To the Moon and Back!

Four Questions:

How much time it takes to reach the Space Station?

How far away is the moon from here?

Is it possible to go closer to the Sun?

Can you talk about our Chandrayaan-3 Mission?

It was an unexpected enquiry at a place, and from a person one thought to be too busy with things other than science.

A tailor master, to my surprise, in the civil lines area of Srinagar, the other day, asked me this pack of unexpected questions, presuming my interest in science, while his assistant was attending the person I was accompanying. It was a pleasant surprise.

This tailor’s shop happens to be a heavily crowded place, always frequented by customers whose sole concern is to get the job done without any delay.

While I was waiting for the person to give measurement and discuss specifics of the costumes to be made for the wedding season, the gentleman at the desk asked the questions I was least expecting, and not adequately prepared to answer.

Chandrayan-3 Moon landing was indeed the most significant space event of the year, 2023.

I accessed a site on phone to get the correct information to satisfy the seeker. He saw me taking my phone out and giving him the answers that he was so curious to know. Maybe he had spent whole afternoon just thinking about those questions. Little did he know that such information was now just few clicks away. But when he saw me reading something from the phone and telling him the exact answers he wanted, he evidently became more curious!

Now instead of putting the subsequent questions to me, he started typing on his own smartphone which he just pulled out.

I never knew that the Mission Chandrayaan can have this far reaching and wide influence on someone living in this remote part of the country. I was pleasantly surprised to see how such major events can positively influence and motivate people to think in terms of science about the celestial bodies and natural phenomena. It is truly noteworthy and inspiring.

The year 2023

Chandrayaan-3 was the third lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under the Chandrayaan programme in the year under review. The main objectives of the mission were to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the moon, conduct rover operations on the moon and conduct on-site experiments on the lunar surface.

People from under privileged sections and lower financial strata do not reach the higher echelons of education and information. It is too expensive for them especially during their early years when they need it most. But now, with the help of technological advancements and with the arrival of smartphones, anyone can access anything on the small screen he or she wants. Higher education should be accessible to all, not a privilege of a few.

Nowadays web applications like YouTube are gold mines for people seeking knowledge and these should be used to their full potential. The common man is, to my understanding, a man of reason and science. Scientific and intellectual conversations are no more confined to a university but happen in a café with a person serving, with a person cutting your hair, or on the social networking sites while interacting with common individuals. Such is the potential of educational technology!

Defining Moment

Chandrayan-3 mission was indeed a historic achievement for India and a grand good news that our country shared with the rest of the world. It was the first successful soft landing near the lunar south pole region. This region is of great scientific interest, as it contains permanently shadowed craters that may harbor water ice and other volatiles. The Chandrayan-3 lander and rover carried several scientific instruments to study the lunar surface, subsurface, and atmosphere.

The mission also demonstrated India’s technological prowess and leadership in space exploration. It was a defining moment for the country with a wealth of well-educated community of scientists and techies.

Well done, ISRO

The milestone success has made ISRO a household name in India and enhanced the organization’s image globally and made it a preferred agency for satellite launch services to other countries owing to its reliable and advanced technologies.

The success will surely help in generating more employment and engagement of the young scientists and techies. It will motivate the future generation to aspire to be part of Chandrayan-3 like missions in future.

2023 will be remembered as the year of going to the moon and as the year of the remarkable accomplishment of the premier and prestigious ISRO. It will continue to inspire all to do more and take the ‘Make in India’ initiative to new levels. In the days to come science lovers, star gazers and general masses across the globe will be interested to hear more from ISRO like they are interested in NASA.

The other side of the moon

While we are counting the blessings of science in the backdrop of the amazing moon mission, on the other side, someone sees a real-estate opportunity there in when he looks up at the moon! In the UT of J&K, social media was recently flooded with the “news” of sale and purchase of the lunar land. Reportedly, there is some website claiming to provide you the land on the moon. There can be nothing farther from the truth than this claim.

As per the international space laws the moon and other celestial bodies belong to all of humanity.

Towards a new dawn

Let’s wish ISRO all success in its future space exploration missions. They symbolize forward movement towards a new dawn of hope, happiness, peace, prosperity, and progress for humanity at large.

Let’s hope for the best!

Happy New Year!

BY RAVHAN MIRZA

(Ravhan Mirza is a Pharmacist, currently works in the life sciences industry. He writes on issues related to science and society.)