No Indian is going to talk, view or feel about Mars the same after Sept 24th 2014. For the rest of the world it may just be another planet in our solar system but to us, Indians, it now has a whole new significance; thanks to the Indian Space Research Organization, India has created history! We have become the first country in the world to put a satellite around Mars in its maiden attempt! And with that the country not only created glorious records but also made a giant, assertive leap into global space exploration. To realize how amazing this actually is, let us get some perspective.
Take a look at the pictures below:
Before someone jumps the gun, I have not included these pictures to convey that the first Indian satellite was transported on bullock cart because our scientists did not have the resources to get a better transportation as the popular story over the internet goes. To quote from the article "'We didn't realize what a fuss that photo would make,' said S Krishnamurthi, the press spokesman at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), at their futuristic, moon-grey headquarters in Bangalore, south India. 'Of course, we didn't need to use a bullock cart. We have padded, air-conditioned transport lorries, but the metal was throwing off reflections which were affecting the satellite's antenna. Then somebody hit on the idea of a bullock cart, which is made of wood. It worked perfectly.'" Although it is also important to note that ISRO has always operated under tight budget.
These pictures demonstrate an invaluable Indian trait - "Ingenuity". The scientists had a problem: The metal from the lorries was affecting the satellite's antenna. The solution: Use a bullock cart! Can you imagine this solution as a working prototype anywhere else in the world but India? How do you think the Americans, French or the Russians might have solved this? Don't bother. Neither did our scientists. They innovated a solution that was quick to implement, extremely inexpensive and most importantly, it got the job done!
The Mangalyaan is the biggest slingshot ever by humans! We do not have as powerful a rocket as Americans or Russians (not yet, but soon we might!) to put us on a direct path to Mars. No problem, we used the earth's gravity to get the job done. This trajectory that the Mangalyaan took to Mars is, needless to say, mastered by or as our PM said even "known" to few. Check out this cool video to get the idea:
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has a budget of $74 mn. This is the most inexpensive (not cheap!) inter-planetary mission ever to have been undertaken by mankind and rest assured that this record will be quite hard to break. I am not an avid fan of making comparisons but I see quite few people who make it a point to downplay MOM with respect to MAVEN. Both of the missions are completely different and no rational comparison can be or should be made. But just to address the cost part to put things into a little perspective, forget reaching Mars, the cost to get MAVEN off the ground ($187 mn) was more than twice the cost of the whole MOM mission. Now if you are not impressed by that, I am not sure what tingles you.
5 Surprising Things That Cost More Than India's Historic Mission To Mars
Look at it this way: When a country that does not have its own launching capabilities is making a decision to put up its satellite into orbit, it cares about two things - cost and reliability. And ISRO has proven effective at both. It has already been an active player in commercial satellite launch domain. Just a few months back ISRO placed five foreign satellites in orbit . Success of MOM boosts ISRO's reliability in executing much simpler missions. If the new kid in class can solve integrals then he surely can handle basic algebra! Now consider size of global space economy; its more than $300 bn. Think how much of that business can ISRO facilitate at a fraction of the cost of other competitors. MOM will help ISRO capture much more of that market. This is one of the reasons why the western media went berserk when the Indian mission was launched (more on that later).
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." -Mahatma Gandhi.
Remember that point in your life where many people did not believe in you? And such people existed every where: amongst friends, relatives and neighbors. They questioned you for doing something that you were really passionate about only because they thought that you are not worthy of doing it and that you should worry of problems that "they" deem fit for you? And you any did it anyway? ISRO has a similar story. As soon as the PSLV was launched there were a series of articles published that were not only crude and racists, but down right insulting. Surprisingly many came from well established media houses. See this for example: How can poor countries afford space programmes?
Or this, which was published in the New York Times recently, after the launch:
The New York Times
Am I supposed laugh at that? What exactly is so funny here?
These are signs that the west still finds it hard to come to terms with the fact that someone other than "them" can actually do it (and in this case do it better!). The Mars Orbital Mission does not fit into the "Slumdog Millionaire" or "Land of Snake Charmers" narrative.
