Looking Back At Significant Launches And Less Notified ISRO Achievements

Indians are celebrating the Indian Space Research Organisation, one of independent India’s brightest stars, as they anticipate the launch of Chandrayaan-3 on Friday. Despite operating on a low budget, ISRO is one of the few Indian organizations that can compete with its international counterparts. Outlook reviews some of the largest strides the Indian space program has achieved in its illustrious and astounding history of milestone after milestone in light of the launch of the most recent lunar mission today.

2008’s Chandrayaan-1
India’s first moon mission was called Chandrayaan-1. It carried a variety of scientific equipment that significantly advanced lunar research. The mission verified the existence of water on the moon’s surface and found evidence of extensive water ice in the areas of the lunar poles that are always under darkness.

2013 Mars Orbiter Mission: Mangalyaan
India’s first interplanetary mission was Mangalyaan. It accomplished this feat successfully in 2014, becoming the first Asian country to do so, surpassing competitors like China from the area. The mission’s primary objective was to investigate the Martian surface, atmosphere, and mineralogy. Among other results, it offered useful information on the occurrence of methane and its seasonal change on Mars.

2019’s Chandrayaan-2
Vikram, a lander, and Pragyan, a rover, made up India’s second lunar mission. Even though the lander’s soft landing attempt failed, the orbiter is still running well. Chandrayaan-2 was designed to investigate the geography, mineralogy, quantity of elements, lunar exosphere, and water ice signs of the moon. The equipment on board the mission found many new lunar craters as well as indications of water molecules on the lunar surface.

Gaganyaan
Gaganyaan is a crewed orbital spacecraft that was first planned in 2007 but just recently revealed. Its goals are to bring Indian astronauts back in space while also showcasing the country’s human spaceflight capabilities, conducting microgravity experiments, and laying the groundwork for future space exploration missions. The building of a brand-new spacecraft—after which the mission was named—that could transport a crew of two to three astronauts into low Earth orbit (LEO) and return them safely was the goal of the first crewed mission. The crew was expected to be able to survive on board the spaceship for one week. The launch date was scheduled for 2022 to fall with the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. The timeframe, however, was altered as a result of technological difficulties and the Covid-19 epidemic. Currently, it’s anticipated that the first crewed trip would occur in late 2023 or early 2024, while an ISRO source had previously predicted 2025.

For India’s space program, the Gaganyaan mission marks a major turning point. It is still being developed by ISRO in collaboration with HAL and DRDO. It aims to make India the fourth nation in the world to develop human spaceflight capability after the United States, Russia, and China. It is designed to further national objectives for space exploration. Additionally, it aims to boost India’s scientific prowess in space and revive young enthusiasm for science, technology, and aerospace. ISRO is notable for a number of additional factors in addition to its well-known launches, rockets, and future space objectives like the Gaganyaan Mission.

The Mars orbiter, Mangalyaan, was developed in 15 months for $75 million, less than the price of the typical Hollywood movie, despite the fact that ISRO runs on a tight budget. In order to save money, ISRO also does not follow the exacting design and review checks that its NASA colleagues conduct. It has not, however, been without criticism from the general population, who questioned if funding a space program was necessary given that the country had far more urgent issues to address, such as healthcare, inequality, and poverty. However, ISRO has made a tremendous effort to emphasize that its objective has never been mainly space exploration and that it does not strive to outperform its international competitors. It is, and always has been, mainly a space program that focuses on applications and human development. Vikram Sarabhai, among many of the organization’s previous visionary chairman, established this as the organization’s long-term priority.

The company is a global leader in remote sensing, and its very successful satellite missions are several of the significant achievements in its resume. Outlook examines a handful from the past:

Series of INSAT

Numerous satellites for communication, weather monitoring, and broadcasting are part of the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system. This series of satellites includes the INSAT-3D, INSAT-3DR, and INSAT-3DS.

Series GSAT

There are satellites in the Geosynchronous Satellite (GSAT) series that are used for communication, remote sensing, and meteorological purposes. This series of satellites includes the well-known GSAT-6, GSAT-7A, and GSAT-30.

sequence of Cartosat

The Cartosat satellites are Earth observation satellites principally used for mapping, monitoring, and cartographic purposes. Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, and Cartosat-3 are notable satellites in this series.

sequence of resources

The management and monitoring of resources, particularly water and land resources, is the focus of the Resourcesat satellites. Satellites in this series include Resourcesat-1 and Resourcesat-2 as examples.

These are but a few examples of the significant launches and satellite missions carried out by ISRO. Beyond the significant launches and planetary missions, the emphasis on remote sensing has paid off handsomely, yielding more noticeable effects for the common person. In reality, they support the development of crucial national infrastructure via their remote sensing and communication initiatives (IRS and INSAT). Disaster management comes next. The finest illustration of this was Cyclone Phailin, which struck Odisha in 2013.

Then, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said that throughout the four days of the storm, more than 400 photos taken by their satellites, notably Kalpana and INSAT-3D, helped to save thousands of lives. With the use of this information, they were able to precisely estimate the velocity, intensity, and dates of landfall. Today, 45 people have died as a result of the storm, but many believe the number might have been far higher if prompt assistance hadn’t been provided.

Every time our space program makes headlines, a big deal is made of another achievement. Despite the difficulties it encounters and the fact that they are outperformed by their international rivals, ISRO has consistently ranked among the top space agencies in the world and is one of the few prestigious organizations in the nation. They have earned the proper recognition, with their contemporaries at NASA often praising how cunningly ISRO has functioned, navigating obstacles that are sometimes insurmountable unless equipped with large finances and the necessary resources. They exemplify the values of the traditional Indian institution known as “jugaad.”

With each launch and project that the organization completes, a fresh batch of news stories will saturate feeds and headlines in support of the organization. However, only few bring attention back to the organization and its problems. Many have stated that Satish Dhawan, a past visionary chairman of ISRO, had the foresight to put the organization’s headquarters in Bengaluru, distant from Delhi’s influence, which gave it some degree of independence and autonomy in its operations.

Although it frequently achieves outcomes, it continues to get flak for its financing. A viral video compared the expense of the Mars orbiter to a Hollywood movie. What was lost was that the orbiter was just a quarter as expensive as the Statue of Unity. Scientists at ISRO earn far less benefits than their counterparts at other PSUs, such as ONGC, which have built a reputation for being generous with their benefits. ONGC has perhaps the nation’s most successful and consistent R&D program.

Many top executives and engineers of ISRO have expressed their very serious worry of the “brain drain.” The Performance Related Incentive System (PRIS) has been moth-eaten for a long time and yet sees frequent increment reductions from the government. All of this only makes it more difficult for the organization to motivate the best and the brightest to keep producing the results that a proud nation celebrates, a significant complaint that many individuals connected to ISRO have made through their books, on television, and in media pieces.

They have contributed in their own way and still do. Perhaps we should keep in mind to do our part for them as well as we once again honor them. Chandrayaan-3 will go to the sky on Friday, further demonstrating their merit.