After the success of its Moon mission, India will become a serious player in space market due to its efficiency, accuracy and low cost
August 23, 2023, will be considered a historic day when Chandrayaan-3 of India's moon mission made a successful soft landing on the moon. It was the third lunar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the world's first spacecraft to reach the Moon's South Pole. The mission was launched on 14 July 2023 and on 23 August 2023, the lander Vikram landed on the lunar surface. India's first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008. The spacecraft carried scientific equipment from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Bulgaria, apart from five Indian instruments. Its scientific goals included the study of the chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon. This campaign has been instrumental in developing our understanding of the Moon.
Chandrayaan-2, launched on July 22, 2019, consisted of an Orbiter, Lander and a Rover. The Lander Vikram and the Rover Pragyan were supposed to land on the Moon's South Pole, but Vikram crashed about 600 meters from the landing site, The mission's orbiter is still working and collecting important data about the Moon. India's space programme has reached a significant milestone after Chandrayaan-3 landed on the Moon's South Pole. That is, it can be said that India's moon mission has been successful to a great extent so far. There are only a few countries in the world that have their independent space programme. Apart from India, the USA, Russia, China, the European Space Agency, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Israel etc. have their space programs. But if seen, India is the fourth country in the world to land its spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, but India is the first country to land a vehicle on the South Pole of the Moon.
It is believed that due to the rough surface of the Moon and low gravitational force, it is very difficult to land a spacecraft on the Moon, and it’s still more difficult to land a spacecraft on the South Pole of the moon. Indian scientists have intelligently and cleverly landed the lander Vikram on the moon, for which Indian scientists deserve special appreciation. The USA is considered the economic, strategic and technological superpower of the world, so naturally the Moon mission was first started by the USA. India sent its spacecraft Aryabhatta into orbit of space in the year 1975. In this 358 kg spacecraft, scientific instruments were sent to study the Earth's atmosphere and radiation belts. The process of sending INSAT spacecraft started in 1982 and at present India has 17 INSAT spacecraft in space orbit. In addition to the three Moon missions, in 2013, India launched its Mangalyaan for Mars, which reached Mars orbit in September 2014 and is still studying Mars. India is about to start its first human space flight program soon.
It can be believed that after the USA, Russia and China, India has now become a major player in the world's space programme. India's space programs are generally admired around the world, but despite this, some people in India and abroad criticize the space program saying that India is a poor country and cannot afford the 'luxuries' of such programmes. They say that instead of spending on space programs, we should rather provide facilities for the poor in the country. Some people also say that instead of spending on space programs, it would be better if more is spent on the security of our country.
After the success of Chandrayaan-3, there is going to be a significant change in the attitude of the world towards India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the success of India's Chandrayaan-3 at the very beginning of ‘Amrit Kaal’ is the first step towards making India a developed nation in this Amrit Kaal. It is worth mentioning that in the world GDP ranking, India has moved ahead from 10th position in the year 2014 to 5th position in the year 2023 and by 2025, it can reach the fourth position and by the year 2028, it can reach the third position. Based on purchasing power parity, India has already reached the third position with a GDP of over $12 billion.
The Economics
Space missions have been run at huge costs in the world, but the budget of India's space programs is an example of the world. Look at the moon mission, the budget of Chandrayaan-3 is only 615 crore rupees ($75 million US). The speciality of India's space program is that ISRO partners with the world using the country's technology. The economy with which India's space program operates has taken the world by surprise. Elon Musk, a top billionaire, running one of the world's largest space programs, has praised India's space programme, saying Hollywood's science movie, Interstellar cost USD 165 million, compared to which India's Chandrayaan-3 mission costs only $75 million US. Significantly, the first phase of the Moon mission of the USA, known as the Apollo program which ran between 1961 and 1972, cost 25.8 billion US dollars (as per value of dollar in the year 1973), which was equivalent to 164 billion dollars in 2021. Each of America's Apollo missions cost 300 to $450 million (as per the value of the dollar in 1973). The interesting thing is that we have landed Chandrayaan on the Moon at a cost less than what it would cost to build a 20-kilometer highway of four lanes in India.
As far as India's capability is concerned, India has been successful in launching spacecraft (satellites) not only of its own but of many other countries including the world's superpowers. ISRO has launched satellites in more than 20 countries in recent years, including the United States of America, France, Canada, Italy, Singapore and England. These satellites are launched for various purposes including communication, earth observation, remote sensing and scientific research.
In 1993, India launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for the first time. Though it was launched to place India's remote sensing satellites in sun-synchronous orbit, it has launched 58 flights to date, of which 55 were completely successful, one partially successful and two unsuccessful. The cost of each launch varies between Rs 130 crore and Rs 200 crore depending on its carrying capacity.
But by launching the satellite of our country and other countries, the revenue made by ISRO is much more than that. Notably, PSLV’s 37th flight had created a history by putting 104 satellites in space simultaneously.
Interestingly $30,000 US to $40,000 US is charged per kilogram of load made by ISRO to launch a satellite, which is much less than the charge made by the American agency 'NASA'. It is believed that the entry of Indian private companies into the space market will further increase competition and reduce costs further. ISRO has already started making efforts in this regard.
It can be believed that shortly, India will be able to register its presence in the world's space market due to its efficiency, accuracy and low cost. This will be the first step towards India becoming the superpower of the world.
(The author is Professor, PGDAV College, University of Delhi. The views expressed are personal)
