The just-concluded 58th International Astronautical Congress at Hyderabad saw participants “building castles in the air”. From space elevators — lifts that go all the way from the surface to beyond 36,000 km — to space tourism for the rich, the mood was upbeat.

J N Goswami, director, Physical Research Lab, ISRO sounded the clarion call with India’s “Goal 2020”, which would see exploration of the inner solar system and build capacity for the outer solar system.

Beyond Chandrayaan, the country would also be exploring a Mars orbiter and possibly an asteroid orbiter, he said. Later, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said that the agency’s launch vehicle GSLV could launch a 500 kg payload to Mars. However, if anything, the word that resounded most at the congress was the moon.

Every country that has some share of the space pie is now set on a lunar mission, jointly or solo. Japan’s satellite Kagayu, which is the largest lunar orbiter after Apollo, was launched this month. It has 5-6 moon missions scheduled over the next few years. The Japanese space agency Jaxa sees human presence mandatory for lunar missions.

China’s mission is slated for this year end and its ambitions are to “stay and live on moon after 2020” while it also has a Mars mission jointly planned with Russia for October 2009.

While the European Space Agency is not presently looking at independent lunar missions, member nations like Germany have voiced an interest to prepare a national moon mission to prove its competency, as also for “public outreach”. Italy too is exploring a moon mission.

The moon, with its natural high and low temperature zones, is seen as an ideal place for industrial activity. Its low gravity is conducive for making new materials and medicine. Above all, there are hopes to realise the abundant sources of helium, which could fuel human dreams on earth and beyond. Looking up at the serene moon glowing in the sky, one can’t help wonder if it is aware of human designs on it.

In view of the many lunar missions as also China’s testing of its anti-satellite missile, many deliberations are focused on the need to tighten the outer space treaty. The congress also saw participation by students from many nations, showing how the space agencies are doing their best to catch them young and popularise space science.

Walking to the venue on the last day, a sight that greeted me was very disturbing. Right inside the campus, housing the convention centre and Novotel, a five-star hotel garbage was dumped on the sidewalk. And rummaging through the leftovers from the previous day’s food was a beggar.

As he scraped the lid and stuffed his mouth with the remains, his furtive glances aside were more pathetic. It was natural to question the relevance of space rides and lunar missions and international conventions, when millions still search in the garbage for food.

But the concluding session at the congress was somewhat comforting. The echo-cardiogram on the huge screen at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre showed the beating heart of an eight-year old child suffering from pulmonary hypertension.

“We believe the problem is due to a problem with the valve. What do you think?” “Yes you are right. You have to be careful operating the patient.” And so, it went on.

It was the ultimate proof that technology is neutral, in this case “space technology”. And, also a proof of how it can empower. In a real-time video conferencing, Isro had linked up Dr Devi Prasad Shetty at the venue with Karlheinz Tschelienssnig of the Medical University of Graz, Austria.

As the doctors discussed the pros and cons of angioplasty as against a by-pass operation for the child, it brought on a feeling of real virtuality.

It was the appropriate way to conclude the 58th International Astronautical Congress whose theme was ‘Touching humanity: Space for improving quality of life’.

Dr Shetty spoke of a recent liver transplant operation at the Narayana Hrudyalaya, Bangalore, which was done with “tele-anaesthesia” provided from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It was a 100 per cent success,” he said, adding that soon robotic surgery will be done from Philadelphia on patients in Bangalore.

India requires 2.5 million heart surgeries every year but is only able to perform 80,000 of these. With telemedicine pitching in, Dr Shetty was hopeful the scenario could be improved.

There are presently 152 telephonic ECG centres and 52 telemedicine centres in the country. In a dramatic conclusion, he showed the picture of a sewage cleaner sitting atop a manhole.

Noting that his life expectancy was 40 years, given his consumption of alcohol at work, Dr Shetty said, “We can say we are a developed nation when this man can afford to stay healthy. Not by a measure of our roads or airports.” Or by our ability to reach for the moon?