Gauhar Raza
The Chandrayaan-1 campaign of the year 2008 was initially said to be unsuccessful, but later Chandrayaan-1 had a major contribution in confirming the process of continuous formation and evaporation of water on the Moon. The evidence of water in the rocks brought from the moon was being found since a long time. Confirming this was a great contribution to the entire humanity and the world of science. The presence of water in space is very important. This makes it possible to have life around it. Although it has been confirmed that this is not possible on the moon, but the great achievement of this discovery was that if there is a good amount of water in space, then hydrogen and oxygen can be used to go forward or return to space. Can be broken down to make fuel. That’s why water is still being discovered on the moon. Some people believe that water can exist like ice in those caves and pits on the moon, where the sun’s rays do not reach, that is, the achievement of Chandrayaan-1 was the confirmation of water.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission is called a failure, but as a scientist I do not believe so. There is no such thing as failure in science. We move towards the next rung of the ladder by learning. Chandrayaan-3 is a new step in that direction. The objectives of this campaign are the same as those of the previous campaign, that is, to see the atmosphere of the moon, to study the seismic activities happening there and to find out the possible mineral substances there. In such a situation, it becomes part of a global campaign, in which efforts are being made to find out whether such minerals can be used by bringing them from the moon, which are lacking on the earth. However, in addition to such objectives, a major objective in any such campaign is to demonstrate its technical capability. The first achievement is achieved only by reaching the moon. The second achievement will be soft landing, so that after landing on the moon, information can be collected using instruments. Making a soft landing on the moon and landing a rover on the surface will be a new kind of achievement in India’s space history.
India took initial steps in the world of space science in the 50s and 60s of the last century. Today we have come a long way. Today especially India’s two launch vehicles, PSLV and GSLV, are very reliable. Two things are important in this. Science is not something to be hidden. Mistakes happen and we move forward by learning from them. Even today, according to the percentage of successful launches, India’s performance is the best in the world. More than 90 percent of our launches have been successful. In the initial phase, the rate of failure of the campaigns of America and the former Soviet Union was high. Then they were learning and India also moved forward by climbing on their shoulders. In today’s time, India’s expertise on launch vehicles is highly respected. One of the major reasons for this is that India also launches at a lower cost than others and the chances of its success are also more.
India also makes both liquid and solid fuel for these vehicles. Carrying a large number of small satellites in the space sector and keeping them in the right orbit is considered a difficult technique. Similarly, keeping heavy satellites in the right orbit is also considered a different kind of skill. India has mastered both the techniques. Such campaigns of sending satellites go on, but now India’s next biggest campaign is the human campaign. It is expected that by the end of this year its preparations will be completed and India will soon be able to send humans into space. It will prove to be a major milestone in India’s space history. However, China has gone ahead of India in this matter and it is continuously sending humans into space. India should also learn from China, because there is no enmity in science.
There is a lot of talk about economic opportunities in the field of space science. It is estimated that the size of the global space economy will reach one trillion dollars in the coming years, but it is important to understand that it is difficult to innovate without a basic understanding of science. Without understanding force, speed, velocity, and momentum, neither a bicycle, nor a motor, nor a rocket can be made. Actually, when we learn science, we can also understand the technological progress happening in other countries. They understand our point of view, we also understand their point of view. For example, in a country like Afghanistan, people cannot understand what is being talked about when space science is discussed. There has been a strong science-oriented community in India, which can understand science and move forward. The benefits of space science start from here, but I believe that we should not talk about immediate benefits all the time. If science is mastered, then profit comes automatically.
Today India’s participation in the global space economy is said to be between two to three percent. In the year 2020, it was 2.1 percent or 9.6 billion US dollars. It is very less compared to China. Last year, China carried out about three launches per month. Five launches took place in India last year. In such a situation, India has a long way to go to earn from the skills it has acquired in space science, but India’s credibility is increasing in the world, because there are very few competing countries in the field of space science. India will have to accelerate the capacity of space missions. And, without paying attention to the study of basic science, efficiency cannot increase. ISRO should now come out of big achievements and emphasize on science. One way for this is to connect more and more educational institutions with space science research.
(based on conversation)
(These are the personal views of the author)
