Opinion Chandrayaan discovers water-ice, India finds success on the Moon

Data from one of the instruments on Chandrayaan-3 has indicated that the presence of water on the Moon could be more widespread than known so far. A research team at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, which analysed the data from the ChaSTE instrument onboard the Vikram lander, has come to the conclusion that there were strong possibilities of water-ice sheets being present in areas outside the polar regions as well. As of now, water-ice on the Moon is known to be concentrated in the polar regions. The latest finding is another significant breakthrough by the Indian space community, and builds on the knowledge created in this field by Chandrayaan-1. Two instruments on Chandrayaan-1, one of them from NASA, had confirmed the presence of water on the Moon, and found definitive evidence of water-ice in the polar regions. This time, the entire effort has been given shape by India.

Space is one of the areas in which India has been functioning almost at the cutting edge of technology, particularly in the last 10-15 years when it has started venturing into ambitious exploration activities. The number of missions has been relatively small but they have produced fruitful outcomes, often extending the existing frontiers of knowledge. Space is also a sector where a proper ecosystem has begun functioning with full participation from public and private research institutions, industry and universities. And although it has not been captured very well till now in numbers, there is sufficient anecdotal evidence to suggest that the space ecosystem is beginning to halt and reverse the brain drain in this sector. There are examples of the young and scientifically talented returning from the US and Europe to set up their space start-ups in India, or take up positions in Indian laboratories.

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The comparatively better performance of space and nuclear sciences in India has important lessons for both the government and the scientific community as they attempt to make India a major power in science and technology. These two sectors have flourished due to a fair bit of institutional autonomy, and long-term support and investment by the government while maintaining a hands-off approach. A strong push for indigenisation and international collaborations with leading agencies has also paid rich dividends. For the scientific community, the space and nuclear sectors show that it is possible to deliver results even while operating under major constraints. This is not to undermine many of the very reasonable asks of the scientists in terms of enhanced funding and reduced red tape, but ideal conditions do not, in themselves, assure good results. This is particularly relevant in the case of defence research, which has received a more or less similar treatment to space and nuclear but has struggled to deliver in many areas that are supposed to be its core competence.