Hindustan Times
NASA pros send resumes to India B R Srikanth, Hindustan Times
Bangalore, October 27, 2008
With Chandrayaan-I less than half way (1, 64, 600 km) to its rendezvous with the Moon, Indian space establishment's credentials seem good enough for job inquiries from scientists from around the world.
"I have got 10 to 12 (emails)," Chandrayaan project director Dr M Annadurai told the Hindustan Times, adding, "and am sure some of my bosses have also got such mails." And all these came after the Chandrayaan launch.
These feelers are mostly from scientists of US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). They want to work for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"There are some Indians who want to come back home," said Annadurai, "but there are also citizens of other countries working for NASA and ESA who have mailed enquiries about openings at various levels in ISRO."
And, he says, they were willing to take huge salary cuts, because ISRO doesn't pay as much as their current employers, despite the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission.
Senior scientists like Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, the former ISRO Chairman, are not surprised. In fact, he did perceive an "inspirational impact" when he planned the Moon mission.
-- My humanity is in feeling we are all voices of the same poverty. - Jorge Louis Borges