Space Research in India

It's quite obvious that as soon as I mention "space research in India," the first, and perhaps the only thing that pops up in everyone's heads is ISRO. Almost 98% of all space accolades in India have been pulled off by this acclaimed space agency. Being the 4th largest government space agency across the globe, following NASA, Russian Federal Space Agency and ESA, ISRO has brought about several space feats in the last 40 years. Since its establishment, ISRO has launched 77 satellites into outer space, out of which 28 satellites, including 12 which facilitate the communication network in our country, are currently operational.

Out of all the space missions supervised by ISRO, the major ones include the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), and the Chandrayaan-1 expedition. 

            Launched in October 2008, the Chandrayaan-1 probe consisted of two segments, viz., a lunar orbiter and an impactor. On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter, and struck the Moon's South Pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag on the Moon. Over a two-year period, it was intended to examine the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and topography. After almost a year, the orbiter started suffering from several technical issues, and stopped sending radio signals on 29 August 2009. In spite of only 312 days of remaining operational, the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives. Among its many achievements, the greatest was the discovery of water molecules present in the lunar soil. 

 The Mars Orbiter Mission is India's first interplanetary space-expedition. Launched in November 2013, it was successfully inserted into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, after a 298-day transit to Mars. Now, the rationale as to why MOM was a pioneering achievement to ISRO is as follows: India became the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft into Martian orbit in its very first attempt; MOM is the most low-priced inter-planetary space voyage ever. It cost us all a mere Rs 4 per person; and the satellite carries compact experimental instruments, mounting up to a mass of only 15 kg to study the Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy. 

ISRO continues to plan several ground-breaking projects, expected to be commenced very shortly, which would help us all immensely in almost every field, from communication technology, to space-exploration. Many of these projects include the Chandrayaan-2, and a human spaceflight programme, which is to carry a two-member crew into Low Earth orbit. 

  

Shreyash Dahale