"Curtains for Chandrayaan-I after all contact is broken." Thus reads the opening heading of the Bangalore edition of the Sunday Times. But a little probing shows the second headline beneath: "Most of the objectives were met, say scientists". Indeed, Chandrayaan-I has been a giant leap for India, and it has not only brought pride to ISRO and the Nation, but has also catapulted India into the elite group that has sent spacecraft to Earth's only natural satellite.
Some may argue that whether a poor country like India should spend so much on space technology; but only if India utilizes such opportunities will it be able to stand on a par with developed countries and extricate itself out of poverty.
No one should expect such missions to be a hundred percent success. Failures are as likely as possible successes; and indeed, successful people and organisations do learn from such mistakes. So, the end of India's first lunar mission is the beginning of a new journey in the path of technological excellence. It is possible that some people (especially the middle class) may be unduly bothered by this incident; but such worries are unfounded.
So, from my side, I am expecting the next mission to the Moon from India. Keep up the good work, ISRO!
Some may argue that whether a poor country like India should spend so much on space technology; but only if India utilizes such opportunities will it be able to stand on a par with developed countries and extricate itself out of poverty.
No one should expect such missions to be a hundred percent success. Failures are as likely as possible successes; and indeed, successful people and organisations do learn from such mistakes. So, the end of India's first lunar mission is the beginning of a new journey in the path of technological excellence. It is possible that some people (especially the middle class) may be unduly bothered by this incident; but such worries are unfounded.
So, from my side, I am expecting the next mission to the Moon from India. Keep up the good work, ISRO!
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Outer space research is much more complicated, as compared to putting satellites....ISRO's acievement has been phenomenal, to say the least, and this is a good learning experience for them. Let's hope for the best from the next Moon mission. As always, costs should be kept in mind!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, Ashwin.
ReplyDeleteSomeone named Vivek Krishnan asked his Particloe Physics Professor, "Sir, why do we spend billions of dollars on developing a Large Hadron Collider when over 2 billion people of the earth are hungry?" to which the Prof replied, "Because, even if you spend the billions on them, they wud still be hungry!"
ReplyDelete(In reply to Ajay) :)
ReplyDelete