ISRO must pick itself up and dust itself down
When Chandrayaan-2’s lander Vikram spooked scientists moments before it was to land on the lunar surface way past Friday midnight, the collective hearts of the nation watching it on live TV skipped a beat. An advancing green line on the console superimposed on an existing red line that indicated its designated path showed all was well till Vikram was within kissing distance of the moon. Suddenly it veered off its parabolic path and dropped vertically in a free fall. But then the green line stopped before touching the surface, suggesting to the lay eye that Vikram was floating in ether, before ISRO officially announced it had lost communication with the lander 2.1 km before touchdown.
Gloom descended on mission control at Bengaluru with ISRO chief K Sivan breaking down in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcasing the ace scientist’s disappointment at letting down India. Space technology involves extremely high risks. A loose bolt leaking a highly volatile gas or one hyperactive thruster could jeopardise a mission’s safety. But leaders are risk takers, Sivan in space science and Modi in the political arena. So, while embracing and comforting Sivan, PM Modi knew it was a momentary outpouring of emotion from an achiever who set very high standards for himself.
The mission began with a hiccup before liftoff and experienced one at descent, but the total distance covered in between without a hitch while venturing to a location previously unexplored was remarkable in itself. Deft fuel management increased the orbiter’s projected lifespan of one year to seven years, which, too, is no mean achievement. As ISRO later said, it had achieved 95% of the mission’s target.
Going forward, former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan’s idea of forming an Asian Space Agency, a consortium of countries including Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Gulf, with India taking the lead, merits consideration. A global space race is already on. ISRO needs to pick itself up, dust itself down and remake its dreams.