CHANDRAYAAN-3 BEFRIENDS CHANDAMAMA
FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:
CHANDRAYAAN-3 BEFRIENDS CHANDAMAMA
What a moment for India and ISRO! The intellectual-cum-technological journey of India's Chandrayaan-3 from July 14 to August 23 ended in a touchdown on the moon!
Ever since the failure of Chandrayaan-2 and for the past four years
or so, Indian space scientists have been walking and talking Chandrayaan all
the time. Gigantic spadework and groundwork were carried out by them round the
clock till 6.04 PM on August 23, when ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) successfully plunged into a giant and spectacular leap making the Vikram Lander soft-land on the moon.
The challenging and stupendous task was to overcome the last 19 thriller terror
minutes.
Science, prowess, grit, and above all, the prayers of millions of
people of the world in general, and Indians, in particular, paid this time. As
the whole world watched the soft-landing with awe and with billion-plus starry
eyes glued as they were to the display screens with bated breath and as everyone was on the edge of their seats during the entire event, history
in the making for quite some time was finally made and India’s moon dream
turned a reality at 6.04 PM on 23.8.2023 (Wednesday) when the Vikram Lander of
Chandrayaan-3 soft-landed, subtly and gently jumped into the lap of Chandrama, like a child does with the mother, and caressed her, and placed itself firmly in the dark, hitherto unchartered, and
challenging South Pole terrain of the Moon. The last mile reach was a gigantic
leap for ISRO! Yes, it was an epochal feat for India.
In every household in India, it is a daily tradition and custom to light
the auspicious oil lamps to drive away the engulfing darkness preceded by the
twilight of the dusk, in order to invite the entry of Gods and Goddesses for
prosperity. It looked as if the dark South Pole region was chosen by India to intellectually
illuminate the moon as a symbolic gesture of entering the Moon house.
As ISRO has ignited for the past few decades the minds of millions
across the world in general, and India, in particular, the achievement will be
a source of great inspiration for younger generations who will get motivation
and impulse on space programmes in the days to come.
India has now joined the exclusive moon-triumphant elite club as
the 4th member along with the U.S., Russia, and China. And, as
India conquered the cosmos, every Indian felt extremely excited, exalted,
exulted, euphoric, enraptured, exuberant, and ecstatic.
Kudos to ISRO scientists and all those who were directly and
indirectly associated with the Chandrayaan-3 moon mission including BSNL that provided all possible kinds of connectivity and communication.
With the Vikram Lander in its perfect place on the moon in robust health
and brisk activity, the ISRO is now looking forward to its next sensational, crucial, and exciting activity. The Rover will do the critical and crucial chemical analyses
of the lunar surface in the next 2 weeks.
Yes, with the Chandrayaan-3's soft-landing already
perfectly achieved, the rover module will now embark on its 14-day assignment
to carry out the tasks mandated by the ISRO scientists. Its duties include experiments to understand the chemical content of the topsoil of the lunar surface. And, as India is the first country to touch down this
mysterious, unexplored, and enigmatic area, the Indian rover’s data collection will
throw sufficient light on the finer aspects of the lunar surface in this
region.
The success of Vikram’s
soft-landing on the Moon is sure to exude and bolster the confidence,
conviction, credence, and creditworthiness of the entire Team India, especially the ISRO, in its impending activities and
exercises.
The success of the Chandrayan-3 mission has not only embedded a precious diamond in India’s
already gem-studded crown but has also exuded a lot of self-confidence, poise, buoyancy,
conviction, and resolve for India to take up new assignments in the days ahead, inter alia, satellites-powered by
electric motors, quantum communications, human space flights, reusable launch
vehicles, planetary habitation, and inter-planetary communications. These
activities, exercises, and pursuits, if taken forward to their logical course
with marked success, will go a long way in introducing private partnerships
in space exploration and commercialization of certain core and other crucial areas
that will help India make rapid strides in this field bringing innovation and many new
inventions ushering in a new era of commercialized outer-space
and in opening up new vistas of human enterprise contributing to India’s economic
growth and development, with ISRO probably in a lead role for the world
itself.
(R.SAMPATH)
24/8/2023
Excellently brought out in a simple language. Yes it has made indians all over the world proud that we have jouned the elite club. Your appreciation of not only members of isro, but all others associated with it is really welcome. Really proud that BSNL too played a significant role in it.
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