MOONSHOT

 

 

 

WHETHER it was a newsroom or a cosy household setting or any other office, regular activities came to a standstill for a few moments on Friday afternoon. As the ‘Fat Boy’ (LVM3M4) lifted off Chandrayaan-3 from the launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2.35 pm, Indians, wherever they were, clapped with joy. A feeling of pride filled their hearts. The celebration was spontaneous. For, Chandrayaan-3 reflects not only the persistent efforts but also resilience of Indian space scientists, and carries hopes and aspirations of over a billion Indians. As Chandrayaan-3 was injected into the desired orbit and began voyage towards South Pole of the Moon, scientists and common citizens in India recalled how they had stayed awake on that night in September of 2019 to witness the historic moment of Chandrayaan-2 touchdown on Moon. The images of the then ISRO chief Dr K Sivan crying and Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi consoling him flashed in the collective memory of the nation. Chandrayaan-2 was not a failure. For, though its rover crashed, its orbiter continues to study Moon. Since Chandrayaan-2 to the lift-off of Chandrayaan-3, it has been a fantastic journey of national resolve and scientific excellence. Of course, there have been many moments in India’s tale of space odyssey.

 

Right since the dream seen by Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s space programme, to the steering of the Chandrayaan-3 under the dynamic leadership of the present-day ISRO chief Dr S Somanath, it has been a journey of meticulous planning, execution of plans with heavier investment of efforts than that of money, determined pursuit of a dream, continuous evolution, gradual focus on indigenous development of required resources, and wonderful response of ISRO scientists to the test of their tenacity and alacrity from time to time. As far as India’s Moon Mission is concerned, it started on October 22, 2008, when Chandrayaan-I lifted off. The successful injection of Chandrayaan-I in the elliptical orbit of Earth for voyage towards Moon had earned the sobriquet of ‘Moon Man of India’ for the then ISRO chief Dr K Madhavan Nair. When he made announcement, the nation had burst into jubilation. Two men worked along with him -- Dr K Radhakrishnan and Dr K Sivan -- both of whom rose to become ISRO chief later on and contributed leadership quotient to India’s Moon Mission. Reflecting ISRO’s spirit of continuity of mission, Dr K Sivan helmed the affairs of ISRO when Chandrayaan-2 made landing effort on the challenging South Pole of Moon. When Chandrayaan-3 lifted off from Sriharikota, and as Dr S Somanath congratulated his team for the stupendous achievement, Dr K Radhakrishnan and Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Science and Technology, watched with pride.

 

This speaks a lot about ISRO’s collective commitment to Indian national objectives and the rich culture of building on the legacy of successive leadership in the organisation. If Chandrayaan-I was a springboard for ISRO, Chandrayaan-2 was a step further. Chandrayaan-3 takes India further ahead on trajectory of being second to none. Chandrayaan-I had enabled detection of water molecules on lunar surface, which was a significant discovery. Chandrayaan-2 also made Indians proud because ISRO scientists had revised scope of Chandrayaan-2 to include Indian Lander and Rover modules. Indigenous component has matured further in Chandrayaan-3. Given the significance of the lift-off of Chandrayaan-3, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi took out time from his busy schedule in France and hailed the achievement as a new beginning in India’s space odyssey and congratulated ISRO scientists for their relentless dedication. Now begins the wait for August 23, when Chandrayaan-3 is expected to do a soft-landing on South Pole of the Moon. It has three major objectives to serve including demonstration of safe and soft landing on lunar surface, demonstrate Rover operations there, and conduct on-site experiments. Every Indian is confident that Chandrayaan-3 will successfully meet these goals. For, this is time for India’s rise to become an active participant, and not a passive spectator in the process of exploring Moon as a gateway to deep space and as an extended continent of Earth. This is India’s Moonshot!