Chandrayaan-3 will give a quantum leap to India’s role in global arena, world watching: Space Minister

The world realised that India is in a position to provide insights, inputs, and inferences that could be of utility to them as well for future missions. Today, we are equal partners. The Chandrayaan-3 is going to give a quantum leap to India’s role in the global arena. The entire world is watching — what we learn from this mission will be important for the global scientific community at large.

Chandrayaan-1 detected the presence of water on the moon and now the Chandrayaan-3 rover will take it to the next level. The landing of the lander-rover was planned close to the southern pole of the moon because it is an area that has a large number of craters (which remain permanently in shade, increasing the possibility of finding water and minerals).

Chandrayaan-1’s discovery of water molecules has prompted the US to send humans back to the moon. Is India also planning to send astronauts to the moon?

Right now our focus is the Gaganyaan mission, which has been completely indigenously developed. One step leads to the other. We need to learn from our experiences of Chandrayaan-3 and from the Gaganyaan, and then move on to the next level.

ISRO has a full calendar this year. How has the space agency been able to increase the pace of activities?

India never had a dearth of scientists — we have had brilliant scientists like Dr Vikram Sarabhai working under very meagre circumstances — but what was lacking was an enabling milieu at the level of policy and political leadership. The resources have been extended.

Big changes have happened in the space sector in the last three to four years. The space sector has been unlocked and we now have more than 150 world-class start-ups. We are now launching foreign satellites in big numbers. We have a PSU, NSIL (NewSpace India Limited),  that provides technology and services to customers. We have a government and industry interface, IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre). All this has together created an ecosystem that has increased the esteem of the scientists and provided them with the opportunity to work up to their potential. Earlier, we were functioning with a limited manpower, limited resources, not allowing others to participate, not allowing funds to come in, the government could not have afforded such huge funds and therefore, in a way, we were actually incapacitating ourselves.

And, how does the increased spending in the space sector help the common man?

We have not confined ourselves to just launching rockets in the last eight to nine years, we have taken space technology to every Indian household. It is being applied in a great measure in almost every sector, whether it be building of roads, railway tracks, smart cities, jal mission, tele-medicine, tele-education. You name a sector and there is space technology. If you look at the ambitious Swamitva mission — the property survey programme — it is being done by space technology. Space technology now is contributing to ease of living.

And, as the world moves on, we cannot deprive ourselves of the advantages that the rest of the world will possibly enjoy. So, if they have the advantage of having explored the mysteries of the universe and of the moon and start taking advantage, we cannot afford to be left behind. The potential benefits accruing in the years to come have to be equally available to India as well. We can no longer delay our march to the moon!