| Rendezvous with Moon |
Dreams do come true. The strongest, boldest and most ambitious of dreams are not far fetched if they are backed by will and work. Nothing is impossible- not even going to the Moon.
Vikram Sarabhai was a man who dreamt big. Only the unlimited space could have accommodated his wish of taking the Indian flag to the highest possible pedestal. When he cycled the parts of India’s first out-of-Earth- scientific expedition- the American Apache rocket- along with a young Abdul Kalam, the foundation was being laid.
On November 14, the Moon Impact Probe- Dr Kalam’s brainchild- tore through Moon’s atmosphere and landed on its south pole. It had the tricolour painted on top of its side. India joined the league of super-elite space club of countries which have landed man or machine on the Earth’s nearest neighbour. And from scratch to the satellite that’s now revolving around the Moon, mapping its surface for minerals and water, everything is Made in India.
The race to the Moon has always been symbolic of world power and India is a front runner now. Not only that, the ISRO has announced a man on Moon by 2020 and a mission to Mars is to follow- all of it at almost one-third the cost that is usually incurred by the western space powers.
What else, the Indian feat ruffled some feathers in the US, as President-elect Obama expressed his apprehension at the very thought of India taking over the original Moon men. This adventure promises the highest table and big moolah as many countries make a beeline to use India’s space facilities. We have come a long way from using Russian spareparts and American rockets to map our forests haven’t we?
Full Coverage: India on Moon» |
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