A note about our space special: it's time to take the giant Indian step

Panoramic Night View of India and Surrounding Regions in 2016 Photo: NASA Earth Observatory Images

This was a landmark date in the history of the Indian space program. November 21 In 1963, the launch of the first rocket badembly badembled inside a church – from the equatorial rocket launch station at Thumba, Kerala, marked the beginning of our journey in the space.

Fifty-five years later, the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) is working on our second lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-2, next year, and more importantly, from our very first inhabited space mission, of Gaganyaan in which a crew of three members will spend seven days in low Earth orbit (LEO) space. This mission should start by 2022 and cost billions of rupees.

How is this special? Pretty special.

It is enough to return to the long and distinguished history of manned spaceflight to understand the thrill and achievements that accompany it. The International Space Station (ISS) having spent 20 years in orbit on November 20, we decided to choose it's the focal point of our special space. NASA sees the ISS as one of the most ambitious international collaborations ever attempted and the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken. Astronauts from 18 countries (and more) have already visited the space station. It is a marvel of technology and the result of years of cooperation between the scientific research community and international space agencies.

There is indeed talk of sending an Indian astronaut into the ISS for a short training mission in 2022. I hope. we will one day have the resources and technical advances to become one of the participating countries of the International Space Station and other missions in space stations.

The good news is that the signs are extremely encouraging. As you will read in this issue, the Indians do not only lead critical space missions in the near future, they also stand out in areas such as space design. Some of the brightest ideas for new miniature satellite designs (CubeSats) in recent years have emerged from India. We have also examined some key historical references to India's participation in space research, dating back to the 1960s.

Our fascination with space goes beyond the scope of science and extends to pop culture. Our stories are about how movies and art have shaped our understanding of space and the reinvention of space debris using ingenious design solutions.

In the immensity of space, what makes us unique is our desire to know more about the universe we inhabit. Our quest to reach the outermost corners of the cosmos should not stop. The fields of interplanetary travel, space colonization and deep space travel have much to offer. We can only improve and accelerate the pace. Speaking at the India-United States Conference on Space Science Applications and Trade in New Delhi in 2004, the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a leading figure in the Indian space dream, said, "Thinking beyond our planet is an essential trait. The thought itself raises the person. The person is transformed into a creative state. Creativity is indeed the foundation of discovery and invention. "

From innovations with limited resources in the 1960s to the launch of a record 104 satellites in a single mission last year, Isro and India have come a long way. long way in this space journey. With Chandrayaan-2 and Gaganyaan quite in our line of sight, the only way forward is the front. As Neil Armstrong (played by Ryan Gosling) said in the recent Hollywood film First Man "When you get a different point of view, it changes perspective." We hope that this special space will give you a new advantage. do not just point the eye on India, but also on the way traveled by the world to explore the space.