Harmain Javed Raja
Chandrayaan-3’s landing on the moon is the most hyped topic these days, as India achieved a massive feat. But how did it all begin? It all started when the Soviet Union launched its first satellite called Sputnik on October 4, 1957. As the US and the Soviet Union were old competitors, the US couldn’t bear Russia being ahead, so the US space agency was formed on July 29, 1958. Surprisingly, SUPARCO was established before CNSA and ISRO but unfortunately progressed less than them. There are several types of moon missions; shockingly, the Soviet Union is ahead in all except Human Missions. The US was the first to send humans to the moon. In 1984, an Indian Air Force pilot traveled to space as part of the Intercosmos program.How did India reach these heights in space missions? Just a year after ISRO’s establishment, a rocket was launched into space with instruments for measuring and studying electrons in Earth’s atmosphere, supported by NASA. In 1983, ISRO, with NASA’s help, launched a satellite that enabled broadcasting and weather forecasting.
In 2008, Chandrayaan-1 confirmed the presence of water on the moon, drawing global attention to space once again. In 2013, ISRO launched the Mars Orbiter Mission. India worked on satellites like SLV-3, ASLV, PSLV, and GSLV. Meanwhile, Pakistan launched Badr-1 on July 16, 1990, marking its entry into the space age. In 2018, Pakistan launched two satellites, PakTES-1A and PRSS-1. Pakistan lacks its own GPS system and relies on buying from other countries, leading to challenges in disaster forecasting. Now the question arises that Why scientists are curious about the southern pole?ThepossibilityofwatericeinpermanentlyshadowedcratersnearthelunarSouthPolemakesitofgreatscientificsignificanceandavaluableresourceforupcominglunarresearch.TheMoon’sunchartedgeographygivescluesaboutitsgeologicalpast,whileregionswithconstantsunlightpresentchancesforsolarenergyproduction.Researchintomaterialsisfacilitatedbytheuniqueenvironmentprovidedbytheextremecoldandradiation.TheimportanceofthelunarSouthPoleasaportalforintellectualadvancementandscientificdiscoveryisfurtheremphasisedbyinternationalcooperationanditsrelevancetodeepspacetravel.Why chundrayaan-2 wasn’t successful? During the Vikramlander’s descent, as it was 400 meters from the lunar surface, most of its velocity was intended to be lost. The plan was for it to hover above the landing site for a gentle vertical fall. Due to its high speed, the lander crashed or made a hard impact on the Moon’s surface. Several errors identified by Somanath led to Vikram’s crash, including the use of five engines with higher-than-expected thrust, causing inaccuracies to accumulate over time. The narrow landing site also played a role in the failure.However,this time ISRO chose a failure-based design for Chandrayaan-3 instead of a success-based design for Chandrayaan-2, focusing on what could go wrong and how to protect it to assure a successful landing. According to ISRO, the new mission has been created to land successfully even if some components malfunction. What lessons did Pakistan learn from the partial success of Chandrayaan-2? It seems like no lessons were learned; what can be expected from such an insensitive society that was making memes instead of reflecting on where they stand? In a country where TikTokers are given all the limelight, how can people there understand the importance of space missions? The reasons why Pakistan couldn’t progress are that more focus was given to nuclear programs due to security issues in the country, while India didn’t have such issues. The 1965 war and the separation of East Pakistan totally changed the dynamics of Pakistan’s goals. We disrespected our great scientists in the name of religion; such narrow-mindedness leads to bleak outcomes. Students were never encouraged, nor were such opportunities provided. Therefore, legislations should be enacted regarding space agencies, as a lot of revenue can be generated from there. Awareness should be spread among the masses, and students should be motivated and encouraged to participate in this field.
