An interesting comment on India's Mars Mission in Business India magazine editorial
Editorial: Business India,
Nov 11-24, 2013
Mars Mission: ISRO Success on a Budget
We congratulate Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the
successful launch of the rocket carrying India’s Mars probe, named Mangalyaan.
Since then, Mangalyaan has undergone three orbit raising missions successfully.
There are three more to go. It is expected to carry out several scientific
experiments from its Martian orbit a year from now. The results of these modest
but clever experiments are expected to enrich our knowledge of Mars.
There is still a long way to go before we declare success of the
whole mission, but as the old adage goes, ‘well begun is half done’. It is all
the more creditable considering that the last Mars mission sent by China and
Russia two years ago failed in Earth’s orbit itself. All the players in space
technology would be closely observing the developments in Mangalyaan. As the
success rate of Mars missions is abysmally low and only 25 of the 42 have
succeeded.
This being the 25th ‘commercial’ flight of India’s
work horse rocket PSLV, international interest is inspired by more than just
scientific curiosity. Hence forth, many developing countries and even some of
the more advanced economies, which do not have a space program of their own,
will examine seriously the possibility of using ISRO’s commercial services in
satellite design and launch. Already international media is hailing ISRO as a
low cost space program and have pointed out that the Mangalyaan cost India a
meagre $73 million, whereas comparable missions have cost others almost ten
times. Indian space program is being characterized internationally as, “Frugal
Engineering” and even “Gandhian Engineering”.
Over the years, Business India has many times examined
the potential of India’s space business and has advocated a more effective
global marketing effort by ISRO.
It is but natural that in an argumentative society like ours,
there are those who come up with absurdities like: “why not build more toilets”
etc. Naturally some in the international media are lapping up the discordant
sound bites. The all-round gains to Indian society and economy through ISRO’s
R&D, to name a few are: enormously improved telecommunication system;
entertainment and electronic media; search and rescue; weather prediction
including disaster management like the recent super cyclone Phailin; better and
safer transportation through satellite navigation; many sided benefits of earth
remote sensing and resource management; military intelligence and so on. Thus this
well worn out debate--‘space technology or butter’, is not worth entering into.
It is to be noted that China is offering the carrot of space
services to countries in India’s neighbourhood, to increase its influence in
the region, while India has not. It is time ISRO offered turn-key services for
communication and remote sensing satellite design and launch facilities in the
neighbourhood with even some free piggy backing arrangements. There should be
more coordination between the PMO, MEA and ISRO in this regard.
While we applaud ISRO’s success in the last five decades heartily,
we should not ignore the challenges. Technologically the most important one is
the development of Cryogenic Engine technology. India has been at it for
exactly two decades without success. That will be the key to create launch
capabilities for heavier satellites, communication satellites as well as manned
space missions. Clearly China is way ahead of us in this respect. Second of
all, even if Mangalyaan is eventually a total success, we do not yet see a clear
statement of intent or vision regarding the exploration of Moon or Mars or
other parts of solar system by ISRO. It all seems piece-meal and ad-hoc,
announced by successive Prime Ministers on August 15, from the ramparts of the
Red Fort.
Though one should abhor a race with China for issues of prestige,
one should clearly understand the commercial and military-strategic advantage
that any nation with space technology holds vis-a-vis
others.
For now, whether Mangalyaan discovers little green men or just
some methane in the Martian atmosphere, let us applaud the thousands of
engineers and scientists of ISRO and wish them success. We owe them at least as
much, considering that they have toiled at government salaries and created
strategic technologies, whereas many of them could have surely earned millions
in the Silicon Valley.
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