Spending Rs 450 crore on Mangalyaan is a small sum for national pride: K Radhakrishnan
As India applauded, our nation's maiden mission to Mars, Mangalyaan, took off. K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), spoke withPallava Bagla, discussing the major aims powering India's trip to the Red Planet, why this mission was put together in a record 15 months, whether India is now competing in an Asian space race - and India's trip to Mars being accomplished on a tight budget of Rs 450 crore:
Please tell us the main reasons why India is journeying to Mars?
Well, Mars has an important role in understanding the origin of life on earth. Mars is also a planet that shares several similarities with earth - so, an exploration of Mars is very important for the country and for humanity.
This Indian mission to Mars is a historical necessity. After having helped find water on the moon through Chandrayaan-1, looking for a sign of life on Mars is a natural progression.
This Mars mission is a major technological challenge - but like Chandrayaan-1, it's excited the younger generation. That mission gave a sense of national pride that India can do it. Mars is certainly going to give that kind of electrifying effect also to the people and the younger generation now.
Spending Rs 450 crore is a small amount for getting that kind of feeling for this country.
Why did you have to speed up the making of the Mars satellite within 15 months?
When you talk about any mission to Mars, you've got to do it in a slot where the distance between earth and Mars will be minimum - this opportunity came in 2013. If you missed that chance, you'd get it again only after 26 months, in 2016. So, that timing was one consideration.
In December 2011, we had the first approval from the Space Commission. The prime minister then announced this historic mission of India on August 15, 2012. We moved into fast-track work then in order to realize this target.
Some suggest India's fast-tracked Mangalyaan because we are in an Asian space race, particularly against China and Japan now - is that true?
We are not in any race with anybody - but we have our own targets. We are in a race with ourselves. We have our own priorities for the country.
We are driven by ourselves on this and the deadline was ours.
Speaking of ours, how much of this satellite is indigenous? Are some components imported?
There will be a few components which are imported from outside. But I should say that the entire design and building of the satellite as well as the satellite's testing, all of this was done in India, while we got some electronic components from outside.
The level of technology that has gone into this spacecraft, especially the autonomy that has been built into this, is excellent. India is now demonstrating its capability to undertake inter-planetary travel with end-to-end technological prowess in space.
This is an Isro baby and we are satisfied as of now. We do have a long way to go. We have to take Mangalyaan to the Martian orbit. The spin-off of this project would be useful tomorrow for our own communication satellites.
Mission to Mars: Success of Mangalyaan objectives would place Isro in a different orbit
Completing the first stage of what is expected to be a long and arduous mission, the successful launch of Mangalyaan - India's first probe to Mars - is encouraging. The launch provisionally catapults India into an elite club comprising the US, the erstwhile Soviet Union and the European Space Agency. Should Mangalyaan successfully reach Mars, India would become the first Asian nation to make it to the red planet - earlier attempts by China and Japan having failed. Over the next 300 days, the 1,350 kg craft carrying five instruments to study the Martian surface should chart a steady course towards its destination if all goes well.
There's no denying the Mangalyaan launch exemplifies a creative blend of Indian scientific ingenuity and frugal engineering. That the launch was achieved within 15 months of government approval and on a shoestring budget of just Rs 450 crore bears testimony to the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro's) ambition. It's noteworthy that the Mars probe had to be launched using a modified PSLV launch vehicle instead of the high-performing GSLV rocket, which is yet to achieve a reliable launch record. This is not ideal. But it will highlight Isro's ability to make do with available technology if the mission succeeds.
It's this aspect of the Indian space programme that can be commercially exploited on a large scale. Thanks to its growing reputation, Isro is looking to secure satellite launch contracts from several countries including Germany, Canada, France and Indonesia. And with Nasa and other foreign space agencies increasingly looking to outsource space missions to rein in profligacy, Isro could compete for these multibillion-dollar contracts. This in turn would lead to the creation of a vibrant Indian space industry, generating a large number of skilled jobs.
It's good that Isro has demonstrated ambition at a time when a large number of Indian institutions, including political ones, are oriented towards mediocrity. Clearly, there's a lot riding on this mission. If it succeeds it will serve as a technology demonstrator, boosting Brand India as a whole at a time when the latter has taken some hard knocks. Meanwhile, Mangalyaan's on-board instruments are programmed to search for traces of methane and water on Mars. Should such finds be confirmed, they would provide a huge boost to Mars missions all over the world. Here's wishing Mangalyaan all the very best.
