India's Mars mission to begin its 10-month journey on October 28

[Brahmos_2]

New Delhi:October 28 is set to be the next big day for the Indian space programme as the Mangalyaan (or Mars Orbiter) will lift-off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh that day using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready for the launch of the Rs 450-crore satellite, which weighs 1350 kg. It will take about 10 months to reach the orbit of Mars traversing a distance of over 400 million kilometres.

"The satellite is in the final stages of testing. We have also got thumbs up from the review committee," an elated ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told NDTV.

Mr Radhakrishnan says Mangalyaan will carry five Indian scientific instruments to study the atmosphere of the Red Planet, look for traces of Methane which could indicate if life exists on Mars, take colour photos of the planet and analyse the presence of water there.

In 2008, India successfully launched its maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, which brought back the first clinching evidence of the presence of water on the lunar surface. Some even suggested that this is really now an Asian space race between India and China - the two regional rivals - on who reaches Mars first.

Other experts suggest that it is not so much the inter-planetary configuration but earth bound geo-political considerations that may be weighing on India's mind referring to the space rivalry between India and China. "We are not racing with anybody and the Indian Mars mission has its own relevance," says Mr Radhakrishnan. He, however, admits that there is an element of 'national pride' involved with the mission.

Some suggest after the success of Chandrayaan-1, the natural stepping stone for India was to try to reach Mars. Mr Radhakrishnan said, "We had to prepare the spacecraft on a fast-track mode as we had a deadline to meet. Though it is a complex spacecraft, but our people have done it." He also said that it is a critical mission for the country because after Chandrayaan-1 ISRO is looking to go deeper into the space, on a longer voyage.

India's Mars mission: Mangalyaan to begin its 10-month journey on October 28 | NDTV.com

 

[Echo_419]

I think if we succeed we would have beaten Chinese to reach Mars
Any one tell me if i am right

 

[Anubis]

I think if we succeed we would have beaten Chinese to reach Mars
Any one tell me if i am right

Yes you will...but the Chinese will land a craft before you do(prediction)!China's current space program is more military and strategy centered than scientific!

 

[Echo_419]

Yes you will...but the Chinese will land a craft before you do(prediction)!China's current space program is more military and strategy centered than scientific!

Good to know that china will land a craft on mars
I was just asking that which craft from India or China will reach Mars first not land
& if we succed in this mission will we be able to beat the Chinese

All the best to the Chinese to land their craft on moon & for their space program

 

[GR!FF!N]

I think if we succeed we would have beaten Chinese to reach Mars
Any one tell me if i am right

no need to bring another nation in this context..we know exactly how your post will draw swarms of troll...

great news..i thought it will be in last of November..looks like ISRO is preparing themselves in advance so that no way they're going to miss this deadline..make us proud..

 

[janon]

India should not think of this as a "space race" with China. The India and China of today are not like the US-USSR of the 50s and 60s. They don't share the same sort of rivalry or hostility, notwithstanding the Sino-Indian relations on PDF. And more importantly, the stakes are not the same either (which I'll explain below).

In those days, space exploration was a new frontier, and research and progress in that field was expected to determine the future of each superpower. The successes on the space front were expected to translate directly into the fields of communication, missiles, propulsion and a lot of other stuff. And that was the reason that both superpowers were eager to best each other in the "space race". Not simply as a dick measuring contest of who could go higher.

Today, advancement in missiles and propulsion are no longer tied to space exploration. It would be stupid of either country to view it as a race against the other - and happily, neither country views it as such. Both nations are viewing this endeavor from their own points of view, rather than as a competition. Both nations are mature enough to realize this.

 

[Indo-guy]

India should not think of this as a "space race" with China. The India and China of today are not like the US-USSR of the 50s and 60s. They don't share the same sort of rivalry or hostility, notwithstanding the Sino-Indian relations on PDF. And more importantly, the stakes are not the same either (which I'll explain below).

In those days, space exploration was a new frontier, and research and progress in that field was expected to determine the future of each superpower. The successes on the space front were expected to translate directly into the fields of communication, missiles, propulsion and a lot of other stuff. And that was the reason that both superpowers were eager to best each other in the "space race". Not simply as a dick measuring contest of who could go higher.

Today, advancement in missiles and propulsion are no longer tied to space exploration. It would be stupid of either country to view it as a race against the other - and happily, neither country views it as such. Both nations are viewing this endeavor from their own points of view, rather than as a competition. Both nations are mature enough to realize this.

