[Although India’s space program began as early as the 1960s, it has gained new prominence under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The nationalist leader swept to reelection in May after a campaign focused on security and patriotic rhetoric. Modi has promoted the space program as a symbol of the country’s rising stature internationally and a bulwark of its defense capabilities.]
By
Niha Masih
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India
prepares a launch vehicle for a mission to the moon next week. The launch will
take
place from an island off India’s southeastern coast and aims to explore the
moon’s
uncharted south pole region. (Indian Space Research Organization/AP)
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NEW
DELHI — When a rocket blasts off from an island in
the Bay of Bengal in the coming days, it will carry not only a moon rover but a
nation’s growing ambitions in space.
On Monday, India will embark on its most
complex space odyssey to date with the launch of its second lunar mission.
Chandrayaan-2, whose launch is set to
coincide with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, will attempt to soft-land onto
the moon’s uncharted south pole region in the first week of September. The
region is crucial, scientists say, as there is a possibility of the presence of
water and craters that contain fossil records of the early solar system.
Chaitanya Giri, a fellow at the space and
ocean studies program at Gateway House, a think tank in Mumbai, said it would
be the first landing of any spacecraft on the lunar south pole.
The mission consists of a lander named
Vikram, after the first chief of India’s space organization, and a rover called
Pragyan, which means “wisdom” in Sanskrit.
If successful, the mission will advance
understanding of the moon and “benefit India and humanity as a whole,”
according to the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO. Its chief, K.
Sivan, told NDTV news that Vikram’s 15-minute descent “will be the most
terrifying moments as we have never undertaken such a complex mission.”
The country’s first deep-space mission,
Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, was instrumental in the discovery of water on
the moon’s surface. The chairman of ISRO declined to comment further, citing a
“hectic schedule” before the launch.
Although India’s space program began as early
as the 1960s, it has gained new prominence under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The nationalist leader swept to reelection in May after a campaign focused on
security and patriotic rhetoric. Modi has promoted the space program as a
symbol of the country’s rising stature internationally and a bulwark of its
defense capabilities.
The lunar mission isn’t the only one on the
horizon. By 2022, the Indian space agency plans to send a manned mission to
space or an Indian astronaut to space.
“India has started to make decisions that
will make that country a major space power,” wrote Mark Whittington, author of
two space-exploration studies. To be a major player on the world stage, India
had realized it needs a “vigorous space program,” he said.
During his election campaign in March, Modi
made a sudden televised address to the nation to disclose that India had become
the fourth country to shoot down a low-orbit satellite with a missile — an
advanced defense capability matched only by the United States, China and
Russia.
Coming on the heels of one of the worst
cross-border conflicts with archrival Pakistan in recent times, the missile
test was seen by security analysts as a significant policy shift for New Delhi,
which has sought to portray itself as a responsible international actor.
The test, however, displeased NASA, whose
administrator called it “unacceptable,” given that debris could potentially
harm the International Space Station.
Critics of India’s space aspirations question
whether a developing country can afford to spend millions on space exploration.
Vikram Sarabhai, considered the father of the country’s space program, has said
in response that “to play a meaningful role nationally and in the community of
nations,” India needs to apply “advanced technologies to the real problems of
man and society.”
Others have highlighted the
cost-effectiveness of India’s space explorations compared with those of the
United States.
India’s first Mars satellite cost less than
the budget of the space movie, “Gravity.” At $141 million, the cost of the
current lunar mission is far less than the $25 billion spent by the United
States on its Apollo program. Both the Mars and moon missions combined amount
to less than the $408 million India spent building a giant statue of a
freedom-era leader last year. In a famous image from 1981, India trotted out its
first communication satellite, APPLE, on a bullock cart.
India has increased its budget spending on
space by 11 percent this year to $1.8 billion, although it remains far below
what NASA or China spends.
Experts say India’s focus on its space
program reflects the aspirations of its young population. Giri says that
scientific innovation, the invention of new technology and the development of a
highly skilled labor force could help India become a $5 trillion economy by 2024,
a goal the Modi government has said it will attempt to reach.
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