Mars Orbiter Mission

After a journey of 420 million miles and 300 days, an Indian satellite entered orbit
around mars. In doing so, India Space Research Organisation became only the fourth
space agency across the world to record this achievement and the first one to succeed
in the first attempt. The fact that, at 74 million USD, this was the cheapest
interplanetary mission to be undertaken only adds to the significance of this
achievement.
Project summary The Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan is a technology
demonstration project by the Indian Space Research Organisation. It was launched
on 5
th
November, 2013 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The
satellite used the PSLV rocket and made seven altitude-raising orbital manoeuvres
around earth for 30 days before making the trans-Mars interjection jump.
Mission objectives - The Mars mission has been designed as a technological
mission. The primary objective of the Mars Orbiter Mission is to showcase India's
rocket launch systems, spacecraft-building and operations capabilities, specifically to
develop and test technologies necessary for long inter-planetary missions.
The secondary scientific objective of the project is to explore Mars surface features,
mineralogy, morphology and Martian atmosphere using indigenous scientific
instruments. So, any scientific achievement hereafter is an added bonus. It carries
five instruments for this purpose,
a) Mars colour camera for surface and satellite imaging
b) Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (MENCA) to study neutral
gas atoms in Martian atmosphere.
c) Methane sensor for mars
d) Lyman Alpha Photometer to study the hydrogen and deuterium composition
of mars.
e) Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer to study mineral composition of
mars.

Project criticism To reach a far world, where others have failed and to do so in a
shoestring budget has far reaching significances for Indian scientific community.
While the success has been greeted by scientists worldwide, and created mass
euphoria amongst the general public in India, there have been certain criticisms of
the Mars mission as well as the Indian Space programme on the whole.
1. Affordability of the mission The most common criticism of Indias
space mission has been the cost of carrying such activities. It seems fanciful
for a country grappling with widespread poverty and malnutrition to be
sending satellites to moon and mars. Its Mars mission may be cheap by
American (or Chinese) standards, at just $74m, but Indias overall space
programme costs roughly $1 billion a year.
While this criticism is short sighted and overlooks the various technological
advantages of space programmes accurate prediction of natural disasters
being one of the foremost examples the fact that Britain and the World Bank
have looked down upon the mars mission as lavish expenditures and decided
to reconsider the grants given to India, may be a cause of concern.

2. Space race An important concern that has been raised by the various
political corridors is the increasing likelihood of another space race this time
between India and China. The space race between the US and the Soviet
Union was not an affordable luxury undertaken for the sake of knowledge, but
intrinsically tied to the military-industrial complex. The major narrative after
the success of the mars mission has been that of national pride and
technological might, a scenario not too dissimilar from the cold war days. This
underpins a dangerous military and nuclear standoff in the region, one that
needs to be avoided.

3. Use of PSLV rockets The MOM satellite was launched using the PSLV
satellite. While the achievement is commendable, it is a step back for the
Indian space technology. Indias experiments with GSLV satellites have been
generally unsuccessful. This is the reason the Chandrayaan mission has been
postponed till 2016. Under such circumstances, use of PSLV rockets
represents a lack of innovation and a mentality of delivering results instead of
tangible scientific progress.

4. Lack of private players Recently, the president of USA urged NASA to
focus primarily on research and development, and let private companies like
SpaceX to focus on space transportation. The scenario in India remains far
from that. The main objective of the mars mission was showcasing of Indias
technological might, which serves as a live advertisement for ISROs
commercial wing, ANTRIX. The success is expected to interest other fledling
countries with space aspirations of their own.
While this may be good news for Indias growing soft power, shift of focus
from research to commercial expansion could hamper growth in the long run.
Indian government needs to play an active role in encouraging the private
sector to take an active part in the commercialisation of Indias space power.
In conclusion, it can be added that for India, space mission and scientific
advancements are not a luxury, but a necessity. India needs more focussed approach
with increased emphasis on technological innovation if it is to play a meaningful role
in the global scientific community.