Indeed unlike all other Superpowers our space programme thrived on tiny budget that was spend in thrifty manner . It was very prudent of our planners to not to engage in kind of space race that existed at the height of Cold war. It saved our space programmes from ruins of excesses . It is now that we are gradually adding strategic value to space programme.

Irrespective of the fact whether Mars mission was planned keeping any specific country in mind ....we have to appreciate that technological complexity involved is huge . It was sort of challenge that our institutes took and dared to compete with.

Irrespective of whether Mars mission will succeed or fail ....it is and will remain a great ISRO project .

I am sure it will attract many more bright minds towards science and engineering !


It will be impossible for India to ignore China's spectacular advances in space .

India neither has to blindly try to outmatch China nor it has to be overwhelmed by China's success .


India can move into space at its own pace & at its own terms !!!

Because space is infinite ....Space race can't be run to its logical end .

Everyone is a winner in Space race , for even to run in such a race is a privilege of few !


And yet India don't have to turn into a race .....may be it should be turned into a marathon !

India's approach to take other countries aboard in very first Chandryaan mission was one of the laudable achievements itself .

And eagerness of these other countries to provide their state of the art payloads to Chandrayaan is also indicative of their exuberant confidence in India's very first moon mission .....


This is the way to go ahead !

As space research gets complex and costly ....co-operation among nations is absolute necessity .

I am sure India is now better suited to go well with other space faring countries ...

But even to be counted for that India has to prove its capability ....and what better than but Mars mission be exemplary of that capability ?

 

[J-30]

human beings exploration of mars itself is good, irrespective of who reaches first or whatever..I think squabbling over the rat race is for political people not for general population , space exploration should always focus for the greater good..when a comet or asteriod hits earth..it will not see where it is hitting...

 

[faithfulguy]

Indeed unlike all other Superpowers our space programme thrived on tiny budget that was spend in thrifty manner . It was very prudent of our planners to not to engage in kind of space race that existed at the height of Cold war. It saved our space programmes from ruins of excesses . It is now that we are gradually adding strategic value to space programme.

Irrespective of the fact whether Mars mission was planned keeping any specific country in mind ....we have to appreciate that technological complexity involved is huge . It was sort of challenge that our institutes took and dared to compete with.

Irrespective of whether Mars mission will succeed or fail ....it is and will remain a great ISRO project .

I am sure it will attract many more bright minds towards science and engineering !


It will be impossible for India to ignore China's spectacular advances in space .

India neither has to blindly try to outmatch China nor it has to be overwhelmed by China's success .


India can move into space at its own pace & at its own terms !!!

Because space is infinite ....Space race can't be run to its logical end .

Everyone is a winner in Space race , for even to run in such a race is a privilege of few !


And yet India don't have to turn into a race .....may be it should be turned into a marathon !

India's approach to take other countries aboard in very first Chandryaan mission was one of the laudable achievements itself .

And eagerness of these other countries to provide their state of the art payloads to Chandrayaan is also indicative of their exuberant confidence in India's very first moon mission .....


This is the way to go ahead !

As space research gets complex and costly ....co-operation among nations is absolute necessity .

I am sure India is now better suited to go well with other space faring countries ...

But even to be counted for that India has to prove its capability ....and what better than but Mars mission be exemplary of that capability ?

Space race has already been won by US. India and China are doing something that US and USSR already had done ages ago. So both should test their ability and do what they do for the long term goal of the country. So its unnecessary for Chinese and India to race against one another that someone else have already achieved ages back.

 

[peaceful]

Space race has already been won by US. India and China are doing something that US and USSR already had done ages ago. So both should test their ability and do what they do for the long term goal of the country. So its unnecessary for Chinese and India to race against one another that someone else have already achieved ages back.

you must be kidding

what indians have to have such race with China? they are using their space program to fuel nationalism, that is why they pick this mars mission.

think about it: with 10 shenzhou missions, with a space lab in operation as of writing, with over 1 hundred more launches, with satellite navigation system in operation, what indians have on hand that is remotely comparable? China choose not to put such mars mission on its agenda for a good reason: the gain is not practical.

how about a soft landing on the moon? how about a permanent space station? how about a return mission from the moon?

india is not even capable of sending a man to the space and bring him back safely. india choose the mars mission not for anything else but for nationalism - that is the best mission to fuel "increditible india!" feeling without the requirement to actually develop anything.

look at their plan, a toy satellite launched by PSLV

give me a break! it is a 1960s tech, Chinese universities can work that out without support from the central government.

