India’s Footprint on Space and Beyond

-- Eva Mariam Binu, 9-D, Indian Central School

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

India’s footprint in the space sector is an extremely inspirational story. From achieving more than 90% success rate in the launch segment to rolling out human spaceflight program plans, the country has gradually climbed to the spot where the world powers are pushed to engage in talks and partnerships. One of India’s most recent success in the space sector is the landing of Chandrayaan 3.

The successful arrival of the Chandrayaan 3 mission's Vikram lander on the Moon made India the first country besides China to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface since 1976, following a series of failed landings by private organizations and India itself four years ago. And it made India just the fourth nation overall to achieve this feat.

Since the landing of Chandrayaan 3 on August 23, 2023, India has released some early findings from the lander and its mobile rover, named Pragyan, along with photos of the vehicles exploring the Moon's alien charcoal-color landscape.

Another achievement of India is the journey of Aditya-L1: the satellite on the sun.

India's first space-based mission to study the solar system's biggest object is named after Surya - the Hindu god of Sun who is also known as Aditya.

“L1” stands for Lagrange point 1 - the exact place between the Sun and Earth where the Indian spacecraft lies. According to the European Space Agency, a Lagrange point is a spot where the gravitational forces of two large objects, for example, the Sun and the Earth - cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft to "hover".

Aditya-L1 it will be able to orbit the Sun at the same rate as the Earth. This means the satellite will require very little fuel to operate. Dr. Suresh Ukrande, former Principal KJSIT and currently Principal of K J Somaiya College of Engineering (KJSCE) who is among those playing instrumental roles in driving this project, said, “We started in the year 2017 after our students’ team won a competition conducted by ISRO titled – Touch the Jovian Moon. Since then, we decided to work in space technology and founded the New Leap Lab and formed a student-led team. We experienced a two-year delay due to Covid. Today’s success is just the beginning, our first satellite is launched. We will continue to work in the domain of space technology."

India is a vast country, known for being the seventh largest in the world. It is the most populous country (as of June 2023), and is well known for its diversity in culture, language, food, and climate.

India continues to grow more and more advanced as the days go by. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that this is the same democratic India, which was once sanctioned and possibly left out with nothing but its own will to stand and reiterate its diplomatic strategy for international cooperation.

Eva Mariam Binu, 9-D, Indian Central School