The Sakura Science Club

Reading books and traveling places are the two things that I do when I need inspiration. Because these two activities open us to different perspectives with which we discover our true passion.

All this seems very dramatic but, I have a story to tell you. I hope this story will help you to get some

books and read something new and stay indoors for now until we get through the global pandemic.

Before I begin, I should tell you about an organization called the Sakura Science club. Sakura

a dream come true, a new beginning for a bright future, and an inspiration to work for the progress of humanity. A humble organization that has modeled many to be the torch bearers of the future.

In this club, we speak different languages, but the clarity of knowledge is eternal. This knowledge proves

to be the solution to the problems humanity is facing. Japan and India shared a very intricate bond. The

seed of this bond has grown into a huge tree. We, the members of the SSC are the ripe sweet fruits of this

beautiful bond. The members of the Sakura science club are the representatives of the strong bond that

India

and Japan share.

It’s been three years since my visit to Japan; that visit has transformed my thought process immensely.

The Japanese thought of how I will be helpful to society has inspired me the most. During my stay in

Japan, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Mohri Mamoru, the first Japanese astronaut

Dr. Mohri Mamoru has been a role model both in terms of his carrier as well as personality. My

interaction with him in MIRAIKN was a dream come true. Dr. Mohri had never dreamed to become a cosmonaut. He graduated from the University of Hokkaido. Mohri was a member of the

nuclear engineering faculty of Hokkaido University, where he worked on nuclear fusion projects.

Due to his experience with material sciences, he was chosen by NASDA(now JAXA) to be part of a Japanese

materials payload under Spacelab -J. He pointed how astronauts were before and now. Depending on

the payload an astronaut was selected during the early stages of establishing capabilities for a

permanent stay in space, but during these days, being an astronaut has evolved into a whole new

stream, where specializations of multiple streams are essential. As new missions have risen the need for diversity in this

field of space exploration has been quite loud and clear. Certain space agencies like the European

space agency are trying to expand and bring the most diverse group of people together to be astronauts in their future mission.

During Dr. Mohri’s talk, I was dumbfounded and listened to him amazed and fortunately, of course,

sitting in the first row during his interaction with us. He looked at me with his humble eyes, patted me

on my back, and asked me if I could tell the audience about the nuclear fission and fusion process. I was in

the seventh heaven. I couldn’t believe that Dr. Mori had asked me to explain the process of nuclear

fusion. I explained

nuclear fusion by taking the example of a star from the nebula to the supernova and explained the

phenomenon of fission by taking the example of a nuclear reactor and also told him that lot of energy is

released due to mass defect. He was happy and asked the audience to applaud me. I was so scared but excited as well. During the photo session, he called me and asked me what I wanted to become.

Being so nervous, I fumbled an “Aerospace Engineer ", hearing this he encouraged me and asked me to work. The motto of his talk was to help us understand the importance of collaboration by the Japanese idea of つながり(connection). Isn't it important for all of us to help and share our ideas so that our thoughts bloom into these beautiful flowers just like the Sakura? Hope we get through this pandemic soon and once we are able to meet people let's make the best of our time and make sure that we help each other to grow as humans and I am sure the future will be bright for all of us.

- By Suraj. R