Just a few days ago, India’s space agency, ISRO, achieved something extraordinary. They successfully landed a spacecraft called Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s south pole. This is a big deal because India is now only the fourth country ever to do this, after the US, the Soviet Union, and China. But what makes ISRO stand out even more is how it plans, builds, and carries out its space missions.
🌔 From Teasing to Triumph: ISRO’s Journey
Remember when people made fun of ISRO’s first Mars mission, Mangalyaan? They thought India couldn’t do it well because of the smaller budget. But guess what? ISRO proved everyone wrong. Mangalyaan entered Mars’ orbit on its first try, which was a big success. And it cost way less compared to similar missions by other countries. This turned the teasing into cheers and applause.
💡 Learning from Mistakes: Making Things Better
Sometimes things don’t go perfectly in space missions. ISRO had a mission called Chandrayaan-2 that didn’t land as planned on the Moon. But ISRO didn’t give up. They looked closely at what went wrong, figured it out, and made improvements. This is what smart people and organizations do – learn from their mistakes and get better.
Chandrayaan-2 was India’s second mission to the Moon. It was launched using a big rocket called Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) on July 22, 2019. The mission had three parts: a spacecraft that goes around the Moon (orbiter), a machine that was supposed to land on the Moon (lander), and a small car-like thing that would drive around on the Moon (rover). All of these were made in India.
The main goal of Chandrayaan-2 was to explore a part of the Moon that hasn’t been looked at much before – the south pole. They wanted to learn more about what’s there and how it’s different from other parts of the Moon.
The lander, called Vikram, was supposed to touch down on the Moon’s surface on September 7, 2019, around 1:50 AM (IST). But something went wrong. As it got closer to the Moon, it went off course from where it was supposed to land. And just seconds before it was supposed to land, they lost communication with it. They later found out that there was a problem with the software that tells the lander what to do.
The spacecraft that goes around the Moon, the orbiter, did its job really well. It’s like a space camera that takes pictures and gathers information. It was supposed to work for one year, but it did so well that it kept working for seven years.
📊 The Money Magic: Doing More with Less
Space missions usually cost a lot of money, but ISRO knows how to do it smartly. Their Mars mission, Mangalyaan, cost only $74 million, which is much less than similar missions by other countries. For example, NASA’s Mars missions cost billions of dollars. ISRO proves that you don’t need a huge budget to achieve big things.
🌍 Joining the Cosmic Club: ISRO’s Impact
By landing on the Moon’s south pole, ISRO has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. They’re not just exploring space; they’re also exploring ways to use space for business and science. Plus, they’ve discovered water molecules on the Moon, which is pretty cool!
❤️