Enough on media. The international community has never been very warm either. ISRO has been a target of western sanctions for decades. It was not allowed to access rocket technology even though our space and military programs are distinctly separate. There also have been unsubstantiated claims of malice at play by some foreign intelligence agencies. Since the modus operandi of intelligence agencies by nature is such that these claims will remain "unsubstantiated", I will not discuss more of it.
All of these actions delayed our space program significantly. But today we can proudly say that this whole mission was indigenous, from planning to execution; its "Made In India"! From the length and breath of the country mission components were made and shipped to ISRO. It took some time but we did it and in style!
"Well what is the benefit of this Mission for the common man?" quipped a friend. To this I narrated an anecdote from the life of Micheal Faraday. When Faraday demonstrated electricity for the very first time to an audience, someone "quipped" - "Well what's the use of it?". To this Faraday replied "What's the use of a new born baby?".
The success of MOM marks the beginning of a new chapter; How we shape that chapter is an entirely different story. From increasing India's share of the huge global space industry and bringing in direct economic benefits, to spawning further innovation and space entrepreneurship, the potential is huge. The global space industry is at a very interesting point in time. Private players are re-defining the space paradigm. Here in the US, NASA recently awarded contracts worth $7 bn to Boeing and SpaceX. In the last decade the Indian software prowess has over shadowed other innovations happening within the country. With Mangalyaan we have shown our mastery of extremely complex space technology. Nothing is stopping us from catapulting our space expertise on the global forefront within the next decade.
Think of the wonders this can do to our kids in school. When I was growing up in the 90's if you would have asked any kid on the block - "What do you want to become when you grow up?", more often than not you were likely to get the answer "Sachin!". The reason - Sachin Tendulkar changed the definition of cricket for India. His success in the game made all of us, the kids, to play cricket and try to bat like him. Well MOM has the same potential to get our kids pursue science and technology and not just for the sake of landing a job but because they are passionate about science. Of the thousands that try, we might get our "Sachin" after all! Mangalyaan might be grooming a new generation of "Kalam's" and Kalpana Chawla's"!
So while here on earth some might downplay and scorn India's mission to Mars, to me and to millions and millions more, it is a symbol of excellence despite all hurdles and limited means. It is a symbol of glory and triumph.
Mars will never be the same...
From Humble Beginnings...
Take a look at the pictures below:
Before someone jumps the gun, I have not included these pictures to convey that the first Indian satellite was transported on bullock cart because our scientists did not have the resources to get a better transportation as the popular story over the internet goes. To quote from the article "'We didn't realize what a fuss that photo would make,' said S Krishnamurthi, the press spokesman at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), at their futuristic, moon-grey headquarters in Bangalore, south India. 'Of course, we didn't need to use a bullock cart. We have padded, air-conditioned transport lorries, but the metal was throwing off reflections which were affecting the satellite's antenna. Then somebody hit on the idea of a bullock cart, which is made of wood. It worked perfectly.'" Although it is also important to note that ISRO has always operated under tight budget.
These pictures demonstrate an invaluable Indian trait - "Ingenuity". The scientists had a problem: The metal from the lorries was affecting the satellite's antenna. The solution: Use a bullock cart! Can you imagine this solution as a working prototype anywhere else in the world but India? How do you think the Americans, French or the Russians might have solved this? Don't bother. Neither did our scientists. They innovated a solution that was quick to implement, extremely inexpensive and most importantly, it got the job done!
The Mangalyaan is the biggest slingshot ever by humans! We do not have as powerful a rocket as Americans or Russians (not yet, but soon we might!) to put us on a direct path to Mars. No problem, we used the earth's gravity to get the job done. This trajectory that the Mangalyaan took to Mars is, needless to say, mastered by or as our PM said even "known" to few. Check out this cool video to get the idea:
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has a budget of $74 mn. This is the most inexpensive (not cheap!) inter-planetary mission ever to have been undertaken by mankind and rest assured that this record will be quite hard to break. I am not an avid fan of making comparisons but I see quite few people who make it a point to downplay MOM with respect to MAVEN. Both of the missions are completely different and no rational comparison can be or should be made. But just to address the cost part to put things into a little perspective, forget reaching Mars, the cost to get MAVEN off the ground ($187 mn) was more than twice the cost of the whole MOM mission. Now if you are not impressed by that, I am not sure what tingles you.
