Exploring the vast reaches of outer space has been a dream and a mission for many people in the world. This exploration turned into heated competition mainly by two countries to prove their scientific mettle and power – the United States of America and the Soviet Union, during the famed Space Race in the 20th century.
Although Indian scientists have been working on various theories in astronomy since the establishment of the Indus Valley civilization, India joined the space research activities when Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was founded in 1962. The mission to go to space was intensified when the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was established in 1969.
The massive developments made by ISRO in space research in these five decades have been inspiring not only for the space enthusiasts but also for various space organizations across the globe. The initial years were focussed on launching satellites and building PSLVs (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles) before planning the missions to reach the Moon. This logical progression of pursuits in space research is truly a reflection of the mindset of the brilliant brains at work. The necessary tasks, such as establishing independent satellites for communication and security, were undertaken in the beginning before moving on to the ambitious missions of extraterrestrial exploration. This leads to a fundamental question that has been debated for a long time now.
The Necessity
Are we not satisfied with what we possess? Do we have to spend millions knowing about what we do not have? These questions have boggled the minds of immature people like me and many informed people all over the world!
Although this debate is not the main focus of this post, it does help answer some basic questions about the objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 mission. A letter asking similar questions reached one of the top rocket scientists at NASA, Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger. I feel it is best to cite excerpts from his response (published by NASA titled “Why explore space?”) to that letter to try and justify the need for space exploration while in the process unashamedly bringing to fore my own inexperienced thoughts on the same.
- “large areas of land could be utilized far better if efficient methods of watershed control, fertilizer use, weather forecasting, fertility assessment, plantation programming, field selection, planting habits, timing of cultivation, crop survey and harvest planning were
applied. The best tool for the improvement of all these functions, undoubtedly, is the artificial earth satellite.”
This was Stuhlinger’s response to the question of ignoring hunger and poverty while funding space exploration. It scientifically addresses these concerns and beautifully encapsulates how space research could contribute to solving the problem of world hunger in other ways.
- “significant progress in the solutions of technical problems is frequently made not by a direct approach, but by first setting a goal of high challenge which offers a strong motivation for innovative work, which fires the imagination and spurs men to expend their best efforts, and which acts as a catalyst by including chains of other reactions.”
When asked about why scientists should work on technology for outer space instead of developing technologies that help improve activities on Earth, Stuhlinger responded by explaining that the advent of building technologies for space exploration will lead to possible inventions in various areas that are inspired from techniques used in the space model.
- “Besides the need for new technologies, there is a continuing great need for new basic knowledge in the sciences if we wish to improve the conditions of human life on earth.”
If we have to gain knowledge in the various streams of science and technology, we have to work towards exploring unknown matter and areas – space being a significant contributor to both. This letter, while answering many vital questions, also indirectly explains the objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 mission.
The Mission
In the year 1999, scientists and leaders of the nation discussed India’s mission to the Moon at the Indian Academy of Sciences, and this mission was consolidated in the year 2000 at the Astronautical Society of India. After its approval in 2003, the objectives of the mission were laid out, which included the three-dimensional mapping of the lunar surface and finding locations of important chemical elements.
Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, and after various periodic changes in the orbit, it landed on the lunar surface on November 14, 2008. It performed multiple tasks such as mapping of minerals, acquiring high-resolution images of the lunar surface and many more before it lost contact with the Earth on August 28, 2009. Although the mission was shortened to 10 months instead of the expected 2-year timeline, it was declared successful since it managed to accomplish 95% of the initial goals that were set.
Interestingly, there was another race to discovery during the Chandrayaan-1 mission. There were two probes onboard Chandrayaan-1, NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) and ISRO’s Moon Impact Probe (MIP). On September 24, 2009, the Science journal announced that M3 had
discovered ice on the lunar surface. A day later, ISRO clarified that the presence of water on the lunar surface was detected by the MIP almost 3 months before M3. This fascinating turn of events affirmed the ability and potential of the Indian space research program. The discovery of water on the lunar surface is usually cited as the most impactful achievement of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, and rightly so.
The Impact
A space mission, or any mission for that matter, is often judged by the number of targets it accomplished. Chandrayaan-1 succeeded in being awarded the status of a successful mission in terms of these metrics, but it had a much more significant impact that is often not deemed valuable by those who are solely result oriented.
Chandrayaan-1 marked the onset of space missions in India, which were truly globally significant. It was the main inspiration behind other space missions carried out by ISRO, such as Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan-2. The success of Chandrayaan-1 was also the fact that people around the world began noticing the efficiency of Indian space missions, both in terms of financial cost and their timeline. It facilitated the space missions of the future and must have certainly added a lot of confidence to the ambitions of the great minds working at ISRO.
On a personal level, Chandrayaan-1 inspired an entire bunch of young kids like me, who witnessed the tricolour being hoisted on the Moon on a Children’s Day event in school. I still remember feeling a rush of adrenaline watching the photo of the tricolour on the Moon, a sense of pride, which was otherwise reserved for a nail-biting win for the Indian cricket team! Even though my friends and I understood very little of what the mission accomplished, the success of Chandrayaan-1 got us interested in studying science and understanding space as 10-year-old amateurs.
When I saw my brother staying awake to watch the landing of the Chandrayaan-2 lander, I felt a similar sense of pride in him while he watched the lander’s trajectory approaching the Moon. Although communication with the lander was lost after it landed, the mission had already communicated its message loud and clear. It was the message to keep trying new ideas and developing an interest in science and technology – to help create a better world; however cliched it may sound.
Chandrayaan-1 managed to accomplish all this while additionally shouldering the responsibility of being India’s first mission to the Moon. It has definitely boosted India’s scientific ethos and also created a larger space in India for ideas to explore the far-reaching extent of outer space.
References
- Indian Space Research Organization. CHANDRAYAAN, India’s First Lunar Exploration Mission. Retrieved from <https://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c11-chandrayaan-1 >
- Ethan Seigel. (2017, October 26). Why Exploring Space And Investing In Research Is Non-Negotiable. Retrieved from <https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/10/26/even-while-the-world-suffers-i nvesting-in-science-is-non-negotiable/#15ab78731647 >
- Ernst Stuhlinger. (Original letter : 1970, May 6, Archived : 2012, August 6). Why Explore Space? Retrieved from <http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/08/why-explore-space.html >
- Datta, Jayati; Chakravarty, S. C. (2019. August 16) “Chandrayaan-1 India’s First Mission to Moon”
- Economic Times.(2008, October 15. Retrieved: 2008, October 30) “Looking beyond Chandrayaan-1”
- Shikha Goyal. (2019, July 15) ISRO’s Space Programme: Timeline from 1960s to 2019. Retrieved from <https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/isros-space-program-timeline-1562938 305-1 >
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