INDIA: THE ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ SUCCESS

 

 

 

INDIA: THE ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ n The Hitavada Desk Every Indian leapt up in sheer ecstasy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi controlled his tears away in Johannesburg the moment the ‘Vikram’ Lander of the Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission achieved a poetic, mesmerising and historic soft-landing on near the South Pole on the lunar farside precisely at 6.04 pm. Wordlessly, history recorded this momentous event in its heart for posterity, and bowed to Indian resolve to master the last frontier of science and the universe.

 

Though all had watched with bated breath the iconic event in every home and every possible place on the vast Indian landscape, everybody waited eagerly for S. Somnath, the ever-smiling and dapper Director of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to make the announcement in simple words: ‘We have succeeded in our mission’ to a roaring applause from the assembled scientists and their elders at the Mission Operations Complex at Bengaluru. At that precise time, history also took a pause, nodding in delight though, promising itself to record the fantastically nuanced moment forever. In countless nooks and corners and space laboratories across the world, the global human family applauded -- endorsing India’s theme for its G-20 presidency: One world, one family, one future’ With this touchdown on Moon in second attempt in four years, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and Soviet Union.

 

The Rs 615 crore Chandrayaan-3 Mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near lunar South Pole. The lander and the six-wheeled rover (with total mass of 1,752 kg) are designed to operate for one lunar daylight period (about 14 Earth days). The touch down of the Lander Module came after seemingly endless anxious minutes as the spacecraft navigated the unrelenting and rugged lunar geography and space through on-the-spot corrections of the trajectory and target. With every passing minute, the Lander dropped its velocity and its height and altered its angles with a precision that could astonish the best scientific brains below on the Earth. It was sheer poetry to watch the progress of the Lander Module approach the lunar surface, hover over for a few minutes at Speed Zero and then lowered itself meter-by-meter. The world held its breath. Time also lingered -- as if it may be hours before the touch down could take place. And then, defying all those anxieties, ‘Vikram’ achieved its mission. That moment came almost deceptively, as if. And the world broke loose in tremendous joy ...!