thestringshredder
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The Chinese have a space station, and are sending human missions to space. India has sent a batch of six satellites into space, had a successful Moon mission and started the countdown to Mars. Indias future space exploration plans include Aditya to study solar emissions and Astrostat, an ambitious probe to study distant stars.
THE WEEK met ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan to get a peek into Indias space plans. Excerpts from an interview:
Is the India-China space race on?
We are not in any race. Indias approach to outer space has always been application-based and we are established leaders in our area of expertise. The Futron study, which generates the space competitiveness index [which looks at 15 countries], ranks us at sixth position. Of late, we have come to satellite-based space sciences, and lunar and planet explorations. We are leaders in having the most cost-effective missions in the world.
Chandrayaan was a turning point. Now we are getting to Mars. If you look at any project in our portfolio, at the core it is people-centric, application-driven. The Chinese approach is different. They are focusing on human missions, their space station .
How different will the Mars mission be from Chandrayaan-I?
The biggest challenge is the distance55 million km against 4 lakh km to the Moon. It was easy to get into the Moons orbit by firing a rocket within the satellite itself. In the case of Mars Orbiter Mission, we will enter Marss orbit 300 days after the launch, so complexity multiplies.
Another major challenge is deep-space communication. From the Moon, signals are beamed almost instantly. From Mars, it will take 40 minutes for two-way communication. So we have to build in a high level of autonomy into the rover.
MOM is fully desi, right? What about Chandrayaan-II?
The only imported component will be a Sony camera, but that, too, will be adapted for the mission. Chandrayaan-IIs launcher and orbiter will be ours, the lander Russian.
Why did you not consider a second Moon mission before Mars?
If we did not attempt Mars now, the programme would have to be pushed back to the next close Earth-Mars interface, another 26 months later.
Chandrayaan-II does not have a date fixed yet, though it is slated under the 12th Five-year Plan (2012-2017).
What is the status of Indias human mission?
We have not done much after the first study of 2006. The plan was to send a two-member crew into the Earths orbit for a week. Such a mission requires technology which we have not done. So the current objective is to wet our hands with designing a crew module, a crew escape system, the space suit, etc. Also, a human launch requires a man-rated vehicle with a reliability of .998. The government has sanctioned Rs.150 crore, which has been spent on this research.
What about an Indian astronaut at the International Space Station?
India is not a member of the ISS. In 2010, we received an invitation to put up an instrument there, but we need to have a good experiment. Maybe sometime .
There is a feeling that our space endeavours are not trailblazers.
We are trailblazers in our areas. We have the PSLV, which 16 countries have used. Our precision to target is very good, which means less fuel consumption and extended life of satellites. A 2003 study by Madras School of Economics said Indian missions cost only a fraction of what others did.
We have had 103 launches so far. Of 21 space missions, there were only two GSLV failures and two satellites that did not reach orbit.
There is a buzz about an asteroid heading towards Mars. Will that affect our mission?
It is unlikely. There is a 1 in 12,000 chance of an asteroid coming 50,000km close to Mars. In fact, we could get the chance to look at that asteroid and its impact on Martian atmosphere.
What is our space missions future?
First, we have to augment the manufacture of PSLVs. We also have to establish the reliability of GSLV. Then, we are developing the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System of geo-positioning for the Navy and civilian users. The first of these satellites will be launched in June. Scientists are working on long-term projects like studying space debris, near-Earth objects and astro-biology, too.
How has brain drain impacted our projects?
Human resources have never been a constraint for our projects. ISRO alone has a strength of 16,000 people. After Chandrayaan, there is motivation among young scientists to join space research and mission activities. Attrition in the past few years is next to nil. The onus is now on us to come up with challenging projects.
Link - Chandrayaan was a turning point : Isro Chairman | idrw.org
