(Quiz master Phanindra Ivatury, an Indian national now residing in the Netherlands, shares his thoughts on the proud achievement of Chandrayaan-3 moon mission and how it can benefit India further and the whole of Southeast Asia)
UTRECHT: On the auspicious occasion of “Rakshabandhan”, an Indian middle year festival which signifies and celebrates the brother-sister bond, a select bunch of Indian school girls gathered at a joyous event planned in New Delhi recently, where they were specially invited to tie ‘Rakhi’ (a sacred thread) on the hand of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguably the ‘global man of the hour’ after guiding his nation occupy a rare ‘place on the moon’ on the 23rd of August 2023.
In an interactive session with the future female force of India, the Prime Minister was in his element, full of wit and wisdom. When a little munchkin came up with a cuteness overloaded compliment for him in Hindi stating “we reached the moon because of you”, the Premier was quick in correcting her with an affectionate reply “we reached the moon because of our scientists”.
The elite scientist list contributing to Chandrayaan-3’s success belongs to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed in the year 1969. Previously, it was called Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) set up by the Government of India in 1962 as envisioned by eminent Indian Physicist and Astronomer, Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai.
Ever since, with its base Headquarters in Bangalore, India, ISRO has become the spearhead to the nation’s space technology needs while also being a major constituent of the Department of Space (DOS), Government of India.
With established major space systems for communication, television broadcasting and meteorological services, resources monitoring and management, space based navigation services alongside developed satellite launch vehicles PSLV and GSLV (needed to place the satellites in the required orbits), ISRO has its hands full, fulfilling its key functionalities.
With its services and activities spread through various centres across India, ISRO also contributes to science and its related education in the country.
The Chandrayaan-3 Mission, its Greatness and Objectives:
By landing on the southern polar region of the moon through a lander named ‘Vikram’ and a rover named ‘Pragyan’, India became the first ever world country to reach this specific part of the lunar surface in one piece. India is also the fourth country to ever land on the moon.
The three main “Objectives” of the Chandrayaan-3 mission as listed out by ISRO are (1) to demonstrate Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface (2) to demonstrate Rover roving on the moon and (3) to conduct in-situ scientific experiments
Scientific Payloads:
Both Lander-Vikram and Rover-Pragyan have scientific payloads to carry out experiments on the Lunar Surface.
Lander’s payload includes Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure the thermal conductivity and temperature; Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) for measuring the seismicity around the landing site; Langmuir Probe (LP) to estimate the plasma density and its variations. A passive Laser Retroreflector Array from NASA is accommodated for lunar laser ranging studies.
Rover’s payload includes Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for deriving the elemental composition in the vicinity of the landing site.
India’s Giant Leap:
‘This is the declaration of India’s scientific potential in infinite space’, said Prime Minister Modi describing Chandrayaan-3’s success in his address to Team ISRO post the achievement. Extracts from the English rendering of his address also highlighted India’s journey from being one among the third world countries of the past standing in the ‘third row’ to becoming the fifth largest economy of the world, on how from trade to technology, India is among the countries standing in the ‘first row’.
The Prime Minister opined that Institutions like ISRO played a major role in this journey from ‘third row’ to ‘first row’, having taken the ‘Make in India’ concept to the Moon.
ISRO and the South East Asian Factor
Chandrayaan-3’s breakthrough gains historic significance not just from an Indian perspective but also contributes to the whole of Southeast Asia, a sub-region of the world’s largest geographical continent.
New York Times acknowledged the milestone achievement saying it “may be even sweeter, as it comes at a particularly important moment in the South Asian giant’s diplomatic push as an ambitious power on the rise”
Space faring nations around the world look up to India as a rising space power role model, engaged in accomplishing its goals in a more cost effective and time efficient manner. Chandrayaan-3’s success reiterates and underlines that trust.
ISRO is firmly in the forefront extending science partnerships beyond Indian shores into many continents and regions including South East Asia.
Aiming to build and strengthen existing ties between countries, taking up new scientific and technological challenges, refining space policies and defining international frameworks for exploitation and utilisation of outer space for peaceful purposes, ISRO enters into formal cooperative arrangements with nations through Agreements or Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) or Framework Arrangements.
In the context of Southeast Asia, current benefitting partner nations include Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Developing economies from the above list look up for India’s help in building up their competencies to derive benefits of space technology.
South Asia Satellite:
Back in 2017, the scientific capabilities of ISRO formed the core in cultivating regional diplomacy and cooperation to another region of Asia, when India launched a Geostationary Communication satellite (GSAT-9), popularly known as the “South Asia Satellite” with the primary objective of providing space-enabled services in Ku-band to some of its other South Asian neighbours.
The idea to equip South Asia with its own dedicated satellite was first mooted by India at the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit of 2014, the 18th in the grouping’s historical existence.
An Enriching Space Partnership with ASEAN Countries:
India’s inclination towards nurturing space partnerships with countries comprising ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) became distinctly evident in 2021 when it started work on establishing a ground station in Vietnam intended to provide a reliable operational space based system for remote sensing over the ASEAN countries including Malaysia.
More recently, after forging prolific ties in the fields of science, technology and innovation and converging into a benefitting space partnership in 2022, India and Singapore achieved a new milestone with the launch of seven Singaporean satellites by ISRO.
Of the seven, the primary radar imaging earth observation satellite DS-SAR would be allowed to provide for all weather day and night coverage by ISRO.
India’s Space Sector Reforms and Neighbourhood Diplomacy:
Going back to the Indian Prime Minister’s concluding lines in his address to ISRO post Chandrayaan-3, he mentioned that experts believe that in the next few years, the Indian space industry will increase from $8 billion to $16 billion. Another amazing stat quoted highlights the number of Indian startups working in the space sector which have gone up from 4 to around 150, indicating a super surge in India’s space dynamism for times to come.
Chandrayaan-3’s successful launch boldly announces India’s moment of arrival onto global space which augurs so very well for its South and South East Asian neighbours, especially those engaged in space technology partnerships with the adept ISRO as its satellites can provide a plethora of profiting space related applications and services for a foreseeable future. – BERNAMA
