Bastar's Saad reaches for the stars with design for int'l space station

Raipur: Saad Memon, a space research scientist from the state's Bastar district, who's currently working in Europe, has secured victory in the prestigious International Space Station (ISS) UNIVERSEH Challenge on March 13, 2025. The competition challenged researchers to devise an experimental design for the ISS's internal section.

"My winning project focuses on developing a radiation-tolerant Linux operating system, incorporating advanced software hardening techniques to safeguard against radiation-induced failures in space. This solution is designed to significantly reduce the economic costs typically associated with proprietary operating systems in satellites. The submission was rigorously evaluated by an international panel of four jurors, who assessed the scientific and technical merits of the project, with particular emphasis on the feasibility of implementing the proposed experiment aboard the ISS," the 28-year-old scientist shared with TOI.

Saad has also received an invitation to visit the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands from April 15-17 of this year.

At this secure facility, he will engage with distinguished space experts, including European astronauts André Kuipers and Samantha Cristoforetti, at the KUBIK Symposium.

"As part of this honour, I am also expected to present my research at ESTEC and explore opportunities for new international collaborations with ESTEC," he stated.

His academic background includes a European Double MSc in Software Systems from the University of St. Andrews, UK. His current research focuses on developing and assessing critical space infrastructure, particularly examining hardware-software systems operating in intense accelerated radiation environments.

"On March 13, 2025, I was notified that I won the International Space Station (ISS) experiment design competition held across Europe. This competition, organised within European universities, required researchers to design an experiment for the interior of the ISS. The ISS is a man-made space station, roughly the length of a football field, orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 408 km for nearly 25 years."

As the competition winner, Saad will present his work to scientists and space experts, discussing potential satellite launch collaborations. He intends to explore future partnerships with ISRO and plans to bring his expertise back to India. "I also received private appreciation from engineers at NASA for the novelty of the work and its critical importance," Memon further mentioned.

His education at the University of St Andrews, UK, was fully funded through a scholarship.

The university recently achieved the top ranking in the UK, surpassing Oxford and Cambridge. Its notable alumni include Boris Johnson's daughter and the future British monarchs, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales.