By Sushil Kutty
Just after 6 pm, August 23, Chandrayaan-3 landed on the moon. ISRO — the Indian Space Research Organization — erupted in cheers. Vikram-lander and a rover called Pragyan were deposited on the lunar surface. India was only the fourth country to be on the moon, and the first on the particular spot on the lunar surface on the far side of the moon. Future generations of Indians, nay the world, will profit from the landing. It is the politicians who disappoint, squabbling over bragging rights. The Congress says India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru started the whole shebang and should get the credit. Supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi say “Modi hai toh mumkin hai”.
The point to note is with rising long-term memory loss, Nehru is forgotten and Modi has to be constantly reminded that there was history before 2014. That said, in their Nehruvian zeal, the Congress forgets that Nehru passed away in 1964 and ISRO was set up only in 1969. The fight for who takes the credit for Chandrayaan-3 and India on the moon has spilled over to social media, too. Everybody who is nothing is on his or her timeline.
Certainly, India’s space scientists have earned their bragging rights but not politicians. The only jarring note is a bunch of ‘Tamils’ claiming domination in space engineering compared to other Indians. For them “Vaye moodu Anna”, meaning “shut your mouth, big bro”. The Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon was too big for any single entity to claim ownership and the ISRO control room was speaking in one voice.
Besides, Planet Earth owns the moon. The United States, Russia and China also took their lunar craft to the moon before Chandrayaan, but that did not give them any more proprietary rights than India. The fact remains that Chandrayaan-3 on the moon was India’s day out in Outer Space. Something to be proud of. For young Indians, hereafter the moon is not the limit. There is an entire galaxy and beyond the Milky Way other more far-flung galaxies.
For now, ISRO is settling for a closer look at our own Sun and the solar system. The New York Times, which lampooned India for the failed Chandrayaan-2 mission was this time celebrating India’s breakthrough entry into the global space club. Clearly, there is nothing like success to shut up naysayers and make a breakthrough sound real. India is now in the big league, right at the top of it — in the cutthroat world of space engineering and space travel.
That too at cut-rate prices, with the secret safe in ISRO’s hands. India will continue to have the cutting edge — as if ISRO chairman Somanath’s name translating to ‘Lord of the Moon’ wasn’t enough. That being said, the world’s eyes are on Chandrayaan-3. Imagine Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover let loose on the lunar surface, looking for the secrets of the moon. Chandrayaan-1 found evidence of “water” on the moon and Chandrayaan-2 was to get to the bottom of it.
But Chandrayaan-2 broke contact and it is now up to Chandrayaan-3 to break the news to the world — India is destined to be the one and only ‘Lunar Lady’ for all-time. With the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission, India is eyeing lunar and solar glory and India’s space programme is the talk of the space-town. Imagine India on the desolate moonscape — Pragyan Rover probing for water, frozen to the core and stuck in the deep crevasses.
The possibilities are immense. Vast enough to lose oneself in endless space without moving from the chair. India’s youth are the ultimate beneficiaries of ISRO’s grand vista and politicians should zip up if they cannot take the success like the normal citizens of India do. Make no mistake, the Modi regime will try every trick of the politician’s trade to take advantage of the superlative performance of ISRO and Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah must already be calculating the political dividends but it is for the electorate not to fall for the trap.
The Chandrayaan missions are the crowning glory of India’s space programme. ISRO’s scientists and engineers are people who work on shoe-string budgets for sorry salaries. Elon Musk, the world’ richest man and space entrepreneur, will part with half his total billions for anybody who would smuggle ISRO’s cutrate secrets to him. For the life of ‘X’, Musk’s greatest fear is of ISRO scientists beating ‘X’ scientists to become the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. (IPA )
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