Chandrayaan 2, the most complex and prestigious mission ever undertaken by ISRO, which resulted in enthusiasm oozing all over the country has been postponed for the time being due to some technical glitches. The entire nation which was glued in front of TV sets to watch it live and the fortunate few who assembled and waited with bated breath at a special gallery set up by Isro at Sriharikota had been left disappointed and disheartened. From a layman’s view of things it may be a ‘disappointment’, but according to space science experts it was a correct decision taken at the right time and had actually averted any big mishap that might have led to the abandonment of this dream project for an indefinite period.

Expectations were particularly high this time since Chandrayaan 2 had suffered multiple setbacks with missing of earlier deadlines. Attempting a soft landing on the lunar surface equipped with home grown technology, the mission would have earned the nation a place in the elite league, the global fourth after Russia, USA and China to have accomplished such a feat. The mission was called off at around 56 minutes before the scheduled launch time of 2:51am on Sunday night and expectedly as it happens in this country, questions have started flowing in. The launch vehicle which is Geo-stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) has been chosen as the immediate ‘villain’ since it has a history of a series of failures in the past. But this will be an over-generalisation of a very technical subject and it will be only after a prolonged scrutiny by ISRO, the actual causes of the snag can be arrived at. But according to most experts, it was necessary to abort the mission immediately after the snag was noticed as the complexities, risks and cost of the project are all of mammoth proportions. It will be pertinent to recall that in April this year, Israel too attempted to soft-land on the moon but the mission crashed just moments before landing, an appropriate reminder of the enormity of the technical complexities associated in such similar space missions.

At the same time, keeping in tune with the habit of unconstructive criticism at times of national drawbacks, there might now be comparison with NASA. But records show that it too had failures and given the huge difference in funding and manpower support vis-à-vis NASA, it can be said that ISRO’s achievements till now are overwhelmingly commendable.

It would thus be more appropriate to view things not as ‘failure’ but rather as a temporary setback which might itself turn out to be a blessing in disguise. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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