Veteran space scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee Professor Eknath Vasant Chitnis, one of the earliest architects of India’s space programme, passed away at the age of 100.
A close associate of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Chitnis was instrumental in shaping the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which evolved into today’s Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Born on July 25, 1925, in Kolhapur, Chitnis lost both his parents at a young age and was raised by his grandmother. After earning a degree in physics from Pune, he initially joined All India Radio but soon followed his scientific curiosity to the fledgling Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, founded by Sarabhai.
At PRL, he contributed to early space physics research, building Cerenkov Counters to stu