We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.

Astronauts aboard the space station have found themselves facing a foe far tinier than any rogue asteroid: A joint study by IIT-Madras and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- under Principal Investigator Kasthuri Venkateswaran -- has revealed that strains of the bacterial species Enterobacter bugandensis, a multi-drug resistant superbug, have been hitting the gym in the microgravity crucible. Though the situation at the ISS is slightly unsettling, holding funeral dirges would be an overkill, says Kumar Abishek.

The multi-mission communication satellite, also known as PAKSAT MM1, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern province of Sichuan, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Sukanya Verma recaps all those events from 25 years ago.

All progress in space should excite us and encourage us to be optimists about a better future for our planet and all of us, asserts Aakar Patel.

'We hear about Chanda Mama from our childhood.' 'I am excited by the idea of seeing it with my eyes.'

Twelve days of movie madness and 36 films later, Aseem Chhabra lists his top 10 favourite films from this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Rajesh Karkera journeys through verdant countryside to the little-explored pristine Lonar lake in eastern Maharashtra.

Billionaires are not only eyeing a profit as they push mankind out into the stars.
It appears India will be among those nations consigned to being among the watchers and not participants of this crucial phase, observes Aakar Patel.

A second-string Netherlands beat Wales 2-1 away after a dramatic late finale in the Nations League at Cardiff on Wednesday

In her weekly column, mental health guru Anu Krishna offers advice on how to take charge of your life.

Thank heavens for these images! From a mesmerizing panorama of the aurora borealis in Iceland to a beautiful image of Comet Neowise, the Royal Observatory's annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition has again produced some truly astounding images. Run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine and now in its thirteenth year, the competition this year received over 4,500 entries from around the world. The competition winners will be announced on September 16 at an online award ceremony, and displayed in London's National Maritime Museum that same month. Here's our favourite images from this year's batch.

Three Chinese astronauts on Thursday entered the country's new space station after their spaceship successfully docked with it, just over seven hours after the launch from the Gobi Desert, in a major milestone for the Communist giant's space exploration plans and its bid to become a leading space power.

The rover, Zhurong, named after a god of fire and war in Chinese mythology, landed at the pre-selected area in Utopia Planitia on Mars, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

'If the almost literally heart-stopping Suez block has any positive outcome, it is to be hoped that it will accelerate the setting up of a fab (perhaps Taiwanese) in India,' asserts Rajeev Srinivasan.

As means of transport or metaphor, the romance of trains is unmistakable in Hindi cinema.

China's President Xi Jinping congratulated scientists on the complete success of the Chang'e-5 mission.

'The government has said it has kept its powder dry to fight the true battle against the debilitating influence of the pandemic.' 'The release of the shocking economic data this week should act as the fuse for using that powder now.' 'Further delays will make the battle that much harder,' notes Shreekant Sambrani.

'ISRO facilities are very expensive and any damage caused by these start-ups can create havoc to our space programme.'

Iqbal wanted to land the smuggled goods by helicopter on the Andaman Islands. DK asked, 'Iqbal, a helicopter will bring the consignment to the island, drop it there and then return. Won't radars detect it?' 'No.' 'How?' 'Radars can't detect aircraft that fly at a low altitude. Our helicopter, after entering India's air space, will dive and fly at four feet above the sea level.' 'For that, I have a German pilot in mind. He was an ace aviator in the last world war.' An enthralling excerpt from Aabid Surti's Sufi: The Invisible Man Of The Underground.

The fascination for the skies and what lies beyond has fathered an expansive stockpile of astronomical myths and legends and in India, also an elaborate astrological system, notes Arundhuti Dasgupta.

Following is the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day.

'In a part of the world where the government tells people what not to eat and what slogans to shout and not shout, it is beneficial to develop a mentality that is science minded and therefore open-minded.' 'That is possibly why the space programme has always had support from all sides of the political divide,' says Aakar Patel.

The Tata empire turns 150 this year. R Gopalakrishnan, former director, Tata Sons Ltd, imagines a conversation among the group's founder Jamsetji, his son Dorabji, his successor, Nowroji Saklatwala, and his successor, J R D Tata.

In four years from now, you can holiday in space too.

'The bottom line is that at least now we should take an honest look at this business of NSG membership (or Masood Azhar for that matter.),' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera shares his impressions from the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India's landmark artistic extravaganza.

Contributors to Team Indus project will have names etched on an object going to space.

Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng, 50, and Chen Dong, 37, were blasted off into space by Shenzhou-11 (heavenly vessel) spacecraft.

'... and all of the symbolism, history, the colours of his motherland, the earth, the sky, all of that is there and it always remains with him.'

Here's why it's dangerous.

On December 31 this year, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, the United States Naval Observatory has announced.

This measure has been envisaged by the government against the backdrop of instances where certain social networking sites showed Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as part of Pakistan and China respectively.

'There are 25 million farmers in India with at least 2 to 3 cows each.' 'If all them use biogas to cook, millions of LPG units and firewood can be saved.'

Pack your bags and unwind.

Some time before December 31, 2017, Bengaluru based Team Indus aims to land a vehicle on the moon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday address Members of the British Parliament in London where he promised to open more doors of cooperation between the two countries and delved on issues like terrorism and United Nations reforms.

'In the newsroom, the thought process is about understanding the story and trying to look beyond the obvious. The fiction-writing process is similar in many ways but more internal.'

The power station would be a super spacecraft on a eosynchronous orbit.

'This was not the cleanest game of cricket you've ever seen -- there were too many flubs and fumbles for that. But it was certainly the semi-final this mostly blah tournament has needed -- two tough, well-rounded teams, toe to toe, slugging it out, bleeding and drawing blood until there was only one left standing.'