PSLV, keep this in mind: we don't even have such a highly inefficient rocket in operation, all similar ones retired 20-30 years ago!

 

[ravindra1455]

IF INDIA AND CHINA START SPACE RACE IT WILL BE GOOD TO BOTH COUNTRY,THIS SHOULD BE HEALTHY COMPETITION.

 

[Star Wars]

why are Chinese measuring their dicks on an Indian mars mission thread ...

 

[Genesis]

why are Chinese measuring their dicks on an Indian mars mission thread ...

refer to post 2, it's the second post, not really hard to find is it.

 

[Dandpatta]

why are Chinese measuring their dicks on an Indian mars mission thread ...

The dick measuring was suggested by an Indian poster by an ID called Echo_419
If he had not brought the stupidity of India reaching faster than China, this thread would not have brought the ire of hate filled Indo-phobics like "Peaceful"

On the other hand, there are many Indian and Chinese posters who have mentioned that this should not be a "CONTEST" . Wise men !! Pity that people like Echo and Peaceful are given credence.

 

[Lightningbolt]

you must be kidding

what indians have to have such race with China? they are using their space program to fuel nationalism, that is why they pick this mars mission.

think about it: with 10 shenzhou missions, with a space lab in operation as of writing, with over 1 hundred more launches, with satellite navigation system in operation, what indians have on hand that is remotely comparable? China choose not to put such mars mission on its agenda for a good reason: the gain is not practical.

how about a soft landing on the moon? how about a permanent space station? how about a return mission from the moon?

india is not even capable of sending a man to the space and bring him back safely. india choose the mars mission not for anything else but for nationalism - that is the best mission to fuel "increditible india!" feeling without the requirement to actually develop anything.

look at their plan, a toy satellite launched by PSLV

give me a break! it is a 1960s tech, Chinese universities can work that out without support from the central government.

PSLV, keep this in mind: we don't even have such a highly inefficient rocket in operation, all similar ones retired 20-30 years ago!

You are 100% correct!

India has realised there is no way they can catch upto us in manned space, space station and lunar exploration.
So they avoid things we are doing because it will show them up that they are way behind us.

What did they do instead?
They HARD LANDED on the moon for no apparent reason so they can say they did something on the moon before us and falsely claimed that they discovered water on the moon. It's very well known to the world that the Soviet Union found water on the moon decades ago but the west never gave the Soviets any credit due to jealousy.

The Indians have now pretty much abandoned lunar missions and now they want to do something on Mars so they can boast that they did something on Mars before China. It's an inferiority complex of the highest order. It's quite incredible adults in India actually think this way. It just comes across as so desperate. It's quite pathetic when you actually think about it.

These missions are definitely for boosting nationalism/jingoism in India to prove that India is somehow (falsely) ahead of China in space. It's also a message to the world to show India should get the same respect like we get.

While our space program has been well planned and executed in a very clever manner going step up step in a structured way. Our first priority was to put a man into space which will allow us to have a space lab and then build a space station to do experiments that will improve human life by researching and experimenting new things, then our lunar program was started with a couple of lunar probes, next will be a SOFT LANDING (first soft landing since early 1970's) on the moon which will release a rover to explore the moon. Then we will bring back a lunar sample from the moon in our next mission and finally do a manned landing on the moon sometime around 2025.

Indian space program is just to score brownie points both at home and internationally. If the Indian space program was a legitimate program that actually cares about learning new things, then they would not jump from Moon to Mars so quickly without doing anything in either mission, it's just to show to us that India is (falsely) ahead of us.

We do things that will actually benefit us such as manned space and lunar exploration (energy and raw material resources). India is still yet to put a man into space which is the most basic thing in space exploration. They don't even have a satellite navigation system. All Indian projects will be based on future assumptions and not current achievements and considering India is famous for its delays, you guarantee those ambitious goals will not be met on time.

India still behaves like a toddler not just in space but generally. It's a very amateurish country which is why no one takes them very seriously despite all their achievements. The west pats India on the head because India is not a strategic rival of the west and is very obedient of the west.