As India applauded, our nation's maiden mission to Mars, Mangalyaan, took off. K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), spoke withPallava Bagla, discussing the major aims powering India's trip to the Red Planet, why this mission was put together in a record 15 months, whether India is now competing in an Asian space race - and India's trip to Mars being accomplished on a tight budget of Rs 450 crore:
Please tell us the main reasons why India is journeying to Mars?
Well, Mars has an important role in understanding the origin of life on earth. Mars is also a planet that shares several similarities with earth - so, an exploration of Mars is very important for the country and for humanity.
This Indian mission to Mars is a historical necessity. After having helped find water on the moon through Chandrayaan-1, looking for a sign of life on Mars is a natural progression.
This Mars mission is a major technological challenge - but like Chandrayaan-1, it's excited the younger generation. That mission gave a sense of national pride that India can do it. Mars is certainly going to give that kind of electrifying effect also to the people and the younger generation now.
Spending Rs 450 crore is a small amount for getting that kind of feeling for this country.
Why did you have to speed up the making of the Mars satellite within 15 months?
When you talk about any mission to Mars, you've got to do it in a slot where the distance between earth and Mars will be minimum - this opportunity came in 2013. If you missed that chance, you'd get it again only after 26 months, in 2016. So, that timing was one consideration.
In December 2011, we had the first approval from the Space Commission. The prime minister then announced this historic mission of India on August 15, 2012. We moved into fast-track work then in order to realize this target.
Some suggest India's fast-tracked Mangalyaan because we are in an Asian space race, particularly against China and Japan now - is that true?
We are not in any race with anybody - but we have our own targets. We are in a race with ourselves. We have our own priorities for the country.
We are driven by ourselves on this and the deadline was ours.
Speaking of ours, how much of this satellite is indigenous? Are some components imported?
There will be a few components which are imported from outside. But I should say that the entire design and building of the satellite as well as the satellite's testing, all of this was done in India, while we got some electronic components from outside.
The level of technology that has gone into this spacecraft, especially the autonomy that has been built into this, is excellent. India is now demonstrating its capability to undertake inter-planetary travel with end-to-end technological prowess in space.
This is an Isro baby and we are satisfied as of now. We do have a long way to go. We have to take Mangalyaan to the Martian orbit. The spin-off of this project would be useful tomorrow for our own communication satellites.
Mission to Mars: Success of Mangalyaan objectives would place Isro in a different orbit
Completing the first stage of what is expected to be a long and arduous mission, the successful launch of Mangalyaan - India's first probe to Mars - is encouraging. The launch provisionally catapults India into an elite club comprising the US, the erstwhile Soviet Union and the European Space Agency. Should Mangalyaan successfully reach Mars, India would become the first Asian nation to make it to the red planet - earlier attempts by China and Japan having failed. Over the next 300 days, the 1,350 kg craft carrying five instruments to study the Martian surface should chart a steady course towards its destination if all goes well.
There's no denying the Mangalyaan launch exemplifies a creative blend of Indian scientific ingenuity and frugal engineering. That the launch was achieved within 15 months of government approval and on a shoestring budget of just Rs 450 crore bears testimony to the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro's) ambition. It's noteworthy that the Mars probe had to be launched using a modified PSLV launch vehicle instead of the high-performing GSLV rocket, which is yet to achieve a reliable launch record. This is not ideal. But it will highlight Isro's ability to make do with available technology if the mission succeeds.
It's this aspect of the Indian space programme that can be commercially exploited on a large scale. Thanks to its growing reputation, Isro is looking to secure satellite launch contracts from several countries including Germany, Canada, France and Indonesia. And with Nasa and other foreign space agencies increasingly looking to outsource space missions to rein in profligacy, Isro could compete for these multibillion-dollar contracts. This in turn would lead to the creation of a vibrant Indian space industry, generating a large number of skilled jobs.
It's good that Isro has demonstrated ambition at a time when a large number of Indian institutions, including political ones, are oriented towards mediocrity. Clearly, there's a lot riding on this mission. If it succeeds it will serve as a technology demonstrator, boosting Brand India as a whole at a time when the latter has taken some hard knocks. Meanwhile, Mangalyaan's on-board instruments are programmed to search for traces of methane and water on Mars. Should such finds be confirmed, they would provide a huge boost to Mars missions all over the world. Here's wishing Mangalyaan all the very best.
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