Space is the final frontier -- requiring BIG science and BIG engineering to work together, across departments, across institutes and across countries. Recognizing this, IIT Kanpur set up the Department of SPASE in January 2022. The department aims to be a domain leader in India and, in time, become a renowned international center for space sciences and engineering; in particular, in the conceptualizing and development of space missions. To achieve this, we will

• train the next generations of space scientists and engineers;
• propose mission payloads and develop astronomical observatories;
• develop infrastructure for space applications;
• become the international meeting point of space researchers; and - popularize space research across India