The president, a scientist who built India's missile arsenal, gathered his aides this week and watched Mars from a telescope set up in his 340-room British-built palace in the heart of the capital.
"The beautiful and colourful features of Mars apart from the scientific aspects in the southern sky and our expanding universe inspired him," a statement from his office said.
It said Kalam wanted India's space program, which has aspired to reach the moon, to eventually shoot for Mars.
The 71 year-old Indian head of state "is convinced that Mars will become a sought-after planet for human exploration for wealth and habitat in a few decades," the statement said.
Mars at 9:51 GMT Wednesday was at its closest to earth in 59,618 years, a phenomenon greeted by star-gazers the world over.
India's astrologers, however, warned that the relative proximity of the red planet bode ill for those on earth -- a prediction that seemed to come true in India in a week that saw 52 killed in Bombay bombings, 45 dead in a stampede by pilgrims and the collapse of a bridge in which 25 people died.
SPACE.WIRE |