IIT-M warms up to ‘Apollo’s Legacy

S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) conducted a seminar on ‘Apollo’s Legacy and the Meaning of Moon Landing After 50 Years on its premises recently. Memory Studies Research Network situated on IIT-M’s premises organised the event. 

This symposium was a follow up from the first conference on Memory Studies that was organized in October 2019, which focused on the Centenary of Jallianwalla Bagh.

Dr. Roger Launius, former chief historian at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) presented a scholarly account of the scientific and political significance of the Apollo Moon landing Mission, locating it in the context of the Cold War. 

He delineated the criticisms and controversies the event courted from various sections. Launius spoke about Moon Landing denials in political as well as popular culture. He ended his lecture on the lasting legacy on Apollo’s landing in the scientific and cultural imagination today, connecting it to the research concerns of Memory Studies as an interdisciplinary frame. 

IIT-M director Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi praised the interdisciplinary research prospects of the Memory Studies Network at IIT Madras and also shared the significance and his personal memory with the Moon Landing event in 1969.

faculty convener of Memory Studies Research Network Dr. Merin Simi Raj spoke about the importance of researchers like Dr Launius in the framework of Memory Studies and described the future possibilities of this network at IIT Madras, mentioning a formative collaboration plan with the MIT Media Lab. She also highlighted the textual, technological, cultural, and cognitive components of this exciting field of research.

Launius presented a copy of his book ‘Apollo’s Legacy: Perspectives on Moon Landing’ to the Memory Studies Research Network.