Chandrayaan-2: Communication is lost, not the mission!
| Date :08-Sep-2019 |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with students after connection with the Vikram lander was lost during soft landing of Chandrayaan-2 on lunar surface in Bengaluru, Karnataka on Saturday. (PTI)
By Kaushik Bhattacharya :
Nagpurians join the nation to express their solidarity with ISRO scientists
The touchdown of Vikram Lander at 1.55 am on Saturday was to be a moment of history for India. The entire nation waited with bated breath for the success of Mission Chandrayaan-2. When the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan made the announcement that communication with Vikram Lander was lost, Nagpurians shared the sentiment of disappointment with all the Indians. At the same time, they realised that though the communication with Vikram Lander was lost, the mission was not. Nagpurians from different walks of life, who ‘The Hitavada’ spoke to, were unanimous in extending support to the ISRO scientists.
School students and teachers at the demo of a replica of Pragyaan rover at Science on a Sphere facility in Raman Science Centre, on Saturday. The Centre has a 3D sphere in its auditorium.
It was the first-of-its-kind event that every citizen followed on television and social media. Every one experienced the 15-minute emotional roller coaster ride. All agreed that despite the loss of communication with Vikram Lander, India had achieved a milestone. For, the Orbiter was still there and 95 per cent success in only the second mission was no less an achievement. Everyone was confident that India would continue with the mission and the day was not far when she would taste success in Moon Mission.
They applauded ISRO scientists for daring to go where no one else had been. Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Design and Development Centre, said, “It is sad that it (the mission) did not go all the way, but I feel extremely proud of ISRO achievement. This failure is nothing but foundation for new beginning. Kudos to our scientists and ISRO.” Man learns little from success but much from failure as failure is mother of success, he added. He lauded ISRO’s efforts and said that the scientists would make another attempt soon. ISRO can figure out what went wrong and make corrections at the earliest so that morale of the organisation and the nation as whole is kept high, he observed.
Sushant Wath, Senior Scientist, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, also appreciated the efforts of ISRO and said that the entire nation was with the scientists for the attempt they made. He said, “Never give up as beginning is always harder and continuing is the hardest. I am sure, we will taste success soon.” Bharatbhushan Joshi, Principal, Cummins College of Engineering for Women, said that he felt very sad to see the mission remaining incomplete. But, he added, the Orbiter will be live for another year giving lots of data collected through seven instruments on-board. “It is a mission partly accomplished with lots of lessons learnt.
Actually, soft landing is the most complex phase with more that 200 critical steps in last descent duration where success rate the world over is just 52 per cent. Kudos to ISRO for perfectly carried out manoeuvres in each of the six orbit raising trajectories; each of the four orbit reductions in Lunar orbit and perfect transfer from Earth orbit to Lunar orbit during its travel to the Moon,” he said.
Kaustav Chatterjee, Founder, Green Vigil Foundation, said, “It is an attempt well made. We stand by ISRO and India will surely emerge stronger.” Moon’s craters at south pole have been untouched by sunlight for billions of years but soon Indian spacecraft shall resolve the mystery of south pole. He lauded the efforts of Kailasavadivoo Sivan, ISRO chief, and Team ISRO for making India proud.
Dr Naveenchandran Bhat, Asssociate Prof, MSS Institute of Social Work, said that he saw ISRO people as both scientists and human beings. “Hats off to scientists for their exemplary efforts. “They truly adhered to the teaching of Bhagavad Geeta -- Do your duty and success will be yours sooner or later,” he added.
Satish B Marathe, Assistant Commissioner (retd), Sales Tax, expressed that the relentless and glorious efforts of ISRO had been rightly lauded by one and all in the country, cutting across the political divide. “This is a rare instance wherein everybody is on the same page.
It is good,” he said. According to Sandeep Khirwadkar, Investment Consultant, Chandrayaan-2 was another feather in the cap of ISRO. ISRO scientists worked tirelessly for 11 years for September 7, 2019 to set India’s scientific footprint on Moon. They planned the soft landing of Vikram Lander and Pragyaan Rover. The mission achieved 95 per cent of its objective, but 2.1 km short of the landing site, communication with Vikram Lander lost. He said, “The world has appreciated ISRO’s capability with this mission. India knows that she will soon take its new mission to Moon.” Sandeep Jhawar, trainer and motivational speaker, felt proud of ISRO scientists. “Chandrayaan-2 saw some challenges last minute but courage and hard work of our scientists has been historical,” he said.
Dedication and ‘never say die’ spirit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ISRO scientists, leave no doubt that soon Moon Mission will be 100 per cent successful, he observed. Sampark Agrawal, a businessman, was of the opinion that journey of Chandrayaan-2 was indeed a great effort by the space scientists of the country. This mission in many ways has strengthened India’s resolve to go deeper into space and explore new frontiers. Entire country is proud of ISRO team, he said. Atul Athavale, a professional, pointed out that the successful soft landing of Vikram Lander was not dependent on actions being taken by ISRO scientists at that point in time, but was based entirely on Artificial Intelligence driven automatic, pre-programmed logic that Vikram was loaded with. “If the Vikram Lander had landed successfully, we all would have been rejoicing today and congratualting ISRO. But that was not to be. Better luck next time, ISRO,” said Athavale. Prof Dr Sangeeta Phulsunge, a teacher by profession, described loss of communication with Vikram Lander as ‘a very unfortunate thing’, but said that success and setbacks were part of space research.
“If only we had complete knowledge about space... Nonetheless, we must appreciate the effort and spirit of ISRO scientists. Hats off to them. The contact has been lost, but not completely. Efforts are still on. We can hope for the best to come. It is not the end of the world,” she observed. Harshal Pawar, an engineering graduate, made an important observation. He said, “This mission united 1.3 billion people of India, something which is only possible in sports in our country.” Everyone is proud of space scientists and their contribution. Overall, he felt, it should not be considered a failure but a learning in the process of reaching the zenith. MBA student Shalini Bade was all praise for the efforts of Dr K Sivan, ISRO Director. She said, “The efforts of Dr K Sivan and entire Team Chandrayaan-2 have inspired numerous youth of this country. This will lead to a positive scientific revolution in future.”