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.
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.
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 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.
Thanks for the nice and informative blog. Rajesh Khamkar
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