The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO is an institution that most Indians are justly proud of. It consists of talented, hardworking people who manage to make the most of paucity of resources to create successful space missions not only for India but also for other countries. Now with the successful launch of the second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan 2, ISRO has given us yet another reason to be amazed.
This is the most complex and prestigious mission of ISRO yet. The GSLV MkIII is our most powerful launcher yet.
The successful blastoff from Sriharikota on 22 July was the culmination of years of hard work; the literal blood, sweat and tears of a dedicated bunch of Indian scientists and technicians.
Many had gathered at and close to the launch site to witness the blastoff. Others watched it on TV.
D Raghunandan, Director, Centre for Technology and Development clarified why this mission, which will be landing at the South Pole of the moon is so important.
Chandrayaan 2 will offer important insight that will be useful for the Americans’ manned mission to the moon in a few years.
The men and women who made this possible have inspired many young Indians to reach for the stars – literally and figuratively.
One Twitter user re-tweeted this controversial NYT cartoon published just after the launch of India’s mission to Mars in February 2014. The publication later apologised for the cartoon – which decried elite countries with space programs while acknowledging that India’s homegrown space programme didn’t need to rely upon them.
It is expected that this mission will be able to find out more about finding water on the moon; particularly ice in the shadows of its craters.
This tweet speaks about ISRO’s amazing and consistent ability to achieve success at a fraction of the cost of other space programmes.
Of course, there were many who pointed out that NASA's missions take a fraction of the time taken by ISRO's craft to reach the moon.
There is every reason for ISRO to be proud of its achievements; the achievements that a billion Indians are proud of.
The tweet refers to the recent trailer launch of Mission Mangal, and the recent competition among Bollywood filmmakers to make biopics based on real people and events.
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