Opinion | India On The Moon

My chest swells with pride, along with my countrymen, to state my beloved country – Bharat is all on moon! The accomplishment of Chandrayaan-3 is a potent reminder to the globe that the Republic of India is second  to none  in the area of cosmic discovery. The scientists and all those concerned with Chandrayaan-3 at the Indian space research agency (ISRO) deserve a balancing ovation for making our country India proud  with their unmatched completion. we’ll get new insights about the moon. India has demonstrated time and again, sky is not the limit….

The space race has often been driven by the desire to enhance national prestige on both domestic and international levels. That’s a big part of what’s driving India, which on 23rd August became only the fourth nation to successfully soft-land a probe on the Moon. The milestone marks a huge accomplishment for its nascent space program, which has made steady progress over the years. I expect future success to follow: Delhi has shown it is committed to making significant investments in space exploration efforts. At the dawn of the space age, the Soviet Union, which understood only too well how a successful space program could bolster its standing on the national stage, struck first with the launch of Sputnik, the first satellite in 1957. For extra effect, the Russian president — badly in need of a national prestige win — timed the lunar mission to take place just days ahead of a voyage to the Moon by the rival Indian vehicle, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.
Russia won the race but lost the game: A malfunction caused Luna-25 to crash instead of soft-land on the lunar surface. Had it been successful, Luna-25 doubtless would have been touted as “proof” that Russia was still a great nation, despite its setbacks in its disastrous war in Ukraine, these space programs are mirrors of greatness for nations, then it is interesting to more closely examine them. On the rise are the programs of Asia, most notably China and India. Both countries have developed sophisticated cryogenic rocket engines, launchers and spacecraft. Both operate several constellations of satellites for communication, Earth imaging and remote sensing, and China has its own navigation satellite constellation.
Chandrayaan 3 Scripts history
The history-making event has become an immense source of pride for the country of 1.4 billion as it takes challenging steps to become a space pioneer and cement its status as a global power. Chandrayaan-3’s success has brought together a nation struggling at a time of deep communal strife, with deadly sectarian violence flaring in pockets of the country. It presents a moment of hope and unity to millions who are reveling in ISRO’s achievement. Worshipers were seen praying at Hindu temples, mosques and Sikh gurdwaras ahead of its landing. Several schools around the country organized live viewings of the mission and children fervently waved the Indian flag when Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the moon’s surface.
New India’s victory cry
India has in recent years made huge strides in its space ambitions. For a nation that only gained independence from the British 76 years ago, and one where large pockets of the population remain impoverished, India’s triumph over Russia – a country seen as a space pioneer – is symbolic of the changing world order. When India launched its first rocket into space in 1963, the country was no match for the ambitions of the United States and the former Soviet Union, which were way ahead in the space race. Workers from its space agency transported spaceship parts to the rocket Launchpad using bicycles. Now, it can say it has orbited the moon and Mars, even breaking records and launching hundreds of satellites at a far lower cost than other space-faring countries.
Its rise in the space game is also indicative of its growth on the global stage.
Two visitors from India — a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan — landed in the southern polar region of the moon . The two robots, from a mission named Chandrayaan-3, make India the first country to ever reach this part of the lunar surface in one piece — and only the fourth country ever to land on the moon. The achievement of Chandrayaan-3 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.
Former NASA official Mike Gold said Chandrayaan-3’s success is a victory of Indian innovation, human capital and the capabilities that will take India further. He also mentioned that what makes the success of Chandrayaan-3 amazing is the “relatively little amount of resources that India has used .  Indeed, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) has achieved remarkable success in space exploration and satellite technology. Their accomplishments, including launching spacecraft to the Moon and Mars, facilitating satellites for other nations, and developing the NavIC navigation system, have positioned India as a self-reliant player in the space arena. ISRO’s dedication to advancing space technology is impressive, and their achievements are a source of national pride.  Who can forget that the US denied India’s request for GPS data in Kargil after India was attacked by cowardly Pakistan? Thanks to ISRO, our country is self-reliant!.
Chandrayaan 3 and the budget
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission Mangalyaan at $74 million had cost less than the movie ‘Gravity’ which had cost nearly $100 million. NASA’s similar Mars mission, Maven, had cost nearly 10 times more.  India has traditionally not been able to spend too much money on its space programme. Even today when the government has aimed to make India a space power, India’s space spending as the share of its GDP is relatively low. The US spends 0.28% of GDP, Russia is second at 0.15% while India is seventh in the world at 0.04%.
ISRO needs more Money
According to an Economic Times article ,ISRO’s surprisingly low costs are also attributed to relatively low salaries of these scientists. Nair told PTI recently that the scientists at the space agency have achieved this historic success by getting a salary one-fifth of the scientists in the developed world. He said there are no millionaires among ISRO scientists, and they always live a very normal and subdued life. “They are not really bothered about the money but are passionate and dedicated to their mission. That is how we achieved greater heights,” Nair said. However SPADEX,  HAVA — Hypersonic Air-breathing Vehicle Assembly are yet to be realised. With Chandrayaan-3 ISRO has demonstrated that if it rolls-up its sleeves and gets to work, it can achieve success. Why, then, are these projects moving at glacial speeds ?
Money matters . The answer perhaps lies in one crucial aspect — money.
ISRO has always prided itself over the fact that it achieves things on shoestring budgets. Indeed, it has. But when there is so much to do, why should it have to pull itself up on shoestrings?
According to an article in HinduBusiness line Budgetary allocations to the Department of Space have more than doubled in the last 10 years — from ₹5,169 crore in 2013-14 to ₹12,544 crore in 2023-24. The increase works out to 142 per cent. This may sound good, but if you adjust it for inflation, you will find the increase hardly meaningful. Besides, the allocations have stagnated in recent years. The department got ₹11,188 crore (actual) in 2018-19, which increased to ₹13,479 crore (budget estimate) in 2020-21 and to ₹12,473 crore (BE) in 2021-22.
However, the agency should get more money for futuristic projects, which will not only benefit the country in many ways but also give a career pathway to young space aspirants.
– The author writes on Polity, Governance, Art and craft. He works with Creative Learning USA DC And is also working on peace Initiatives in Kashmir