8/14/2019 Nasa Florida Space Grant Consortium

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NASA FLORIDA SPACE GRANT

CONSORTIUMMail Stop: FSGC, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

Tel # 321-452-4301 ; Fax # 321-449-0739

Email: fsgc@mail.ucf.eduWWW Address: http://www.floridaspacegrant.org

DIRECTOR

Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Dr. Penelope Haskins

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Ms. Sreela Mallick

CONSORTIUM MEMBERSAstronaut Memorial Foundation

Bethune Cookman University

Eckerd College

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ.

Florida A&M University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Community Colleges

Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida Institute of Technology

Florida International University

Space Florida

Florida State University

Kennedy Space Center

University of Central Florida

University of Florida

University of Miami

University of North Florida

University of South Florida

University of West Florida

May 12, 2

To whom it may concern:

It is my pleasure to recommend the Helios Astronomy Group, Mumbai for its

expedition to China for the Observation of Coronal Mass Flow using Fabry-Perot interferometer and Flash Spectrum observation during the Total Solar

Eclipse of July 22, 2009. The weather predictions in India during the time of

solar eclipse are not conducive for observing and hence the requirement to trato China.

I am the Director of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium and the Inter

Director of the Florida Space Institute, both located at the Kennedy Space Cein the US. I travel to Mumbai regularly and during my last visit I met the

members of the group. I was very impressed with their professional and

technical approach to the project. The members of this group are very dedicatto their work and deserve all the support from the community. The group

members who are going for the expedition are 1) Jatin S. Rathod, 2) Ankush

Bhaskar, 3) Vaishali S. Kharat, 4) Chintamani Pai, 5) Sumeet Deshmukh, 6)Samrat Patel, 7) Mohsin Patel, 8) Dhanashree Shinde and 9) Neha Das.

The Helios Astronomy Group has been an active member in all respects ofAstronomy during the last 5 years. The group takes part in all possible eventssuch as eclipses of the Sun and Moon, Meteor Observations, Occultation of s

teaching astronomy, Meteorite study, study of Solar flares and popularization

astronomy. As a result the group has produced research papers on LunarEclipses, the Jagganath meteorite (2006) with Akash Ganga Centre for

Astronomy, India; Solar flare and proton event, etc. The motive for this

expedition is purely education and research and the results obtained will bepublished in scientific journals.

I therefore strongly recommend that all possible material and financial suppo

be given to the Helios Astronomy Group members and thank all those who mprovide such support.

Sincerely,

Jaydeep Mukherjee, Ph.D.Director, NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium