Indian President Abdul Kalam gazed at Mars from his New Delhi palace as the red planet reached its closest point to Earth in 60,000 years and felt "inspired," his office said Saturday.The president, a scientist who built India's missile arsenal, gathered his aides this week and watched Mars from a telescope set up in his 340-room British-built palace in the heart of the capital.
"The beautiful and colourful features of Mars apart from the scientific aspects in the southern sky and our expanding universe inspired him," a statement from his office said.
It said Kalam wanted India's space program, which has aspired to reach the moon, to eventually shoot for Mars.
The 71 year-old Indian head of state "is convinced that Mars will become a sought-after planet for human exploration for wealth and habitat in a few decades," the statement said.
Mars at 9:51 GMT Wednesday was at its closest to earth in 59,618 years, a phenomenon greeted by star-gazers the world over.
India's astrologers, however, warned that the relative proximity of the red planet bode ill for those on earth -- a prediction that seemed to come true in India in a week that saw 52 killed in Bombay bombings, 45 dead in a stampede by pilgrims and the collapse of a bridge in which 25 people died.
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Nov 02, 2006
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