August 23 and 6:03 pm IST will be remembered by India and the scientific community the world over for a very long time. The date and time brought forth not just joy and elation to the 1.4 billion people of the country but also a sense of accomplishment and quiet satisfaction to the scientific community within the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that was looking to make up for the temporary setback from an earlier mission from which rich lessons are said to have been learnt. If anything, silent tears of joy at Mission Control and across India for a job truly well done and with perfection.
India has shown itself and the world that the sky is not just the limit. The scientific community in the country looks at the stars constellation, moon, mars, sun and much beyond if there are indeed frontiers left for exploration. Chandrayaan 3 is perhaps just the beginning of many more challenges before the ISRO, an organization that has proved that a massive budget is not required to go to a place where no one has ventured thus far. Scientists in India associated with the space program have shown that grit, determination and the willingness to learn alone will move a country forward.
The Mission to the Moon, and now beyond, has in many ways shown the distance travelled by the space program of India in the last six decades or so and in difficult circumstances at times. From literally being at the mercy of foreign countries and companies to find out where our natural resources are, and in the process shelling out valuable foreign exchange, ISRO today dominates the skies not just putting out its own satellites but assisting others as well; and of course, in the process, bringing money to India’s coffers. So much for all the doubters and cynics who try to equate spending money on valuable space programs to denying funds for developmental projects at home.
Chandrayaan 3 is undoubtedly a shot in the arm to all those young minds who are aspiring to enter the hallowed domains of science for the betterment of the world. The scientific achievement of India has also shown temperament of a core group of people cutting across gender and learning centers. Scientists at the ISRO who presided over the success of the latest moon mission came from an assortment of institutions, not just the so-called elite colleges and institutes; and more than 100 women are said to have been the part of the team.
India is one among a small group of four nations that have left an imprint on the moon and the first to venture to the south pole. In extending congratulations to our very own ISRO, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, pointed out that the gains are for the world at large. The pursuit of science for peaceful purposes is something that every nation must strive for.
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