ABOUT

Professor Narendra Bhandari is a Space scientist and has done extensive research  in several  areas of Planetary and Earth sciences.He obtained  his Ph.D  degree in Physics (1967)   from Bombay University and  Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. He worked at the   University of California, San Diego,  as a Post Doctoral Fellow and later as Research Chemist  for several years. 

He has been  Senior Professor and Chairman of Geosciences Division at Physical Research Laboratory  (Department of Space), Ahmedabad. He started ISRO's Planetary Sciences and Exploration (PLANEX) program, which led to India's first missions to Moon and Mars. Prof. Bhandari was amongst the first group  of scientists who worked on the USA’s Apollo Moon samples and USSR’s Luna Moon dust, brought back from the Moon. He was a member of the Moon Mission Task Force and  Science Advisory Board of Chandrayaan-1 of ISRO. Prof. Bhandari took a leading role in Chandrayaan-1 mission (2008) and was responsible for defining its science objectives  and instruments. He was member of the Instrument selection Committee for Mars Orbiter Mission.