MOMENTOUS!

 

 

THE expected touch-down of the Lander Module ‘Vikram’ of Chandrayaan-3 in the evening of August 23, 2023, will prove to be truly momentous in every sense of the term. With sincere prayers of 1.4 billion Indian people and good wishes of the global community, the mission is all set to succeed by every definition. Given the possible uncertainties that may confront the mission at the last minute, anxieties are mounting every passing minute of the last 24 hours of the critical moment for global space science. With the last-minute crash of the lander module of the Russian Luna-25, these anxieties are all the more troubling. However, thanks to the great care taken by the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation -- ISRO -- silent belief also underlines the hopeful minds that things will turn out well in the end. At this moment, there is every reason to believe that the ISRO team will deliver the best on this occasion. The importance of the moment cannot be defined in simple terms, though. For, this moment will symbolise the national aspirations like nothing else can. The moment will also mark the culmination of a seven-plus decades of the journey of India’s space programme that started in an unimaginably small way then.

 

The moment, therefore, accompanies countless memories of struggle and triumph and silent dedication of the band of scientists led by the legendary Dr. Vikram Sarabhai -- and also by the iconic Dr. Homi Bhabha in the area of atomic science -- since Day One to today. It is only natural, then, that millions of prayers would also rise from the Indian hearts lending a special and spiritual credence of the endeavour of science. When such an amalgam takes place, one does not miss remembering what (the late) Professor Albert Einstein said: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”. Thus underlining the togetherness of science and religion, Prof. Einstein rationalised the presence of prayer even in endeavours of science. The larger Indian society is going through such a time now as it waits for the touch-down of the Vikram Lander Module on the lunar far side. The choice of the South Pole on the lunar far side by the Indian space scientists is full of tough challenges. The last Chandrayaan-2 also had worked for a similar goal, but had failed.

 

The Russian Luna-25 also crashed on the lunar surface when it tried to land on the Moon. No matter that, the Indian hearts are full of confidence that Chandrayaan-3 will be able to reconnoitre all the challenges properly and navigate through difficulties and achieve a soft-landing. The millions of prayers are up in the spiritual space for that reason. May this belief have its positive impact on the Chandrayaan-3 mission. There are several take-aways waiting to be delivered once this mission succeeds. Immense scientific and economic possibilities also await the outcome. All those possibilities and prospects indicate one thing clearly -- that whatever the final outcome, space science as a whole is bound to gain tremendously out of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Human awareness of space and universe and existence will get a booster dose with the scientific findings of this mission. With that advances knowledge, human race will get empowered better to undertake other missions into space. At this very moment, India is basking in the international focus, thanks to its ambitious and adventurous Chandrayaan-3 mission. The world is acknowledging the Indian prowess from multiple angles. This is without doubt a leadership position that India deserves fully. The world is offering its best wishes to India and is saluting not just Indian space science but also the Indian spirit. We also do the same.