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India's space research and exploration must remain frugal and aim to build solutions that mitigate other resource constraints
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2015 may well turn out to be a landmark year for space science.
Earlier this month, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa)’s New Horizons mission successfully executed a flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto. New Horizons, launched more than nine years ago, swung past Jupiter to get a gravity boost, and will now conduct a five-month-long reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons. It will go on to investigate the Kuiper belt—a relic of solar system formation—on the outer reaches of Neptune’s orbit. Given data transmission speed and distance, the download of data is itself expected to take 16 months. The first photographs of Pluto are stunning and initial evidence suggests a young and crater-free geological surface (contrary to expectations) and many mountains.
While New Horizons was on one of 39 possible paths to Pluto, the International Space Station (ISS)—a collaboration of countries led by the US, Europe, Russia and Japan—celebrated its 15th anniversary as a permanent micro-gravity laboratory in space. In that time, more than 200 scientists from 15 different countries have visited it. Korean, Malaysian and Japanese astronauts have represented Asia, but as yet no Indian or Chinese one has been on board the ISS.
Meanwhile, Nasa’s orbiter MAVEN and the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro)’s Mangalyaan have completed nearly 10 months orbiting Mars. Mangalyaan survived a 15-day solar eclipse last month, and will probably orbit Mars for many more years. The Mangalyaan mission famously cost less than the production amount for the film Gravity.
China, no slouch in the space arena, successfully docked two “wo-manned" Shenzhou rockets to its space station Tiangong-1, in the last three years. A replacement lab, Tiangong-2, will be launched soon. China’s lunar spacecraft Chang’e 3 soft-landed on the moon in 2013, the first craft to do so after the Soviet Union’s Luna in 1976.
In a rare setback, China’s Mars probe, Yinghuo-1, did not fire, and was declared lost in space. The world’s largest radio telescope to “listen" to space is currently being built in Guizhou. According to the director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, “it will help us to search for intelligent life outside of the galaxy and explore the origins of the universe".
To this mix of governmental agencies come a bunch of private firms. Silicon Valley venture capitalists have invested $1.7 billion in space start-ups this year. Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX may be the granddaddies, but new companies are being floated every day. New kids on the block are companies such as Planet Labs, Kymeta and Orbital Insight. India’s first space start-up, Dhruva, is engaged in building nano satellites for space, an area in which some Indian universities are already active.
Speaking of satellites, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) projects have been very successful in deploying small payloads in earth orbit. Two weeks ago, five satellites from the UK were put into orbit in the course of the 30th mission of the PSLV. The PSLV’s track record teaches us that there is nothing congenital or cultural about India’s generalized implementation failure. It is all about purpose, autonomy, talent and systems. India’s future plans in space include Chandrayaan 2 (lunar lander and rover) and Aditya-1 to explore the sun’s corona.
Isro has also proposed taking the first steps towards an Indian human spaceflight programme. The programme is expected to cost $2 billion or more and has not been approved by Parliament.
Space, the final frontier for man, is becoming crowded. Collaboration coexists with competition; magic with man-made space garbage. The race for land and sea over the last century will likely become a race for space during this one. At the same time, space research benefits man’s life on earth. For instance, study of the oceans from space is yielding a treasure trove of data to create marine reserves and help protect biodiversity in our oceans. It also has implications for national security. In recent times, India and the US have been exploring the possibility of utilization of space assets for maritime domain awareness, as India puts in place a full blue-water navy. Many things are coming together in space science and the next few decades look very promising.
Space research or poverty reduction? For India, this question is misstated as an either/or question. Our space research and exploration must remain frugal and must have it at its heart an objective to build solutions and technologies that mitigate other resource constraints—in energy, arable land, food and water. Our space mission will be successful if we target sustainability for Indians and for the planet.
P.S. “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society," said Vikram Sarabhai, father of India’s space programme.
Narayan Ramachandran is chairman, InKlude Labs.
Comments are welcome at narayan@livemint.com. To read Narayan Ramachandran’s previous columns, go to www.livemint.com/avisiblehand-
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