Distance from earth to the moon is estimated at 3,84,000 km.
Thus, Chandrayaan-2 successfully covered 3,83,998 km. India’s rocket to the
moon this time was the first ever attempt at a soft-landing on the lunar South Pole.
Even the ‘superpowers’ are yet to try that.
ISRO lost contact with lander Vikram minutes before it was supposed
to touch the lunar surface. But remember, Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter is still
operational.
* * *
‘Space is Hard’
“We choose to go to the moon… and do the other things, not
because they are easy, but because they are hard…” (Excerpts from a speech by the
then US president John F. Kennedy at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas on
September 12, 1962. It is said that he intended to persuade Americans to
support the Apollo programme for a manned landing).
* * *
‘A successful failure’
Apollo 13, NASA's third crewed mission to the moon, launched
on April 11, 1970. Two days later, on April 13, while the mission was en route
to the moon, a fault in the electrical system of one of the Service Module's
oxygen tanks produced an explosion that caused both oxygen tanks to fail and
also led to a loss of electrical power. The Command Module remained functional
on its own batteries and oxygen tank, but these were usable only during the
last hours of the mission. The crew shut down the Command Module and used the
Lunar Module as a "lifeboat" during the return trip to Earth. Despite
great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, and a shortage of
potable water, the crew returned to Earth, and the mission was termed a
"successful failure." (Excerpts from https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/a-successful-failure).
* * *
There have been several failures and near-failures but it
never stopped scientists from exploring the final frontier. According to NASA
website: “The Apollo lunar flights may have ended in 1972, but the moon has
remained of great interest to NASA and scientists around the world... And NASA
will continue that work by moving forward to the Moon with astronauts landing
on the lunar South Pole by 2024…”
* * *
With Chandrayaan 2, India just tried to land its rocket on
the moon’s South Pole a little earlier. And not that it was a hurried or
surreal attempt. It was attempted after a number of successful space flights,
including flying out and securely placing payloads – and that included
satellites of other countries as well.
This was followed by rockets to neighbouring bodies. Chandrayaan
1 was launched aboard PSLV-C11 launch vehicle that successfully placed the
spacecraft inside the lunar orbit on November 8, 2008. The major discovery of
the Chandrayaan-1 mission is the detection of water and hydroxyl on the lunar
surface. The data also revealed their
enhanced abundance towards the polar region.
And then Mars Orbiter Mission was launched on November 5,
2013 by PSLV-C25. It entered Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 in its first
attempt. MOM is working well beyond its designed mission life of six months.
With Chandrayaan 2, India just tried to broaden the
frontiers, to extend the target a notch further.
* * *
‘New Dawn’
The country stands united. Leaders of all hues have lauded the men and women at ISRO.
According to PM Narendra Modi: "When it comes to space programme the best is yet to come... There are new frontiers to discover and new places to go. We will rise to the occasion and scale newer heights of success... There will be a new dawn and a better tomorrow. Without worrying about results we go ahead and that is our history."
A new dawn beacons! This time around, let flow only tears of joy!
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