Excelsior Correspondent
BENGALURU, Sept 23: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, MoS in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh reached Peenya, Bengaluru in advance today on the eve of historic launching of Mars Orbiter Mission “Mangalyaan” from Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Telemetry Centre early tomorrow morning in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Describing the unique significance of the event, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also MoS Space, said that Mars inspires the human imagination like no other planet does because the conditions on Mars appear to be similar to planet Earth in many ways. For ages, human beings have speculated life on Mars, he said and added, “Mangalyaan” inspires the vision of another human world in the Universe.
Expressing satisfaction and delight, Dr Jitendra Singh said that with this Mission, India will become the first Asian nation to reach Mars. It’s a matter of pride, he observed, adding that this will be the second landmark achievement of Department of Space after the taking over of Narendra Modi Government three months ago, the first one being the PSLV-23 launch of commercial satellites from Sriharikota on June 30.
Earlier, on telephone, Chairman Space Commission and Secretary Department of Space, Dr K. Radhakrishnan officially conveyed to Dr Jitendra Singh that the Mars Orbiter Satellite which has been on an arduous nine months long journey to Red planet, cleared the crucial test yesterday, when the main rocket engine of the satellite was successfully test fired. All commands have been uploaded and the satellite will now perform the task automatically, said Dr Radhakrishnan and elaborated that the ‘Mangalyaan’ is laced with eight small rockets and one big rocket. After cruise for nearly nine months, the space craft is now ready for insertion into Mars Orbit, he added.
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