International Space Exploration meet at VIT

VELLORE: The students of VIT University are all set to march towards space exploration. The VIT Chapter of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is gearing up to host a three-day International Conference called “SEDSIC ‘12”. Considered the supernova of space conferences, the event will be organised from Friday and will deal with man’s space odyssey. After the first SEDS International Conference in 2007 and SEDS India National Conference in 2009, VIT has become a preferred destination for SEDSIC ‘12. The convention is based on the theme of ‘Students Vision for Global Space Sciences and Technologies’. “It intends to benefit space enthusiasts and professionals, by enlightening them on space science and technology,” said VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan. According to him, the conference will bring synergy among global space professionals, eminent personalities and students from many countries. It would highlight the recent innovations and technologies in space industry by means of paper presentations, competitions, guest lectures, workshops and an industrial expo. There would also be lectures by many prominent personalities on upcoming space technologies and advanced space sciences during the convention.The major attractions of this conference include ‘TARA’ (paper and poster presentation), Lunar Trek v2.0, which is a project that highlights the porcesses involved in the building of a moon rover, Stella Sphinx, a Stellarium based event and Squirtle’s Archery, which is a water rocketry  event. These projects promote the development and building of models/prototypes for the better understanding of space systems and exploration of space through ground and space-based tools and instruments like telescopes and software. Workshops on ham radio, Astrophotography and RC Flyers will also be part of the event. A separate expo will be held to give an opportunity for space industries to showcase their cutting-edge technologies and other scientific developments.Over 800 participants, including 350 school students from Vellore, will participate in the conference. The Chief Guest will be S. Ramakrishnan, Director, Liquid Propulsion System Centre, ISRO.