World Space Week: People throng IST to see beyond the skies

IST arranges activity to raise awareness among the masses of the space and celestial bodies

RAWALPINDI:

A large number of people including students from the twin cities and surrounding areas thronged the Institute of Space Technology (IST) to learn more about space and celestial objects.

As part of the World Space Week, the IST has arranged a four-day activity on its premises with a view to raise awareness among the masses of the space and celestial bodies.

An official said that over recent years, the institute has come to rely heavily on positioning and timing data from a large network of satellites. This dependency will increase even further with the release of multiple new systems on top of the existing global positioning satellite (GPS) network.

Assistant Director Students’ Affairs Muhammad Zeshan Fareed told The Express Tribune that revolution in space technology was inevitable.

“It is the need of hour to have a deep knowledge of space technology and its applications for a country like Pakistan in order to
meet the challenges of having accurate information of weather forecasting, disaster management, mobile and satellite communication.”

He said that the importance of space technology cannot be denied as it will ultimately lead to the solution of the world’s problems and betterment of mankind and IST was contributing to the cause in true sense.

The inaugural ceremony was followed by a very interesting gathering featuring over 1000 students of different schools and colleges carrying display cards showing space slogans with the theme “Space: Guiding Your Way”.

Many space themed competitions including paintings, sketching, calligraphy, graffiti, space cartoons and caricatures were also held in the first three days.

A fair with food streets, kids arena and other entertaining and educational stalls was also arranged.

A training session will also be held at the institute for teachers on the theme of space technology, navigation and applications, where experts will deliver online lectures on the topics.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2014.