and also how Mr. Eldritch reacted when some one persistently doubted  that they actually stepped on the Moon. He also discussed the failed Apollo missions leading to setbacks and cuts in budgets.
When Armstrong  landed on moon on an Apollo 11 he had very famously said...."The Eagle has Landed  " and
"A small step of a man but giant leap for a mankind."
You get the goosebumps hearing these passionate tales.Funnily enough all of us felt that this was our achievement and not America's alone.Again the human element in all this technological jargon makes it a more humbling experience.

After this amazing tour we head back to the museum part again.By now our meticulous planning had gone wary and we re-planned the schedule as per the show timings. There is so much information available and it is presented in such a enticing manner that even if you are not scientifically  too inclined, you can still enjoy the museum.There are short documentaries shown on a IMAX kind of theaters depicting HUMANE element ie. what the astronauts think when the are in SPACE, what they do, what they feel after returning, how the space station is now being used for biological research,stem cell research, how they are flying doctors, scientists  into space for research etc. etc. Also  one of the documentary  portrays all kinds of human emotions....the joy, the anxiety, elation , nervousness before the launch, excitement among the onlookers,the frustration and grief when the mission fails especially when human lives are lost....You can't help but be a part of those moments and feel the emotions...Extremely moving experience....






Then there are real life exhibits of a Lunar vehicle, mini space shuttle of olden times.Depiction of how Astronauts perform their daily chores like bathing, sleeping etc.

Lastly when we finished seeing all the simulations and exhibits and came out completely satisfied ,I could not help but think that about the intern who was disappointed by the diminishing budget of 0.4% of US GNP. this figure may look minuscule but in reality it still amounts to around 17 Billion USD per annum  which is still humongous.

Many many Indian origin scientists are working in NASA, for lack of opportunities in India, due to bureaucracy, politics or for greener pastures whatever may be the reason...But if hey are given similar budget in India how different ISRO will be? It is doing amazingly great job in limited funds and scope it has but in an ideal , unrealistic scenario we can achieve our goals much faster.....

Also can't imagine a scenario where we are allowed to visit ISRO and the launching sight at Sreeharikota....... 

Leaving you with some of the beautiful pictures taken by astronauts from space.