Terming Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s unmanned lunar mission “Chandrayaan-1” as a perfect example for International Space cooperation, Howard County Maryland, Executive, Ken Ulman on Tuesday said that such partnerships will help in fostering better relationship between India and the US.

Mr Ulman is accompanying the MiniSar payload developed by the Advanced Physics Lab of the John Hopkins University for the Chandrayaan Moon Mission, to be launched by ISRO later this year. He was impressed by the scientists’ works after inspecting the Chandrayaan-1 shuttle.

The Chandrayaan would be carrying 11 payloads of which six are from other countries including two payloads belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

He said that ISRO will map the polar ice cap on the Moon and try to get a better sense of ice crystals and presence of water at the lunar system. “This mapping by ISRO is important for future landing,'' he said.
Mr Ulman is also heading a trade delegation to explore synergies between the Howard County which is the third wealthiest county in the United States and India.

“We want to explore new business opportunities like bio-technology, infrastructure, health and other sectors apart from Information Technology with city based Indian companies who can set up their bases in the US,” he added.

Incentives
The Howard County which is home to more than 8,400 companies will be offering various incentives including expedited permits, real property tax credits, convertible loans, training grants and job creation tax credits.

Replying to a query on the US recession and the fear of economic backlash looming large with the US Presidential elections round the corner, Mr Ulman said that, too much should not be read about the elections and that Indian investors need not have to worry about reports regarding the US recession.

Prism Microsystems
Prism Microsystems, a global leader in security information and event management (SIEM) technology, on Tuesday announced plans to expand its presence in India with the opening if a state-of-the-art campus at the Rajajinagar Industrial Estate in Bangalore.

The new campus will be a centre for product development for its SEIM solution, EventTracker and also provide back-office, sales and marketing support to the company’s US headquarters to meet increased demand in Asia and Australia.