MUMBAI: A chapter on space missions has been included in Class X science textbooks of Maharashtra board. The Pune-based Maharashtra Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research in a note said: "Permission is granted for enforcing this text book from the academic year 2018-19 in the meeting held on the date 29.12.2017."
The space mission chapter, number 10, will be found from pages 135 to 144 in the book named Science and Technology. The text has a brief note on Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to fly into space and Nasa's Indian-American astronauts Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. The chapter also mentions names of Isro's rockets and satellites, and on page 140 there are details of the space agency's workhorse-the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (Pslv). However, teachers said that two other Indian rockets, Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (Gslv) and its advanced version Gslv Mark 3, have not been highlighted. "Instead, they have found a place for Nasa's space shuttle which was phased out July 2011. Even the book cover has an image of the space shuttle. Instead, a picture of the Gslv Mark 3 could have been used," said a teacher requesting anonymity. Gslv Mark 3 will be used for Isro's human space flight programme.
The chapter also contains details about the hazards posed by space debris. Co-founder of Space Geeks Mumbai, Chintamani Pai, told TOI: "It is a significant step."