BENGALURU: Did you know that Mae Jamison, the first African-American astronaut, continues to be a belly dancer and that her perfection in the dance form helped her meet the exacting physical requirements to be picked as an astronaut by NASA?
Did you know that Margherita Hack, the Italian astrophysicist was the first woman to head an observatory in Italy and the asteroid Hack8588 is named after her, which is one of the highest honours accorded to a “dreamer”?
These and more such interesting titbits were shared at the World Space Week celebrations, organised by Books and Brews along with Empathy Labs in the city.
Kavya, who heads Empathy Labs, on Monday brought to the fore the stories of astrophysicists and astronauts who have made significant contributions to the world of space but are lost in the pages of history. Speaking of Margaret Hamilton, an American computer scientist, Kavya said that Hamilton was responsible for coining the term software engineering and creating the field of software.
The event that started on October 4 debated how adaptations of books into movies have propelled sci-fi into the mainstream. Movies were showcased as part of the week-long event.
On day four of the event, writer-artist Khushnaz Lala, led a workshop – the Silly Space. She said, “Art is centred around the idea, not the skill.”
The United Nations General Assembly declares October 4 to October 10 as the World Space Week to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.
On October 4, the world’s first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 was launched and on October 10, the intercontinental treaty was signed that there should be no war in space, which is why the entire week is celebrated as the World Space Week.
