Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar on Thursday said it was for the Government and the country to decide when to undertake manned space mission.

Answering questions from students after delivering a talk at the Ramakrishna Math here, he said that the country has to make up its mind on human space programme. On its part, the ISRO was working on developing certain critical technologies for the proposed mission. “We need to wait for the nation to decide when we want to put a man in space”, he added.

Replying to another query, he described how the ISRO scientists faced anxious times during the Mars orbiter mission as it was the first time that they were sending an object beyond the sphere of influence of earth. One of the crucial challenges of the mission was the re-ignition of the propulsion system after a gap of nine months.

Although the space scientists were quietly confident of the success of the mission, there were also lot of apprehensions. The only way to get answers and address the apprehensions was by conducting on-ground simulations, which were conducted for a month. He said “the success demonstrated that we were able to overcome all problems”, he added.

Asked what motivated him during such missions, Dr. Kiran Kumar said that the ISRO had dedicated itself to bringing new technologies for the benefit of the society. “We are contributing to the welfare of the society. That is the biggest motivator for all of us”.

On hacking of an ISRO site by Chinese, he said it was defacing and not hacking. However, there was no loss of information as that site was not being used at that time.

Earlier in his address, he emphasised the importance of sustainable development and environment-friendly technologies while pointing out that innovation and technology had become the hallmarks of modern society.