5 Surprising Things That Cost More Than India's Historic Mission To Mars
Look at it this way: When a country that does not have its own launching capabilities is making a decision to put up its satellite into orbit, it cares about two things - cost and reliability. And ISRO has proven effective at both. It has already been an active player in commercial satellite launch domain. Just a few months back ISRO placed five foreign satellites in orbit . Success of MOM boosts ISRO's reliability in executing much simpler missions. If the new kid in class can solve integrals then he surely can handle basic algebra! Now consider size of global space economy; its more than $300 bn. Think how much of that business can ISRO facilitate at a fraction of the cost of other competitors. MOM will help ISRO capture much more of that market. This is one of the reasons why the western media went berserk when the Indian mission was launched (more on that later).
Against All Odds...
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." -Mahatma Gandhi.
Remember that point in your life where many people did not believe in you? And such people existed every where: amongst friends, relatives and neighbors. They questioned you for doing something that you were really passionate about only because they thought that you are not worthy of doing it and that you should worry of problems that "they" deem fit for you? And you any did it anyway? ISRO has a similar story. As soon as the PSLV was launched there were a series of articles published that were not only crude and racists, but down right insulting. Surprisingly many came from well established media houses. See this for example: How can poor countries afford space programmes?
Or this, which was published in the New York Times recently, after the launch:
The New York Times
Am I supposed laugh at that? What exactly is so funny here?
These are signs that the west still finds it hard to come to terms with the fact that someone other than "them" can actually do it (and in this case do it better!). The Mars Orbital Mission does not fit into the "Slumdog Millionaire" or "Land of Snake Charmers" narrative.
Enough on media. The international community has never been very warm either. ISRO has been a target of western sanctions for decades. It was not allowed to access rocket technology even though our space and military programs are distinctly separate. There also have been unsubstantiated claims of malice at play by some foreign intelligence agencies. Since the modus operandi of intelligence agencies by nature is such that these claims will remain "unsubstantiated", I will not discuss more of it.
All of these actions delayed our space program significantly. But today we can proudly say that this whole mission was indigenous, from planning to execution; its "Made In India"! From the length and breath of the country mission components were made and shipped to ISRO. It took some time but we did it and in style!
MOM: What it means to India...
"Well what is the benefit of this Mission for the common man?" quipped a friend. To this I narrated an anecdote from the life of Micheal Faraday. When Faraday demonstrated electricity for the very first time to an audience, someone "quipped" - "Well what's the use of it?". To this Faraday replied "What's the use of a new born baby?".
The success of MOM marks the beginning of a new chapter; How we shape that chapter is an entirely different story. From increasing India's share of the huge global space industry and bringing in direct economic benefits, to spawning further innovation and space entrepreneurship, the potential is huge. The global space industry is at a very interesting point in time. Private players are re-defining the space paradigm. Here in the US, NASA recently awarded contracts worth $7 bn to Boeing and SpaceX. In the last decade the Indian software prowess has over shadowed other innovations happening within the country. With Mangalyaan we have shown our mastery of extremely complex space technology. Nothing is stopping us from catapulting our space expertise on the global forefront within the next decade.
Think of the wonders this can do to our kids in school. When I was growing up in the 90's if you would have asked any kid on the block - "What do you want to become when you grow up?", more often than not you were likely to get the answer "Sachin!". The reason - Sachin Tendulkar changed the definition of cricket for India. His success in the game made all of us, the kids, to play cricket and try to bat like him. Well MOM has the same potential to get our kids pursue science and technology and not just for the sake of landing a job but because they are passionate about science. Of the thousands that try, we might get our "Sachin" after all! Mangalyaan might be grooming a new generation of "Kalam's" and Kalpana Chawla's"!
So while here on earth some might downplay and scorn India's mission to Mars, to me and to millions and millions more, it is a symbol of excellence despite all hurdles and limited means. It is a symbol of glory and triumph.
Mars will never be the same...
