With the news of India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan (Hindi for “Mars-Craft”), successfully taking orbit around Mars, it is clear there is a new technological powerhouse on the horizon.
Launched back in early November 2013, Mangalyaan’s 10 month journey accomplished its goal of successfully orbiting the red planet Tuesday after a 24-minute engine burn. The engine burn required utmost precision to pull off a successful orbit around Mars. Failure would result in either the satellite crashing to the surface of the planet or send it shooting off into space.
Successfully reaching Mars on a maiden voyage is a feat which both NASA and the Soviet Union were unable to accomplish.
A couple weeks after Mangalyaan launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, NASA launched their Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla., with the same destination in mind: Mars. That is about where the similarities between these feats of engineering end, however.
India’s MOM satellite is so impressive because of how cheap the final price tag was. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) claims it cost 4.5 billion rupees, the equivalent of just $74 million. Compare that to the $672 million expense for NASA’s MAVEN satellite, and India’s Mangalyaan cost just 11 percent of what it cost to build and launch the MAVEN. While both satellites have different scientific missions, weight and anticipated durations of operation, it is still an astounding accomplishment to reach the red planet for so little. Not only was India’s MOM the cheapest satellite to successfully enter Mars orbit, it was also constructed in record time, taking only three years to complete, yet another testament to the engineering prowess of the ISRO.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi seized the opportunity and attempted to galvanize the dreams of a nation through space exploration in much the same way President John F. Kennedy did in America in the 1960s. Prime Minister Modi made it clear that this accomplishment was all of India’s, saying “India has successfully reached Mars, congratulations to all of you, congratulations to countrymen ... Our scientists have achieved this in the first attempt.” Prime Minister Modi went on to further emphasize the importance of this historic event “We have dared to reach out into the unknown and have achieved near impossible ... The odds were stacked against us. Of the 51 missions attempted across the world so far, a mere 21 had succeeded. But we have prevailed.”
Prime Minister Modi then turned his attention to ISRO’s scientists saying in the press conference: “Every generation of your scientists, has groomed the next home-grown lot. Through your achievements, you have honored our fore-fathers, and inspired our future generations! You truly deserve all the love and respect you get from a grateful nation! Let today’s success, only drive us with even greater vigor and conviction. Let’s set ourselves even more challenging goals. And strive even harder to achieve them. Let us push our boundaries. And then, push some more!”
Prime Minister Modi’s words make it blatantly clear that India intends to continue pursuing space exploration and pushing frontiers. The success of MOM will serve as the beacon the nation can turn to for vindication of its greatness and more importantly of its potential. No other nation has reached Mars on its maiden voyage until India did it on Wednesday. You need look no further than the ISRO’s Facebook page than to see how proud Indian citizens are of their country’s accomplishment and how hopeful they are for the future of their space program.
Cullen is a senior majoring in History and Political Science. Do you think ISRO recent success proves India’s overall technological prowess? We want to hear from you. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com
